UK Digi Speedo(99-03) Compatibility With My Italian Yaris (99-03)?

[Tommygunn]

As it stands, my 2003 Italian Yaris's digital speedo will have to be completely swapped out and replaced as it cannot show MPH, only KPH. Therefore, does anyone know, with any certainty, if I can take a UK speedo and simply drop it into the dashboard and wire it up?
No doubt there will be some calibration issues which the Toyota garage will have to sort out but apart from that will a UK unit be 'plug & play', so to speak?

Tom.

[CTScott]

There's no calibration for the instrument clusters, but there are significant wiring differences between the digital and analog ones for the first generation Yaris. The analog ones have two connectors with 22 and 18 pins. The digital ones have three connectors with 16, 10 and 22 pins.

So, to do the swap you would need the connectors as well as the cluster and then you would have to move some wires around.

I believe it would be fine, but it would be a bit of work. I have experimented with Australian and European digital clusters on a US analog equipped 2nd generation Yaris and they work fine, but require some minor moving around of pins as well (an in our case with the RHD Australian one on a US LHD car, it also requires lengthening the wires).

[Tommygunn]

CTScott,
I think you may have misunderstood what I was asking.
The Yaris, as it is now, IS digital i.e. it is an Italian spec digi speedo that only displays KPH.
To make the car UK road legal I need to swap it out for a UK digi unit that displays MPH (or both).

Since it seems a like for like swap, except for the mph/kph digi graphic, I just need to know if there will be any problems/compatibility issues if I attempt to just plug it in and give it a whirl.

When I mentioned calibration I was refering more to the fact that the Toyota garage might have to re-clock the unit to match my current mileage and maybe some funny business in case the speedo sensor isn't in sync with the speedo unit.

Tom.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Tommygunn

CTScott,
I think you may have misunderstood what I was asking.
The Yaris, as it is now, IS digital i.e. it is an Italian spec digi speedo that only displays KPH.
To make the car UK road legal I need to swap it out for a UK digi unit that displays MPH (or both).

Since it seems a like for like swap, except for the mph/kph digi graphic, I just need to know if there will be any problems/compatibility issues if I attempt to just plug it in and give it a whirl.

When I mentioned calibration I was refering more to the fact that the Toyota garage might have to re-clock the unit to match my current mileage and maybe some funny business in case the speedo sensor isn't in sync with the speedo unit.

Tom.

Yes - I definitely misread that. It will not be a problem to swap them. The mileage is not changeable on the cluster, so you will be stuck with the mileage from the replacement cluster (here in the US if we do that the dealer logs the speedometer replacement with the motor vehicle department and places a sticker on the door frame noting the difference in mileage).

The cluster itself takes the speed signal from the transmission and actually internally uses it in KPH. Then, depending on the intended use area, the data is either displayed as-is or is converted.

Some of the 2nd gen clusters can even be changed between MPH and KPH. I am not sure if any of the 1st gen ones supported that feature.

[daf62757]

CTScott, I am curious if you are a professional mechanic or own your own shop. You always have such detailed and expert answers. I appreciate having someone on this forum who is such a great asset to the other yaris owners.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by daf62757

CTScott, I am curious if you are a professional mechanic or own your own shop. You always have such detailed and expert answers. I appreciate having someone on this forum who is such a great asset to the other yaris owners.

Actually neither. I'm just a crazy Electrical Engineer who is too cheap and has too big of an ego to pay other people to do work for me. Automotive wiring and electronics are trivial compared to what I work on on a daily basis, so I never mind taking a peek at the EWDs to answer questions.

[Tommygunn]

CTScott,
That's great to hear and is certainly going to make life easier, and cheaper.

Cheers,
Tom.

[Tommygunn]

I've just had a reply from a seller on Ebay saying that, 'we do not know if this will fit but most petrol clocks do not fit in diesel cars'.

I have a TDI D-4D.

Any thoughts on this?

Tom.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Tommygunn

I've just had a reply from a seller on Ebay saying that, 'we do not know if this will fit but most petrol clocks do not fit in diesel cars'.

I have a TDI D-4D.

Any thoughts on this?

Tom.

I don't have EWDs for the 1st gen that show the difference between diesel and petrol, but for the second gen EWDs there are a couple of extra indicators for the D4D cluster (Fuel Filter Warning, Oil Level Warning) that are wired to pins that are unused on the petrol. There is also a GLOW indicator (for the glow plugs) that is driven by CAN bus message. My bet is that the Diesel cluster would work fine, but unfortunately I can't give you more than a guess.

[Tommygunn]

All done!!!

Received my 2nd hand speedo and button unit today and proceeded to install.
Plugged the speedo unit in and, oh no, main beam light and something else lit up. Turned the ignition one click then two clicks and nothing else. I thought I had blown it in more ways than one.
With nothing else to lose and my brain ticking over I suddenly thought that since the display is in reverse then maybe the wires in the plugs need to be put in reverse order.
I decided to do just the two rear plugs and leave the side plug and low and behold the display came to life. I was slightly panicked by the ABS light staying on but it turned out I had a wire out of place.
However, after fighting it into place, and having to resort to snapping off the front corner mount to allow it to pass the dashboard edge, I found out that when I indicated left I got the right hand light and when I indicated right I got the left light.
So, I had to remove the unit for about the fifth time and by tracing the lines on the printed ribbon I found which were the contacts for the indicators and swapped over the associated wires in the plugs.

Apart from going for a drive and testing against my GPS it is working perfectly.
I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Thanks,
Tom.

[Tommygunn]

Went for a drive and it is working perfectly according to my GPS. The GPS showed about 2-3mph below what the speedo was showing in the 30, 40 and 50mph brackets. The speedo clocked 4 miles of travel which was confirmed by the GPS.

Tom.