Possible to swap speedometer to right side?

Hey guys,

Not sure if jeeplab.com is the right place to ask this question, but does anyone know if it is possible to flip/flop the speedo and tach in the dash? I can't ever figure out why car designers think the speedo should be on the left, but for us manual trans guys, it's a pain because your left hand covers the speedo while you're driving down the road so you're constantly lifting your hand to verify speed. I'd like to swap it back over to the right side (of the cluster) so I can see it better while driving (love to do the same with the fuel gauge to!) My guess is that the entire cluster is sealed and this can't be done, but figured it was worth asking. I've looked for aftermarket clusters, but all of them have the speedo on the dumb side as well. I've even looked for mopar and after market right hand drive clusters in hopes that maybe they flip/flopped them, but unfortunately they didn't, the rhd guys get the speedo in the correct spot ;-(

I've never had this problem. Sounds like maybe you hold the top of the steering wheel? I hold the left side of it. You might want to consider changing your habit so the airbag doesn't slam your arm into your face in an accident.

Ba hahaha, that's hilarious. Change my hand hold to the left side so that my arm doesn't hit my face during an accident. Let me tell you, as one that's been in an 80 mph head on collision, my top vs. left hand position will matter little during an accident to help prevent injury, you are at the mercy of physics and God to survive.

<sarc>
As for changing to the left of the steering wheel to see speedo. Seems like a novel solution to a problem that never should have existed, and I don't care for it (quote from Top Gear UK,) but thanks for the obvious easy solution. I have trouble seeing out the rear window when backing up due to the larger tire. Should I... A) Add a rear backup camera, B) Remove the spare tire entirely, or C) Just get out of the vehicle each time to check behind me before backing up? Seems like C) is also the equally obvious easy solution ;-)
</sarc>

Not so hilarious: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/cons...-wrong-f518710

Yes, you are at the mercy of physics in a crash. Physics will tell you that you have a much higher chance of serious face/head/arm injury if your arm is in between the air back and your face. You can make decisions and form habits that will put physics more on your side in case of a crash.

Also, how about a 15mph fender-bender that sets the airbag off? Your arm position could be the difference between serious injury and minor injury (or none at all). Not all accidents are 80+ mph crashes where nothing but luck will save you.

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Among the injuries the NHTSA reports from improper placement of the hands when an airbag deploys are amputations of fingers or entire hands, traumatic fractures and a particularly stomach-churning injury called "degloving," which — trust us — you definitely don't want to look up.

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Degloving is nasty. That by itself should be enough to convince you that you should keep your hand/arm away from the path of the airbag.

Last reply, and then I'm off this topic of hand placement for safety, it's just too silly to even argue about, and it doesn't help me with my desire of flipping the speedo to the right side.

If we are going to go down this road, then might as well get back to what the German's were doing years ago, and not put cup holders in the vehicles and not put controls on the steering wheel and/or ANYTHING else in the vehicle that could potentially put any part of your body in the wrong position during a crash (ie. EVERYTHING but the steering wheel with hands positioned correctly!) Your argument reminds me one time of my mom telling me to "thoroughly wash that apple because of all the pesticides on it" to which I looked at her, set down the apple and grabbed the brownie on the plate next to it instead... She never commented on those nasty "pesticides" again. Ooooh, and BTW... When I drive with my "hand on top" of the steering wheel, I rest my elbow on the left door sill, so my "arm" isn't even in front of the air bag. BOOM! Take dat! Seriously, who drives with their hand on top of the steering wheel and their arm in front of the air bag? That would just be awkward. You'd have to have your arm tucked into your stomach just to position it in front of the air bag.

I truly believe the best solution is to avoid the accident in the first place by having your eyes up and looking out the window. Those 15 MPH accidents you refer to are often the result of distractions in the cab, not of drivers actively looking out the window and driving defensively. Putting the speedo on the right, along with the fuel gauge on the right, helps to reduce heads-down time.

Okay, I'm done with this safety debate, this doesn't have ANYTHING to do with my original question. So basically I'm gathering that from your experience that you don't believe swapping the speedo/tach can be done?

As a software engineer that deals with customer enhancement requests, I never simply answer the exact question as it is asked. I try to dig deeper, find the root cause of the problem, and find the best solution to the problem.

Your root problem is that your hand is blocking your view of the speedometer.

I offered a solution to your problem (don't put your hand in the way of viewing the speedometer, grip the left side of the steering wheel) that is simple, free, avoids custom reconfiguring of your dashboard, and also happens to be the recommended hand placement based of accident studies to reduce chance of injury (bonus!).

You're right when you said that it is a solution to a problem that shouldn't have existed in the first place. You are the one that created the problem by putting your hand in the way. I think you are looking for a solution for a problem that doesn't exist (speedo being in the "wrong" place).

I doubt you will find anyone with experience in trying to swap the speedo and tachometer, because it's not a problem that needs to be solved. If you insist on placing your hand between your eyes and the speedometer and that the only solution is to move the speedometer, then please be the first to dig into it, make it happen, and post a write-up here.

Ugh... I wrote up a lengthy reply and then deleted it to help keep this discussion civilized. If you knew anything about me (which obviously nobody does as I'm new here) than you wouldn't toss around programming and root cause crap in my face. I could talk poor UX, DB and code design all day.

