universal gauges

07turbeaux · #1

Gauges on my 968 do not all work. No Oil pressure, fuel level, and temp stay at zero. It is in shop and tech said it would be much cheaper to use some universal gauges than mess with the old gauges.
Has anyone here had any luck with this approach. I plan to install them into housing on the A pillar like in 944 Turbo so it will still look somewhat factory.

Wespa · #2

Don’t do it. Pillar pod gauges are an eyesore without exception, makes your 944 look like a ricer instantly. Never mind what one all-brand shop tech says, I bet you the problem is fixed in no time with all the resources and knowledge here at Carpokes..

Latitude48 · #3

The 968 instrument cluster could be pulled and sent out for repair to someone like North Hollywood Speedometer if you are in the USA. To me this is a far better option than what I consider to be a "tacky" add-on on the A-pillar. Could just be the sensors too if you haven't checked those.

Tom · #4

07turbeaux wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2026 11:25 am Gauges on my 968 do not all work. No Oil pressure, fuel level, and temp stay at zero. It is in shop and tech said it would be much cheaper to use some universal gauges than mess with the old gauges.
Has anyone here had any luck with this approach. I plan to install them into housing on the A pillar like in 944 Turbo so it will still look somewhat factory.

Just in case there is any confusion, the 944 turbo does not come from the factory with gauge pods on the a pillar. if you want to sort out the factory gauge cluster, just say the word and we can start troubleshooting

07turbeaux · #5

What keeps me from breaking out the multimeter is as I am entering my 8th decade I have a hell of a time getting under a dash. My research revealed that bad ground could be the culprit but that does require removing the cluster. Seems like it could be easy to harm something. A long Youtube seemed pretty scary to me as my hands while not as bad as Bill Clinton's (yes I watched his depo on C-span) they do shake quite a lot. If I stop taking the meds that keep me going, my hands would be very steady for a while and then I would drop dead.
I have always liked the A-pillar gauge position for boost and fuel pressure on my trucks but that is a matter of taste, rice-burner or whatever. I just want to be sure I have oil pressure, engine temp is within tolerances and I know how much fuel I have regardless if where I have to look.
Tom if you want to send me a link to helpful video I can try to troubleshoot but if it is reading electrical diags in Clark's garage I am no longer in a position to absorb that kind of new information
Thanks

07turbeaux · #6

While waiting for my Sachs clutch pack to arrive from D-land I told tech to pull the cluster. He was able to get it partially out but the last bit seems to hang up on some plastic tabs and he is reluctant to pull anymore. (ok, he has fingers like a stick of salami)
Is there a trick to this? If the tabs break what is worst thing?

Appreciate any help. ( I live in Central OR. where it is hard to find shops to work on German cars never mind transaxles)

93, Base 968

spacecad3t · #7

Hard to say not seeing what he has going on... but I usually do this.

1. Remove dash trim and the 4 screws that secure the cluster.
2. From drivers side, angle cluster, remove connection. Only 1 on this side. Brittle!
3. From passenger side, angle cluster, remove connections. 2 on this side. Brittle!
4. With the cluster disconnected and angled on the passenger side, tilt it backwards and it should just slide out from that side.

I didn't say remove the steering wheel, but sausage fingers may require that to get the thing to slide out... So with that...
Optional 3.5: Remove the steering wheel...

The 968 has airbags yeah? So that might suck for the tech.

Like others have said, send it out for rebuild, "they" (a couple options) do a great job! OR, just buy a working cluster off eBay/944 barn/Plyhammer, et al.

Tom · #8

I keep forgetting your age so can only give you credit for working through these issues. With each passing year I understand your challenge a little bit more...(some days a lot more)...

From your first post, it sounds like your fuel and temp gauge may be dead, and separately your oil sender is bad. Could be lots of causes, but if I had to handicap the cause(s) that would be my first guess. I'd ask the tech to check resistance from the G terminal of the oil sender to ground with the motor running. There's a good chance yours is a direct short to ground. If so, it needs to be replaced in order for any gauge to work -- factory or aftermarket! (In other words, until you figure out if your problems are caused by bad gauges --or by the signals going to these gauges-- buying new universal/aftermarket gauges could be just a waste of time and money.)

I don't really know what tab your tech is hung up on. There shouldn't be any tab? Maybe a picture would help us understand. With the steering wheel off, he just needs to remove the big black vent trim surround the cluster, the 4 screws holding the cluster in place, and the three edge connectors behind the cluster. That should be it, unless the 968 has something else this 944 guy isn't familiar with?

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If you are up for it, with the cluster out of the car, I'm sure we could guide you through testing each of the non-working gauges from the comfort of your kitchen table while sipping hot chocolate.

Just a matter of knowing which fingers on which edge connectors drive the gauges, and what to feed them to test. A 9 volt battery, a few alligator clips, and maybe a resistor or two should do it,

if the gauges themself are bad, they are easy to pop in and out of the cluster. If the gauges are good, then we'd need to see why they aren't getting the signals they need.

07turbeaux · #9

tom, i love hot cocoa especially with a splash of something stronger.
With tips I got here I feel I am prepared to pull the cluster at tech's shop. His main concern is that he might break it.
The oil sender sends signal through the firewall and while he feels it gets to the gauge it is there that things go blech.

Tom · #10

07turbeaux wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2026 7:10 pm tom, i love hot cocoa especially with a splash of something stronger.
With tips I got here I feel I am prepared to pull the cluster at tech's shop. His main concern is that he might break it.
The oil sender sends signal through the firewall and while he feels it gets to the gauge it is there that things go blech.

Any reasonably competent tech should be able to get the cluster out with damage -- it's not one of those procedures where there are plastic clips or similar things likely to break. Never say never, but a pretty low risk task. If you get it out, I'll come up with easy-to-do tests to see if those gauges are working or not.