Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - DIY: Dual Pillar Gauge Pod and Wiring Route

EMac0408 · 05-14-2021, 06:35 PM

Hello everyone, I'm pretty sure this is my first post (please excuse any editing I have to do after posting to correct the formatting), though I have been in the shadows of the forum since buying TBatt's Z a year ago. He did an incredible job with the modifications on the car, but I was never a big fan of having the boost/AFR and oil pressure gauges in one of Galeforce's center console mounts. I didn't like how long I had to take my eyes off the road to check the boost gauge, especially at full throttle. I also wanted the cubby back. I didn't find much online about running the wires, especially from the driver side, so I took some pictures of my dual pillar pod construction and rerouting the wires from the passenger side to the driver side.

I'm just going to start with running the wires, because that might be what people are most interested in. I imagine people have their own methods of working on the interior panels, probably much better methods than mine. I don't have any experience working with fiberglass, so I only used standard body work materials and a universal dual gauge pod.

Here we go.

Previously, the wiring had been run through the large grommet in the battery compartment. I removed the trim around both compartments to get easier access. I pulled the wiring back through into the engine bay, and crossed them over running them behind/above the intake manifold into the brake fluid compartment. In the brake fluid compartment, there is a large grommet tucked in behind the ABS pump. You have to take off the trim around the compartment to get access, but it's still very cramped. Then… it got weird...

I straightened out a coat hanger and sharpened one end to a needlepoint, jammed it through the top side of the grommet and threaded it around carefully until I felt a soft rebound indicative of the grommet that seals the interior of the car and then pierced it into the underside of the dash. The bundle of factory wires running through this grommet are pretty well protected but still be mindful not to pierce the bundle with the coat hanger.

After I pulled the hanger down toward the floorboard, I used a razor knife to make a few radial cuts around the hanger inside and outside to allow the bundle of wires to pass through. I staggered the plugs on the wires to reduce the profile, bundled them with blue painter’s tape (easier removal), and fixed them to the dull end of the coat hanger. Pull them through firmly, but be careful not the damage the plugs if you’re unlucky like me and the plugs are already attached. It’s much easier to wire things up AFTER running the wires.

https://imgur.com/1wjRJl4

https://imgur.com/P3OTBWZ

This is where they come out under the dash:

https://imgur.com/vA35xa8

https://imgur.com/JhAidV6

https://imgur.com/c9yaLpm

Now you have to get the wires up to the pillar. Removing the pillar is easy. You just pull the trim toward the middle of the car and down, then the middle of the trim is secured by a loose connector to control the trim during airbag deployment. Twist the connector 90 degrees to release it from the slot you can see next to my hand in the image below. Then pull the pillar up out of the dash. The base slides out easily.

https://imgur.com/WIuD2fc

I cut the sharp tip off of the coat hanger I had used before so that I didn’t damage anything in the dash. I fed the tip of the coat hanger down through the hole where the clip on the pillar trim inserts. (I have already pulled the wires through in this picture.)

https://imgur.com/1lS2cee

I found it was an easier angle going through the slot instead of lateral to it, and the narrow opening helped keep the wires from pulling back through or spreading out into an unmanageable mess. To accommodate the wires, I trimmed the clip on the trim a bit:

https://imgur.com/6HDEdBZ

Down on the floorboard, you might get lucky and have the coat hanger slip straight through, or you may have to feel around a bit to get it out from behind the trim around the fuse box.

https://imgur.com/o8m1I4E

I reattached the wires to the coat hanger and pulled them through a few at a time, because the whole bundle won’t fit through the slot in the dash.

Now for the gauge pods.

I bought an extra pillar from a part-out and a universal dual gauge pod from ebay. It was a terrible fit, so I won't link to the seller.

https://imgur.com/JyUteuo

I used a heat gun and a Dremel to start forming and trimming the pods down to approximate the shape of the trim. I also ground down all of the supports inside to allow the pods to flex. JUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO DEFORM THE HOLES FOR THE GAUGES or melt the plastic. I mostly avoided that, but it would be a huge pain to have the reshape the holes to fit the gauges and smooth out the curves.

https://imgur.com/3MhYqEX

https://imgur.com/Hyz0zNf

https://imgur.com/te1dvPo

https://imgur.com/RnU8CC4

After shaping and trimming, I sanded the edge down to make it easier to blend them into the pillar.

https://imgur.com/rRW2BWA

https://imgur.com/Ft8cIMS

Then I started drilling holes all around the edge for two reasons: 1) hold the pods in place with srcews while the epoxy sets up (5 minute epoxy from Harbor freight- it's the cheapest) 2) to allow the epoxy to squeeze into them and hopefully increase the adhesion.

https://imgur.com/DEFugyW

https://imgur.com/LJ9rA8t

https://imgur.com/wKO4Cn3

Then I used Bondo body filler to start building up around the pods, alternating with 2-in-1 Rust-oleum sandable/filler primer and Bondo glazing & spot putty.

https://imgur.com/48OWmQt

The primer helps you see the real landscape of the surface and shows you where you need to add glaze to smooth things out and deal with the cellulite.

https://imgur.com/RtFFuk4

After that I used black Rust-oleum Textured spray paint to finish it off. It was a great match.

https://imgur.com/Au7Vyo0

It definitely was not fun trying to get the gauges plugged in with pre-set lengths of wire. You should wait to do the final wiring until you have everything pulled through the dash to minimize you headache and make sure you have enough slack to comfortably hook up the gauges and jam them into the pod.

