i am ready to be serious now.
i made the mistake of taking a guage cluster from a V6 contour. everything will work except the tach. the tach will need to be recalibrated using a little circuitry which i have not gotten around to making yet. and i will probably never get around to making. so, the tach is currently not installed. i have my old guage cluster and it works fine for now.
once you get the RIGHT guage cluster, you need to pop off the large black trim panel on the dash board. there are small access panels which you need to pop off to get to the screws for the big panel. i think there are 5 screws. once those are removed, unplug the buttons that live there. i just have the clock and the rear defroster...you might also have the TRACS button to unplug amongst others. carefully remove the panel. the black plastic is the cheapest stuff available and will brake easily, especially the A/C vents.
with that off you will be able to see the guage cluster in front of you. i think it is also held on with 5 or 6 screws. take them out and make sure not to loose them somewhere in the dash. slide the guage cluster out as far as you can so you can get to the wiring harnesses in the rear. there are two wiring harnesses that plug into vertical slots in the back of the panel. they have little clip things that you need to press on and then tilt the harness away from the clip thing and pull it out. if you just depress the clip, it will not pull out straight. you should tilt it slightly to get the little tabs at the base of the harness out without braking them.
once you have done that for both harnesses, pull the cluster out from the dash and get ready to swap in the new one. installation is the opposite of removal. plug it in properly and turn your car (and lights) on before you screw anything in. that way, if a bulb is burnt out, you can replace it at the same time. chart the milage you took the thing out on and the new mileage and get a new title from the DMV. that way if you plan on selling it to an outside party, you will have a legal record that you made a guage swap and the mileages will be legal.
you should be ready to roll.
if you want to try using a guage pod from a V6, i'll sell mine to you for $30 or whatever you think it is worth (i paid $50), but it'll take some work to get the tach to read right.
hope this helps.
also, in 1995, there was an option group for the regular Zetec contour which added the tach. you could have a Zetec Contour GL with tach and electric doors and windows. but not with manual doors and windows.
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1995 GL Zetec MTX...Light Blue
Born: July 1995 Purchased: November 1997
KKM Intake
Superchip
FocusSport Ignition Wires
Autolite Platinum Pro Plugs
WINTER PAWS: Blizzaks on stock 14 inchers!!! Bring on the snow!
Viper 500+ Alarm
Sounds by: Pioneer CD/Polk dB/MTX Subs/Alpine Amp
Richbrook Shift Knob
"Recontented" Foggies
