Inclinometer Installation Tips

[GTSSportCoupe]

OK, a couple people have asked about wiring for the inclinometer, so here is the info as well as a couple of tips on hardware installation.

The inclinometer came stock in 83-84 tercel 4wd SR5s (I believe). So if you have an 83-84 tercel 4wd (non SR5), it should have the same chassis wiring harness as the SR5, meaning you can plug the inclinometer right into the plug that is made for it.

If you have an 85-88 tercel 4wd, it is a little bit more work:

Mounting

You will have to drill three mounting holes as well as a wire hole for the inclinometer. There is a metal bracket that will mount to the dash, and then the inclinometer will screw to the metal bracket. I drilled the holes into the dash for the metal bracket with the dash removed from the car. If you want to do a really good job and have the inclinometer sit well positioned on the dash, this is the way to go. It is actually not too difficult to remove the dash if you follow the instructions in the toyota manual. Once you have the dash removed, you will notice that there are actually spots molded into the dash (underneath) where the bolts for the inclinometer need to go. I drilled holes right in the middle of these spots, and the inclinometer lined up perfectly. I'm sure most will be too lazy to remove their dash though, so you can do what you can to make it line up well if you go this route.

Wiring

I did my wiring for the inclinometer after I had the dash put back together; minus the gauge cluster. You will have to wire into two connectors from the gauge cluster to make things work right. The wiring will be as follows:

7-position connector in guage cluster hood right side:
- R-Wh stripe wire of inclinometer to Y wire of hood connector
- Wh-Bl stripe wire of inclinometer to R-G wire of hood connector

12-position connector in guage cluster:
- R wire of inclinometer to G-R wire of guage connector
- Bl wire of inclinometer to G-Y wire of guage connector

I cut the wires going into the connectors, and spliced them back together with the inclinometer wires. I soldered the connections and then put heat shrink/electrical tape of them.

How it should work:

When it's all said and done, it should work as follows:

- When you turn your head lights on, the backlighting of the inclinometer should come on.
- If you put your car in 4wd (with key in the 'on' position) with headlights on, the 4wd indicator of the inclinometer should come on.
- If you put your car in 4wd (with key in the 'on' position) with headlights off, the 4wd indicator of the inclinometer should come on again, but more bright this time.

So basically it shows when you are in 4wd, and has back lighting for when your headlights come on, as well as a dimmer cct to make the 4wd go dimmer with the headlights on.

[unclejemima]

Where does the average guy get a inclinometer to mount in his non sr5 or after 86 tercel?

Do they surface on ebay often? Can you still get them from the dealer?

Does anybody have a good pic of one?
-mark

[takza]

Search for.......... toyota inclinometer ............ on Ebay...should see one there.

[3A-C Power]

Mostly from 83-84 SR5's which all have them. You could search car-part.com for those years of tercel and then ask them if they still have the inclinometer. They also come up on ebay often.

[GTSSportCoupe]

If you can, try to get one out of a wrecker car yourself. Then you can make sure you get the metal bracket that goes with it. You can also see first hand how they are installed. Attached is a pic of the one in my car. I had to paint the hood black to match my interior (it was originally beige).

[Chris]

I think the early 4Runners had them also, only instead of the 4WD indicator they had an altimeter.

[Eatpants]

found one at a junkyard a year ago, wanted to rip it out but didnt even begin to fathom the wiring, great guide

[takza]

GRADE/TILT INDICATOR WITH BUILT-IN MINI COMPASS.........$24.95

<a href='http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Prod ... 66/c-10101' target='_blank'>http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Prod ... c-10101</a>

............won't last 20 years?

[3A-C Power]

Who wants Jeep graphics on their inclinometer? Not me.

[Typrus]

My 84 has an Inclinometer in it, but the grade meter is busted and the tilt is kinda screwy. Also... WHERE THE HECK IS MY EL INDICATOR?
Fix suggestions?

Also... How could I kill the Jeep part on that inclinometer? I like the prospect of a workingone, but not not having that cool 4wd indicator and having 2 jeeps on my dash.

[Eatpants]

do i want to just cut the wires off the inclinometer (from my partscar) ?

also where is the gauge cluster?

[GTSSportCoupe]

do i want to just cut the wires off the inclinometer (from my partscar) ?

also where is the gauge cluster?

Cut as long a wires as possible from the donor car.

The guage cluster is the piece of your car with the speedo, fuel gauge, temp guage, tach etc.

[Hteverow]

Just did this today--thanks for all the tips! I took the measurements of where to drill the holes based on where they were on the donor car. And the only bits I needed to disassemble off the car I put the inclinometer into, were to remove the glove box, gauge hood, and instrument cluster. That gave me access to the three 8mm bolts that hold down the metal bracket for the inclinometer and enough space to wire.