How To: Upgrade your gauge cluster from SR to SR5+

Bob_Lee_Swagger · Dec 25, 2017

Clearwater Bill said: ↑

It's nice to see a significant technical venture/write up in the 3rd Gen forum!

The dozens of daily threads on wheels, tires, suspension, grills, plastidip, bed decals, window tint, type of oil and LED lights does make one wonder where the creativity is after a while.

Good job! Having something that looks OE that isn't OE, or how OE should have built it, is one of my favorite types of mod.

Subtle.
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I'm the exact same way. If I can do a mod and have it look OE or be controlled by something that is already OE (light bar comes on with high beams or fog light switch) I'm extremely happy. There's nothing better than having nice aftermarket parts/upgrades that integrate 100% with the OEM equipment.

Claudiomartinof · Dec 25, 2017

Bob_Lee_Swagger[OP] said: ↑

I've only owned my Tacoma for 2 weeks and I haven't had time to go through the forums much so I'm not aware of the mod you're talking about. I will say that I didn't see an info page for TPMS in the upgraded cluster. Not sure if that means anything or not
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There is a “page” on the upgraded cluster that shows the tire pressure on each tire... like a drawing of the truck from the top and shows the pressure on each tire..

Bob_Lee_Swagger · Dec 25, 2017

Claudiomartinof said: ↑

There is a “page” on the upgraded cluster that shows the tire pressure on each tire... like a drawing of the truck from the top and shows the pressure on each tire..
Click to expand...

Ahhh. Ya, I don't see that on my gauge cluster unfortunately

Claudiomartinof · Dec 25, 2017

Bob_Lee_Swagger[OP] said: ↑

Ahhh. Ya, I don't see that on my gauge cluster unfortunately
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It’s a great update even if it does not have that option..

Claudiomartinof · Dec 25, 2017

I’m having a hard time trying to find the right steering wheel control pad item number.. if someone knows it please post... thanks!!!

Bob_Lee_Swagger · Dec 25, 2017

Claudiomartinof said: ↑

I’m having a hard time trying to find the right steering wheel control pad item number.. if someone knows it please post... thanks!!!
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I'm a technician at a repair shop. I personally called our Toyota rep and they couldn't get me the part number, the guy had no idea what I was talking about even after giving him the part number for the left control pad. I then had our parts manager call another Toyota rep and they couldn't get it either. I just looked on ebay and maybe 4 days ago or so there were probably 5-6 clusters and 2 sets of control pads on there. They all seem to be gone now!!

2016Tacoman · Dec 25, 2017

Bob_Lee_Swagger[OP] initial post: ↑

Before:

After:

What you need:
1) Upgraded SR5+ gauge cluster (OEM #83800-04F00-RP)
2) Both left and right hand steering wheel pads with wiring (Left pad OEM #84247-04020-c1. Couldn't find the right pad part number I'd assume it's similar)
3) Panel tool
4) Stubby Phillips head #2 screwdriver (or drill with long extension)
5) Small flathead pocket screwdriver with magnet
6) T27 bit
7) 10mm wrench or socket with socket wrench
8) Diagonal cutters / wire snips
9) Electrical tape
10) In-line wire strippers
11) 1 inch of small (18-24 gauge) bare wire
12) Solder
13) Soldering iron

Gauge cluster remove/replace steps:
1) Using 10mm socket, disconnect negative battery terminal and wait at least 5 minutes before continuing

2) Using pry tool, remove radio bezel (start in the top right corner with pry tool and then work your way down and towards the drivers side. It's held in with plastic clips)

3) Using pry tool, remove gauge cluster bezel (start in top left then work your way down and towards the passenger side. Also held in with only plastic clips. Blue squares show clip locations)

4) Using #2 Phillips head screwdriver, remove the 4 exposed screws holding in the gauge cluster and disconnect the 2 connectors in the back (red squares in the picture above)
5) Plug in new cluster and reassemble dash

Steering wheel control pads remove/replace steps:
1) Using small flat head, remove 2 access covers on the rear side of steering wheel to expose airbag bolts
2) Using T27 bit remove two screws holding in airbag and pull the airbag out

3) Using small flat head, pry up (perpendicular to airbag) on the yellow retaining clips, then pry up on the connector in the same direction

4) Using small flat head, pry up on retaining clip of *special* horn female spade connector on airbag (forgot to get a picture of this but the spade connector comes from the steering pad control harness that plugs into the spiral cable and goes to the bottom of the airbag)

5) Using #2 Phillips head screwdriver, remove the 4 exposed screws holding in the left and right steering wheel pads (screws may fall into steering wheel so having a magnet handy is a good idea). Disconnect the connector from the spiral cable and remove both control pads by pulling straight out.

6) Problem solving step: PCB on left is the original SR left hand steering pad and right is the upgraded one. The original pad uses a common earth for the switches and LED's while the new one has a ground circuit specifically for the LED's, meaning you won't have a ground for the LED's and thus, no light. You need to splice the purple wire into the mint green wire in order to supply ground to the pad LED's. I did this near the right hand steering pad connector but you can do it on the PCB itself or before the spiral cable.

7) Using the in-line wire strippers, strip away some wire on the mint wire and purple wire and remove the connector from the PCB
8) Using a small piece of small gauge bare wire and soldering iron, connect and solder the mint and purple wires together.