https://imgur.com/ZmPKrHA

05-14-2021, 06:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
EMac0408 Base Member Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: GA Posts: 15 Drives: Supercharged 09 370Z Rep Power: 3361	DIY: Dual Pillar Gauge Pod and Wiring Route Hello everyone, I'm pretty sure this is my first post (please excuse any editing I have to do after posting to correct the formatting), though I have been in the shadows of the forum since buying TBatt's Z a year ago. He did an incredible job with the modifications on the car, but I was never a big fan of having the boost/AFR and oil pressure gauges in one of Galeforce's center console mounts. I didn't like how long I had to take my eyes off the road to check the boost gauge, especially at full throttle. I also wanted the cubby back. I didn't find much online about running the wires, especially from the driver side, so I took some pictures of my dual pillar pod construction and rerouting the wires from the passenger side to the driver side. I'm just going to start with running the wires, because that might be what people are most interested in. I imagine people have their own methods of working on the interior panels, probably much better methods than mine. I don't have any experience working with fiberglass, so I only used standard body work materials and a universal dual gauge pod. Here we go. Previously, the wiring had been run through the large grommet in the battery compartment. I removed the trim around both compartments to get easier access. I pulled the wiring back through into the engine bay, and crossed them over running them behind/above the intake manifold into the brake fluid compartment. In the brake fluid compartment, there is a large grommet tucked in behind the ABS pump. You have to take off the trim around the compartment to get access, but it's still very cramped. Then… it got weird... I straightened out a coat hanger and sharpened one end to a needlepoint, jammed it through the top side of the grommet and threaded it around carefully until I felt a soft rebound indicative of the grommet that seals the interior of the car and then pierced it into the underside of the dash. The bundle of factory wires running through this grommet are pretty well protected but still be mindful not to pierce the bundle with the coat hanger. After I pulled the hanger down toward the floorboard, I used a razor knife to make a few radial cuts around the hanger inside and outside to allow the bundle of wires to pass through. I staggered the plugs on the wires to reduce the profile, bundled them with blue painter’s tape (easier removal), and fixed them to the dull end of the coat hanger. Pull them through firmly, but be careful not the damage the plugs if you’re unlucky like me and the plugs are already attached. It’s much easier to wire things up AFTER running the wires. https://imgur.com/1wjRJl4 https://imgur.com/P3OTBWZ This is where they come out under the dash: https://imgur.com/vA35xa8 https://imgur.com/JhAidV6 https://imgur.com/c9yaLpm Now you have to get the wires up to the pillar. Removing the pillar is easy. You just pull the trim toward the middle of the car and down, then the middle of the trim is secured by a loose connector to control the trim during airbag deployment. Twist the connector 90 degrees to release it from the slot you can see next to my hand in the image below. Then pull the pillar up out of the dash. The base slides out easily. https://imgur.com/WIuD2fc I cut the sharp tip off of the coat hanger I had used before so that I didn’t damage anything in the dash. I fed the tip of the coat hanger down through the hole where the clip on the pillar trim inserts. (I have already pulled the wires through in this picture.) https://imgur.com/1lS2cee I found it was an easier angle going through the slot instead of lateral to it, and the narrow opening helped keep the wires from pulling back through or spreading out into an unmanageable mess. To accommodate the wires, I trimmed the clip on the trim a bit: https://imgur.com/6HDEdBZ Down on the floorboard, you might get lucky and have the coat hanger slip straight through, or you may have to feel around a bit to get it out from behind the trim around the fuse box. https://imgur.com/o8m1I4E I reattached the wires to the coat hanger and pulled them through a few at a time, because the whole bundle won’t fit through the slot in the dash. Now for the gauge pods. I bought an extra pillar from a part-out and a universal dual gauge pod from ebay. It was a terrible fit, so I won't link to the seller. https://imgur.com/JyUteuo I used a heat gun and a Dremel to start forming and trimming the pods down to approximate the shape of the trim. I also ground down all of the supports inside to allow the pods to flex. JUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO DEFORM THE HOLES FOR THE GAUGES or melt the plastic. I mostly avoided that, but it would be a huge pain to have the reshape the holes to fit the gauges and smooth out the curves. https://imgur.com/3MhYqEX https://imgur.com/Hyz0zNf https://imgur.com/te1dvPo https://imgur.com/RnU8CC4 After shaping and trimming, I sanded the edge down to make it easier to blend them into the pillar. https://imgur.com/rRW2BWA https://imgur.com/Ft8cIMS Then I started drilling holes all around the edge for two reasons: 1) hold the pods in place with srcews while the epoxy sets up (5 minute epoxy from Harbor freight- it's the cheapest) 2) to allow the epoxy to squeeze into them and hopefully increase the adhesion. https://imgur.com/DEFugyW https://imgur.com/LJ9rA8t https://imgur.com/wKO4Cn3 Then I used Bondo body filler to start building up around the pods, alternating with 2-in-1 Rust-oleum sandable/filler primer and Bondo glazing & spot putty. https://imgur.com/48OWmQt The primer helps you see the real landscape of the surface and shows you where you need to add glaze to smooth things out and deal with the cellulite. https://imgur.com/RtFFuk4 After that I used black Rust-oleum Textured spray paint to finish it off. It was a great match. https://imgur.com/Au7Vyo0 It definitely was not fun trying to get the gauges plugged in with pre-set lengths of wire. You should wait to do the final wiring until you have everything pulled through the dash to minimize you headache and make sure you have enough slack to comfortably hook up the gauges and jam them into the pod. https://imgur.com/ZmPKrHA Last edited by EMac0408; 07-22-2021 at 07:30 AM.