I'll just leave it at this one line of my long reply that I originally wrote -> I have an Audi A4, and the speedo and fuel gauge is on the right, and it makes a world of difference to the "end user" to be able to see the speed quickly when traveling down the road. Given the chance for users to experience speedo left or speedo right, I personally believe the majority would pick speedo right (interesting that Audi interiors win awards every year, and this is what they have chosen.)

A couple strategically positioned mirrors could achieve your desired outcome with low effort/cost :)

Buy a Right-Hand next time? Not exactly sure on the speedo placement on one of those babies.

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Originally Posted by WhiteRavenRR

Buy a Right-Hand next time? Not exactly sure on the speedo placement on one of those babies.

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Already looked at Mopar RHD instrument cluster, and unfortunately it uses the same layout as LHD, otherwise I'd just order one and put it in. So basically, RHD drivers don't have this problem because their right hand is on the wheel and they can see speedo just fine.

Besides, I don't think my Jeep goes fast enough for me to be concerned about speeding.

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Originally Posted by Timmy

Already looked at Mopar RHD instrument cluster, and unfortunately it uses the same layout as LHD, otherwise I'd just order one and put it in. So basically, RHD drivers don't have this problem because their right hand is on the wheel and they can see speedo just fine.

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It figures they are the same. Saves money on building one design instead of two.

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Originally Posted by UselessPickles

A couple strategically positioned mirrors could achieve your desired outcome with low effort/cost :)

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touché - Of course, we'll have to go high tech with a camera and monitor otherwise the mirror will have a reversed image, and I just don't read reverse speedo as well as I used to.

Anyone got a pic of the backside of the cluster?

If its individual parts, and you could just switch them, that would work. I know the speedo would read the RPM, but you could buy new dials from AEV, and switch them.

They change the dials on their kits, so they are getting in there somehow. I think this can be done. It all matters, whats behind the cluster.

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Originally Posted by JeepLab

Anyone got a pic of the backside of the cluster?

If its individual parts, and you could just switch them, that would work. I know the speedo would read the RPM, but you could buy new dials from AEV, and switch them.

They change the dials on their kits, so they are getting in there somehow. I think this can be done. It all matters, whats behind the cluster.

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Yeah, thanks for that suggestion. I have seen a number of plates from AEV and others that change the look/color of the graphics. That's what made me think there *might* be a chance you could just swap the speedo/tach right to left.

While not the exact fix you were looking for both the Diablo and SuperChips programmers that have a smartphone like screen do have a digital speedo you can view. If you went with one of these (considering you are interested in shifting at speed I am assuming you are interested in performance and may be looking at one of these) you could use that instead of the dash speedo when needed. Not ideal...but possible.

As far as your original question - I have seen full gauge swaps so I know these are individual gauges and would be really surprised if the connections were fixed in the housing. Wait...isn't this why Google was created? Yep...Google image search of a Jeep instrument cluster shows:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Uu4t0g_lrvw/Se...0/IMG_0309.jpg

(Hot linked image so you may have to do your own search)

Looks like a 5 minute job to pull the cluster - a bit to swap the gauges and just reverse the wiring harness plugs. Of course who knows what this will do to your warning lights and secondary gauges but should be fun to play with. A couple screwdrivers and less than an hour and you will know either way.

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Originally Posted by DHewes

While not the exact fix you were looking for both the Diablo and SuperChips programmers that have a smartphone like screen do have a digital speedo you can view. If you went with one of these (considering you are interested in shifting at speed I am assuming you are interested in performance and may be looking at one of these) you could use that instead of the dash speedo when needed. Not ideal...but possible.

As far as your original question - I have seen full gauge swaps so I know these are individual gauges and would be really surprised if the connections were fixed in the housing. Wait...isn't this why Google was created? Yep...Google image search of a Jeep instrument cluster shows:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Uu4t0g_lrvw/Se...0/IMG_0309.jpg

(Hot linked image so you may have to do your own search)

Looks like a 5 minute job to pull the cluster - a bit to swap the gauges and just reverse the wiring harness plugs. Of course who knows what this will do to your warning lights and secondary gauges but should be fun to play with. A couple screwdrivers and less than an hour and you will know either way.

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Thanks, mind if I asked if that is a JK cluster? Any searches I've done on google have been difficult to find JK cluster info. XJ, TJ, etc. come up pretty easily. When I search, I see a lot of XJ clusters that look like the image you have posted here, so that makes me think that image is an XJ cluster?

The JK cluster has a plastic sheet across the whole piece that the numbers are a part of so without finding an aftermarket one that is swapped to the right side is like finding a needle in a haystack. You could always do a complete custom job but that may be more work than your willing to put into it. Good luck with this project. If you do find something post up some pics!

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Originally Posted by WhiteRavenRR

The JK cluster has a plastic sheet across the whole piece that the numbers are a part of so without finding an aftermarket one that is swapped to the right side is like finding a needle in a haystack. You could always do a complete custom job but that may be more work than your willing to put into it. Good luck with this project. If you do find something post up some pics!

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Thanks. Based on what I'm reading here and what I've been able to find via google searches, it just looks like this is more work than what it's worth. I was hoping it *maybe* was a quick swap, but I figured it was not given that all clusters these days are typically sealed and come as a single unit from a 3rd party to the vehicle manufacturer.