9) Using electrical tape, tape up the soldered area and re-insert the connectors
10) Plug in the new steering wheel pads and reassemble the steering wheel
11) Reattach negative cable and test

Notes:
1) Toyota was nice and made the immobilizer circuit external from the gauge cluster so no need to reprogram keys
2) Any time you're messing with the SRS system make sure you disconnect the battery for at least 5 minutes and take all the proper SRS servicing precautions
3) The odometer reading is stored in the cluster and the ECM. If they don't match, this will tip off the dealer or repair shop so make sure to let them know otherwise you may get into some trouble. If you don't have the knowledge or ability to reprogram the cluster odometer reading yourself then you have 2 options.
a) Take your truck to the dealer and have them send the new cluster out for odometer reprogramming
b) Take your truck with the old and new clusters to the dealer or DMV. They should notate and create a sticker for your door jam with the date of swap and old and new odometer readings

Some of the pages and features of the new gauge cluster:

The only complaint I have is that there is no cruise control indicators. I think I may end up pulling the gauge cluster and swapping some pins to use the seatbelt LED or another unused indicator as the cruise control indicator.

If you aren't 100% comfortable working with electrical systems, especially on a new truck, take your parts to a friend or shop that is. If anybody has any questions I'll try to get to them as soon as I can.

At a grand total of $170, I hope this is a mod that a lot of you guys can benefit from definitely makes me feel like I'm in a higher end truck compared to that terrible SR cluster! Keep an eye out for some more fun mods/guides from me!
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Wow. OP. Just wow.
I saw your celica design and programming also.
You are a true valuable asset to this board.
Can't wait to see what you come up with in the future.
Good work.

Bob_Lee_Swagger · Dec 25, 2017

2016Tacoman said: ↑

Wow. OP. Just wow.
I saw your celica design and programming also.
You are an true valuable asset to this board.
Can't wait to see what you come up with in the future.
Good work.
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I appreciate the kind words! I'm very much open to suggestions as well. So if anybody has some requests I'd be happy to explore them in my free time

jwilson2899 · Dec 26, 2017

Bob_Lee_Swagger[OP] said: ↑

This cluster is from a 16 TRD OR I believe. But there is no cruise or set indicators of any kind even in the gauge face overlay. I may have to look further into the circuits and see if the wiring for cruise is the same between the SR and SR5+ models.
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I was looking at that and your post about tire pressure sensors, and I see yours has less pages than mine does. This also shows the cruise indicator I was talking about:

thetoyotaman · Dec 26, 2017

I thought they all had the same amount of pages. Are there differences between the multifunction displays?

Bob_Lee_Swagger · Dec 26, 2017

jwilson2899 said: ↑

I was looking at that and your post about tire pressure sensors, and I see yours has less pages than mine does. This also shows the cruise indicator I was talking about:

Click to expand...

Gotcha. I think you may have to have certain modules that communicate with the gauge cluster in order for those pages to show up. I wasn't expecting to have the navigation or radio controls show up but maybe I received an SR5 cluster and the TRD and TRD OR editions have a few more unlocked features.

Also a good note, the gauge cluster does have an option to go into "firmware update" so it may be as easy as flashing the TRD OR firmware onto it in order to unlock all those options

stun gun · Dec 26, 2017

Best write up I’ve ever seen here. 10/10

Points awarded for flawless layout, quality pics, list for parts and tools as well as pics for identification and last but not least, top notch instruction.

Sadly, I will not be partaking in this mod. Even if all the tools and parts were laid out in front of me and I didn’t have to pay a dime... I’d probably just go take a nap instead.

Honestly you had me with them little red arrows.

BillyToy · Dec 26, 2017

Hmmm.
Got me thinking. If I ever have to replace my plexiglass/cluster, I'm going SR.

Save your parts for me.

roger2chris · Dec 26, 2017

Thanks for this mod it’s great information and very useful

MESO · Dec 26, 2017

BillyToy said: ↑

Hmmm.
Got me thinking. If I ever have to replace my plexiglass/cluster, I'm going SR.

Save your parts for me.
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Downgrade???

roger2chris · Dec 26, 2017

I got lots of SR parts if you need

BillyToy · Dec 26, 2017

mesojdm said: ↑

Downgrade???
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I know, it hurts you @mesojdm. Think of it though. It would be so poetic.

Don't we all try to maintain a Pro exterior?

MESO · Dec 26, 2017

BillyToy said: ↑

I know, it hurts you @mesojdm. Think of it though. It would be so poetic.

Don't we all try to maintain a Pro exterior?
Click to expand...

I'm all about simplicity and being different. But I'm not down to loose features like TPMS, radio info and vehicle settings

forrest1st · Dec 26, 2017

Bob_Lee_Swagger[OP] said: ↑

This cluster is from a 16 TRD OR I believe. But there is no cruise or set indicators of any kind even in the gauge face overlay. I may have to look further into the circuits and see if the wiring for cruise is the same between the SR and SR5+ models.
Click to expand...

my 2016 SR5 had the cruise control light in the exact same place as my 2017 TRD-Offroad. i wonder if since the sr had cruise control as an add-on if the wiring is different then on sr5 and above.

BillyToy · Dec 26, 2017

mesojdm said: ↑

I'm all about simplicity and being different. But I'm not down to loose features like TPMS, radio info and vehicle settings
Click to expand...

Alright, alright. I'm reinable. I get carried away sometimes.

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How To: Upgrade your gauge cluster from SR to SR5+

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