Projects - Gauges and Bezel modification
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By: Mike Swartz
I wanted to swap out my existing '75 clock for a tach. After sourcing a '77 Rabbit gauge cluster
with tach I decided to dive in and see how it all pieces together. Although I have not plugged it in yet to test it,
I feel confident it will work.
The first step was to unscrew the back of the gauge cluster to seperate the gauges from the bezel itself.
The bezel is more than just the surrounding part you see, there is a pod that is permanently attached to the frame.
To seperate the gauges from the pod/bezel surround you will need a philips head screw driver of decent size. There are 6
screws you will need to take out to disconnect the gauges from the bezel pod. 4 on the outside and two in the middle.
You will also need to take out the LED's for the cluster lighting before you can seperate the flexible circuit board.
These twist out. Turn them 1/4 turn then they should pop right out. Don't force them.
After you have removed the LED's you will need to carefully pull off the flexible circuit board from the pins holding it to the bezel frame.
Now you should be able to pull the gauges out from the bezel pods. Once this is done you can clean off the pods plastic clear protectors.
Since I was swapping from a clock to a tack, there was a push and twist clock adjustment pin that needed to be removed. The clear plastic protectors
pop out easily. Take the one from the gauge cluster with the tach and replace the clock one with that to make sure it will work correctly. I also
needed the one with the hole at the bottom for the mileage reset button/poll. My guess is you will too so just remove both plastic clear protectors
from your donor gauge cluster and replace the ones in the cluster you are going to install in your Rabbit.
After you have swapped your clear protectors, install is reverse of removal for all components. Be careful to not scratch or damage the flexible circuit
board or other components.
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