ok i want to put a volt gauge in the useless coin holder but i need to know the best place to get a switched power source and a light source. i was thinking for the light power i can get it from the dimmer on the radio unless you know of a better spot. let me know. i also need to know what size gauge i need to buy to fit in there.

 

Go behind your headlight switch and tap into your parking light circut, that'll dim your gauge whenever your parking lights are on. Good luck finding a switched power...

 

Are you afraid the factory one doesn't work?

 

there is switched power on the radio... I used it to power my GPS. If you search I have a post where I show how I did it.

For a guage... you could pick up an Edge Evolution... it doubles as a tuner and a set of guages. It will display 4 different things while you drive. Voltage is one of the options. I have mine installed in the ash tray. I think there are pictures in that same post where I show how I wired my GPS.

 

Here is that GPS wiring post...

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...ow-w-pics.html

 

Hell, they make voltage guages that you simply plug into the cigarette lighter if you want to see the system voltage without hacking up the wiring. No need to go through the hassle of all of the coin-holder bs. I also 2nd the use of a gryphon/edge module which will give you more instrument display options as well as a bit of a performance increase.

 

If the gauge illumination can be dimmed, you want the instrument illumination circuit, this is the circuit that the panel dimmer rotary dial operates.
This is a light blue w/ red stripe wire. You can get this circuit at the radio right above where you were talking about.

Best to have a 1A fuse inline with the instrument illumination circuit, in case anything goes wrong with the non factory item, it will not darken all the gauges.

The switched power, use an add-a-fuse in the fuse#1 slot.
This is the same fuse for the radio power in accy/run position.
Reinstall the 10A fuse into the slot for the fuse slot, and you can use a 1A fuse for the gauge power in the additional fuse slot on it.
The gauge might need a 5A ( could be a 2A draw ?? ), cut sheet for the gauge you find will show the draw of the gauge.

The opening that you see is ~2-1/16", but there are extrusions behind the holder for it to clip into.
I recall seeing a thread where someone installed a Ford retro analog clock in that spot some time ago. Don't know if they ground away the parts back there to make it work. That might also give you an idea what the back of the gauge needs to look like to fit in without grinding down the dash ( that is a single dash piece all the way around )

 

That won't work for aftermarket gauges. I ran into that problem when installing my A-pillar set-up. Most gauges simply use the illumination wire to darken a certain percentage (like 20%), wiring into the rotary dimmer doesn't provide enough power to work properly. That's why you need to wire into the parking/headlights, so the gauge gets the full 12+ volts to dim.

 

i like to have a number instead of just L and H.

as for the edge i want to get one but i can get a gauge now for 14 bucks or maybe free if the one in my v8 s10 will fit it. but 14 is more plausible right now then 400 for a edge as much as id like a tuner.

 

You can buy a used Edge for around $200 in the classifieds here

 

yea but i just lost my job and have to do maintenance on my truck right now. like brakes, oil, plugs, all the fluids and a few other things. my friend works at autozone so she can get me a gauge if i need one and ill just pay her back. or i can take it out of my project truck if it is the right size.

 

Gotcha. Then your Volt gauge idea is great. I actually plan on installing one myself even though I have an Edge, it will allow me to run a different gauge on that. I like monitoring as many things as possible at once

 

Not too sure what the gauge mfgr was, but the VDO and Autometer gauges that use the bulbs, it is a standard 2 wire twist in bulb holder for the gauge illumination on boost, vac, volt, amp and clock. The LED gauges might have an issue with dimming to 20% or 30% and turning off at that point.

I could see this as an issue with a gauge like the Autometer pro series or elite gauges that have high and low warning limits, but these gauges use the backlight to indicate limits have been reached ( some of them have 3 zones that illuminate differently depending on the gauge reading and the limits set ).

Std sub 80.00 volt meter is not going to be in this class, and I doubt that a gauge from Autozone for sub 20.00 is going to have more than a twist in bulb holder with an incandescent bulb and 2 wires.

 

You lost your job and are buying a redundant gauge on credit? I really would advise you to skip the gauge. Could you explain why you consider having the actual number so important? I understand having the gauge for diagnostic reasons, or even if you had some specialized equipment you wanted to monitor, but just for piece of mind it seems a little, well, ****. lol. Especially when one of those cigarette lighter gauges would run you less than the voltimeter and you could easily remove so you didn't have some random gauge hanging out of the dash looking like a fish out of water.

 

those ones that plug in to the lighter actually run more then what my friends discount is for a normal gauge. and im not getting it on credit she was gonna buy it when she gets off work and then i just give her the cash that night so i can use her discount.