MDC Delete and Analog Gauge Replacement How To

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  • Jeff d
    MC Devotee
    • May 2010
    • 1340

    #16
    Did you use an OE 3 wire solid state sender or a 2 wire mechanical sender?

    Comment

    • Jayhawk
      MC Fanatic
      • Oct 2013
      • 707

      #17
      Originally posted by ProStar Slalom View Post
      We bought our '01 in 2007. In 2008 I had to replace the MDC box because I didn't know anything about "winterizing" it, and it was damaged by water from the speedo tubes. A couple of years later I had to replace the oil pressure gauge. Last season I was having issues with both the fuel gauge and the voltage gauge. It was probably the fuel gauge causing issues with the volt gauge...but hard to troubleshoot.

      Anyway, followed Jeff's lead this weekend and replaced the entire set with analog gauges. I got the Faria gauge set shipped for about $130. Since I had an open spot where the "blank gauge" was, I added a Faria depth gauge while I was at it. All are working well. Thanks to Jeff for the great how-to write-up.

      For anyone still dealing with Medallion, I have an MDC and gauges for sale. The MDC is fine, and has never had speedo tubes attached since I was worried about water damage. All gauges are working fine, except for fuel and voltage...not sure about them.
      How much do you want for the MDC? Mine works fine, but it probably wouldn't hurt to have a spare.

      Comment

      • 76S&S
        MC Devotee
        • Jun 2007
        • 2320

        #18
        Jeff D, great write-up. Not sure if I'm ready to tackle this yet as most of my gauges work, but do you still have your original tach? If so I may be interested if the part number matches mine.
        Being on the water is best, but when I'm not on the water I'm on TT.

        2002 X Star
        Sold - 76 S&S

        Comment

        • Jeff d
          MC Devotee
          • May 2010
          • 1340

          #19
          Originally posted by 76S&S View Post
          Jeff D, great write-up. Not sure if I'm ready to tackle this yet as most of my gauges work, but do you still have your original tach? If so I may be interested if the part number matches mine.
          I have it but I wouldn't bother with it as it was one of the gauges that I had erratic behavior with.

          Comment

          • 76S&S
            MC Devotee
            • Jun 2007
            • 2320

            #20
            10-4, thanks
            Being on the water is best, but when I'm not on the water I'm on TT.

            2002 X Star
            Sold - 76 S&S

            Comment

            • ProStar Slalom
              TT Enthusiast
              • Dec 2006
              • 391

              #21
              Originally posted by Jeff d View Post
              Did you use an OE 3 wire solid state sender or a 2 wire mechanical sender?
              I found an OE 3-wire on Ebay. Didn't want to mess with changing the wiring back there. Not many of these left; next one will be mechanical I'm sure.

              Comment

              • Jeff d
                MC Devotee
                • May 2010
                • 1340

                #22
                Ok, I guess mine was bad then. Good to know it will work with a standard gauge.

                Comment

                • ProStar Slalom
                  TT Enthusiast
                  • Dec 2006
                  • 391

                  #23
                  Originally posted by Jeff d View Post
                  Ok, I guess mine was bad then. Good to know it will work with a standard gauge.
                  Follow-up. I thought I was good to go with OE 3-wire, but not so much. I was getting a signal to the gauge but only a small needle movement. Not sure why it wouldn't work since it's supposed to send the normal resistance range.

                  Anyway, switched to a 2-wire with a float and all is well. So for those who may be making the switch down the road...a 2-wire sender might need to be part of your plan.

                  Comment

                  • Bohmer410
                    TT Enthusiast
                    • Nov 2013
                    • 104

                    #24
                    Great Write-up!! Do you have any tips when reassembling the dash on, how to get to nuts back on the studs easily?

                    Comment

                    • Jeff d
                      MC Devotee
                      • May 2010
                      • 1340

                      #25
                      Originally posted by Bohmer410 View Post
                      Great Write-up!! Do you have any tips when reassembling the dash on, how to get to nuts back on the studs easily?
                      Not really. It's a pain. You have to be good at working by feel only.

                      Comment

                      • Scot
                        TT Regular
                        • May 2012
                        • 88

                        #26
                        Senders

                        Great job. I sold my Stars and Stripes with good old analog gauges. Now dealing with medallion issues. Thinking of doing the same but will have to fabricate a new panel as my Sanger is set up for 5 inch gauges. (Sorry I'm a traitor to MC). My question is regarding the sending units. Sounds like the stock units are compatible with analog gauges maybe with the exception of fuel? I am so fed up with medallion. My tach is broken, only available through a dealership, and on back order. The other gauges work intermittently and you have to knock on the MDC every so often to get them to work. Connections are good, it's the unit itself. So unnecessary IMO.

                        Comment

                        • Tsumi
                          MC Devotee
                          • Feb 2012
                          • 1594

                          #27
                          You would have to change out all of the gauges. All of them are fed with the digital signal from the MMDC, speedometer, RPM, oil pressure, temp, etc.

                          Oops, misread your post. Yeah, it seems like the stock sending units are fine. The fuel may or may not be fine, I think that has more to do with whether or not the fuel sender is functional or not. If it's still functional, I think it would be fine to continue using. If not, replace it with the float one.

                          Comment

                          • Jeff d
                            MC Devotee
                            • May 2010
                            • 1340

                            #28
                            The jury is still out on the fuel level sender. The oem centroid senders that MC have a terrible reputation to begin with. I'm pretty certain that a couple of years before I did the MDC-extomy I connected an ohm meter up to my centroid sender and it worked just as expected in the standard range. At some point between then and when I did the gauge swap it seems to have failed. The guy on the Supra forum didn't mention that he needed a new fuel level sender.

                            In either case the bolt pattern on the tanks is pretty standardized across the board and a Wema SS sender can be had for as little as $35 shipped (depending on the length you need). I'd just factor that into your budget and buy it if you need it after testing with the original sender. The Wema does need shorter screws than the centroid though so be aware of that. If you run screws in there that are too long they'll blow out the bottoms of the little pockets cast in the plastic of the tank. Then you'll be more likely to have leaks when fuel sloshes around and splashes up on there.

                            Comment

                            • CC2MC
                              MC Devotee
                              • Aug 2012
                              • 1424

                              #29
                              Jeff D, I noticed that the tach doesn't have the hour meter on there. What are you doing about that? I know PP has an hour meter on it, but it probably doesn't match up either, i'm guessing.

                              Comment

                              • Jeff d
                                MC Devotee
                                • May 2010
                                • 1340

                                #30
                                Originally posted by CC2MC View Post
                                Jeff D, I noticed that the tach doesn't have the hour meter on there. What are you doing about that? I know PP has an hour meter on it, but it probably doesn't match up either, i'm guessing.
                                Perfect pass has an hour meter and it can be synced up with actual hours. None of the tachs I've seen have provisions to roll them forward to match actual hours. Faria makes an identical tach to what I installed but with an hour meter but it's not available as part of a set. It would have cost quite a lot more to get the tach with the hour meter so I've opted just to use the one on my perfect pass.

                                Comment

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