DIY - Ethanol content display in OEM clock. PIC HEAVY
 

Greetings! This DIY will walk you through how to modify your stock clock to accept an ethanol display for those 86 owners out there running flex fuel or straight e85!

http://i.imgur.com/TEZaS5dh.jpg

You will need the following upgrades before beginning:
A Zeitronix flex fuel fuel kit, I picked mine up from @Moto-Phil and @moto-mike at Moto-East. The specific components you will need are the ECA-2 analyzer and a "hacker/tweaker" display board (aside from your flex sensor and wiring). You do NOT want the integrated display/analyzer "ECA" unit (square gauge). It has to be the "ECA-2" unit. Confirmed- the round gauge display WILL NOT work. Best practice currently is use the hacker/tweeker board. You can view the items needed here: http://www.zeitronix.com/order/order.htm#SECTION_ECA

Get a hold of Mike or Phil from MotoEast and they will be able to get a better price than going through Zeitronix directly. They are also awesome dudes. Very helpful and awesome customer service. They now offer the the "hacker/tweaker board" on their site as an option to sell in their kit. Let them know what you want and they will get it for you.

This modification does not alter the clock circuit board so airbags and seat belt function is normal. We will be covering up the light indicators for the airbag and seatbelt warnings but that is it. You will still get chimes for not wearing your seatbelt (unless you have the Carista app like me).

So lets get started. Here is the list of tools and items you will need:
Plastic trim tools
Screwdrivers
Razor blade
Dremel tool with cut off wheels/polishing wheels
Hot glue gun
LightDims (or similar)
Zipties.

The cost of doing this modification is less than $10. The pack of Lightdims cost me $5 and only used a single hot glue stick and some Dremel consumables.

Time: about 2 hours total.

Im assuming you have already taken your HVAC unit out of the dash. If you need help doing that: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8336

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Remove two philips screws

http://i.imgur.com/TwnBFq0h.jpg

Use a flathead to pop the push clips at all four corners to remove the back panel.

http://i.imgur.com/rf1cG9Xh.jpg
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Remove these two screws to detach the board. You will NOT have to unscrew the clock from the board. Just leave it alone.

http://i.imgur.com/0SE7zKUh.jpg
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Remove board.

http://i.imgur.com/Oww8PEXh.jpg

Try not to lose these clock button extensions. They fall right out. Just set them aside for now.

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Lets pop the clear cover off now.

http://i.imgur.com/BX0kiTAh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/sjhF28ch.jpg

We will remove the PASSENGER print at a later step.

http://i.imgur.com/pwNQt6uh.jpg

Pop the indicator display out and set aside.

http://i.imgur.com/9xcrGXuh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/jFO1vkeh.jpg

Back view of the new board. This may sounds scary to some but is very easy to do. Take your dremel and trim about 1/32" from the top and bottom edges of the new board. It is a really tight squeeze without doing this. Only take off as much as you need to get it fit and be conscious of the circuits on the board not to cut or grind through them. See pics to see what I did.

http://i.imgur.com/3CPBBnLh.jpg?1

Now the comes the scary part for some. We are going to take a dremel and cut out all of these internal light projectors. All they do is project light from the LEDs on the board to the backside of the display screen. Take your time and go slow. Keep your new LED board handy and check for fitment. Once its fits in nice, stop. No need to go overboard on this. Word of warning, try not to cut through the outside of the clock enclosure. We are only removing these internal structures.

