Good morning all:
I'm new to the forums. My username, OldsVistaCruiser, reflects my first love. I've had three '69 Vistas since 1982.
My 84-year-old mom has a '92 Fifth Avenue Mark Cross with a 3.8-liter V-6 (unknown miles, as two instrument clusters have had odometers freeze up when the trip odometer was reset), and I have a (retired and parked) '92 Jeep Cherokee Laredo with 324,000 miles.
Anyway, I found a trip computer overhead console out of a '90 New Yorker in a local junkyard. It appears to be working perfectly except that the compass always reads north and the temperature reads -70ºF.
I found an archived thread on the allpar forum that said that a black box that mounts under the hood is needed, and that it needs to be spliced into the ECM to make the older computer work for compass and temperature. However, it doesn't say which wires need to be tapped into!
Can anyone please help?
Thanks,
Bill S.
near Hershey, PA
(Edit) This is the post that I found:
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If you want the compass working (not just trip computer), you need the overhead console and the engine node from a 1990 or 1989 AC/AY body car (other years are sometimes possible but not recommended). The compass and temp display will not work without the node, but the trip computer functions will.
You'll need to do some wiring, but it's not bad. The overhead console will need a pair of CCD bus wires run to it, and the node will need 4 wires (power, ground, and CCD bus twisted pair). If you want to install the engine bay sensors for the system, that'll be extra wiring for the coolant level, brake fluid level, and oil level sensors but these aren't needed.
Engine node mounts behind the radiator grille. It's a long black box - can't miss it.
I added this system to my first New Yorker... it was worth it for me, but your milage may vary. I just tapped into the ECM wires for all the engine node essentials. Lamp out module can be done too, but it ain't worth the wiring nightmare.
Edit - missed the part about the year - if it's a 91, 89 or 90 EVIC components should work yet. I'm using a 1990 overhead console in the Imperial right now.
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A followup reply said:
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I love my 3.8... that thing moves the Imperial around pretty good. 1991 Fifths and Imperials got them. The trick is to find one with a transmission that's still in half decent shape though. IIRC it was optional on both cars in 1991, then in 1992 the Imperial got it standard while it remained optional on the Fifth.
Next thing I'm thinking of doing is turbo'ing an Executive Sedan... that should be fun too.
The EVIC really isn't that much work to get just the compass and temp working. Some red quick splice connectors, a little wire, and about an hour is all it takes. Might have to remove the battery to get at the wires at the ECM you need to tap into, but on Squeak I didn't even bother with that.
The bus wires need to be a twisted pair, but I just used some old 20 gauge speaker wire for that. Needed about four feet to go from the engine node to the ECM, and then another four feet from the dash diagnostic connector to the overhead console. From there, all I needed was a power and a ground to the engine node and it was working. I hacked into the ECM again for power, and wrapped the ground wire around a nearby relay bracket screw.
The only other thing to remember at the engine node is to ground out the oil sensor wire too so it doesn't keep tripping the oil level warning, but that's about it.