How to De-pin & Re-pin 94-98 Mustang Cluster Connectors
The are two connectors on the back of the cluster can be de-pinned and re-pinned in order to make one generation of cluster work in another generation car. Most likely this will be done to allow a 98 cluster to be used in a 96 or 97 car or vice-versa.
Here is how to de-pin and re-pin the cluster connectors. This example explains how to do the 98 to 96 or 97 cluster swap or vice versa. To learn more about cluster pinout differences, click
here.
Here is a picture of a cluster connector. This one is black, and the other is white, but both work exactly the same way.
The two pins you need to swap are pins 14 and 15 of connector C250. C250 is the right hand connector when viewing the cluster from the rear, and the two pins you need to swap are the second and third pins from the right of the connector when viewed from the back of the cluster. On my 96/97 harness, pin 14 (Temp gauge signal) is a red wire with a white strip. Pin 15 (GND) is an orange wire with a yellow stripe.
While sitting in the car with the cluster out, the connector in question is the one on the left, closest to the door. To use a 98 cluster in your car, you want the leftmost wires to have the following colors from the left: Pin 16 - R/Y, Pin 15 - R/W, Pin 14 - O/Y. To use a 96/97 cluster in your car, you want the leftmost wires to have the following colors, from the left: Pin 16 - R/Y, Pin 15 - O/Y, Pin 14 - R/W.
To de-pin the cluster connectors, I use a very small jeweler's flat bladed screwdriver. You first have to open the back of the connector, by prying the hooks on each side of the connector over the tabs, and opening up the hinged section of the back of the connector.
Here you can see the connector after it has been opened:
Once the connector is open, you can then push down on the black plastic tab in the hole in the connector pin to release the pin. While pushing down on the black plastic tab, pull back on the wire and the pin will come out.
Here is the pin sliding out:
And here the pin is out:
To put a pin back in, just slide the pin into the connector body until it clicks into place.
To do your swap, pull out pins 14 and 15 as described above, swap them, and put them back in to do your inter-generational cluster swap between 98 and 96/97.
When you have the pins configured how you want, close the back of the connector til it clicks and you are done.