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Lets talk about LightDims. These are easy to find at computer stores like Microcenter or Amazon. They are going to dim the LED display because the display on the board is SUPER bright and intended to be used behind a tinting screen or smoked out lens. This particular set blocks 50-80%. Im sure filters can found at camera shops. If I can to critique this, Its a little dark compared to the stock light output of the dash lights. Even at night. But its very acceptable and Im happy with this setup.

http://i.imgur.com/BB74UhOh.jpg
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Lets add some LightDims to the clock board LEDs so we dont get any weird background light from around our new display.

http://i.imgur.com/oE3P2JYh.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/vCogUCKh.jpg?1

While we have the clear front cover off, lets remove the PASSENGER print. This isnt required unless you want everyone who ever sees it to go, "wow, the enthanol content of your passenger sure is high... dur dur dur" Sadly this isnt just silkscreened to the surface of the cover, it is thermally pressed. Which means its going to be difficult to looks perfect. I took a 240grit stone on my dremel and lightly removed the letters. Once you see the white pigment disappearing, STOP. Dont go any deeper. I wish I had plastic polish but I didnt. Toothpaste works almost as good. Use it on a polishing fabric wheel on your dremel to smooth things out. Its not perfect but it is not noticeable once installed.

http://i.imgur.com/drxGawph.jpg?1
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Alright, plug the hot glue gun in and let it warm up. we are ready to mount the new display.

http://i.imgur.com/ZLPeM2ih.jpg
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Ok. Now to dim this display. There are two methods. The easy way I will outline first and then the better way I will outline second.

Method one is to just put LightDim on the inside of the clear cover all the way over to the hazard button. Its definitely easy to do this but because it is not right on top of the display, it diffuses the light a little weird from the display. Makes it look slightly blurry. Hard to tell from the photo below.

http://i.imgur.com/SVfg3eHh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Qtc22EBh.jpg

I didnt like the look of this so I went back and did it the other way. It takes a little longer but the display is sharper. Mark and cut up the original display sheet and hot glue it in place. Use LightDim on any part that still has clear images on it.

http://i.imgur.com/tzg69Vvh.jpg?1
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Time to put the clock board back in and the back panel. We need to modify the clock board slightly and take a small piece from the corner. Dont worry, there are no circuits or components in this area. We need to do this make room for the new board cable.

http://i.imgur.com/NY1earrh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/G3hNYZkh.jpg

While you have the dremel out, gring this screw support down flush. It is not used anyway. If left, it pinches your display cable. Also port a hole in this area to feed your display cable through. It has a phone jack connector so just make it big enough to pass through the back side of the panel. I didn't notch the top or bottom of the back panel for the cable because of clearance issues being installed on the HVAC unit. It may be possible but I didnt opt to try.

http://i.imgur.com/uuQaUTlh.jpg?1
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Reinstall back into the HVAC unit and take it out to the car to test fit and check functionality.

http://i.imgur.com/BQtSkXdh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1QIcxYOh.jpg
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http://i.imgur.com/Qtc22EBh.jpg

Finished product!

http://i.imgur.com/TEZaS5dh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/CpJqkwVh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Vb3fnl4h.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4i5ik66h.jpg
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http://i.imgur.com/0DSW9aQh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/zGRrMBMh.jpg

Hope this helps! Please feel free to offer up suggestions or better methods. If there are any questions, please feel free to post.

Thanks
Sam

I was looking to do this same thing but never got around to it. Awesome job.

AWESOME! The "hacker tweaker" is an option that you can get with our flex fuel kit, we've just added it as a drop down to make it easier so it can just be ordered with the full kit :D

Awesome guide thanks for sharing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Man I want to do this and I don't even have access to E85 lol!! Great write up!

U got the $13x display instead of gauge right? I may have to replace mine with this one

Beautiful!!

I already have a display replacing the Clock for my radar detector. Having the other display changed like you did would be awesome :respekt:

Awesome creativeness!

Would it be just as easy to have the gauge where the clock is instead of the airbag light? My headunit has a clock, so the unit in-dash is pointless

awesome job m8!

wow great DIY

Will definitely be doing this once i go e85. Great job!

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

So awesome

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Yes. You may be able to use the display from your gauge if you have the round one. No need to buy it twice.

Ha! Thanks man, if it weren't for your DIY on the radar detector, i wouldn't have even thought to try this.

Yes! Just delete your clock. It is screwed to the board, just remove. There is ample room on that side for a new display.

Thanks for the awesome feedback guys. Glad i could contribute to a place that has served me time and time again with great info and friendly enthusiasts.

Sam