S15 dash into R32

[wicked_two]

Hello,

I have been scouring the forums for info on swapping an S15 dash into an R32 to no avail. My reasons for wanting to do this is because the R32 dash looks outdated and has bubbles, and my speedo cable is broken. Didn't really want to pay big bucks to replace something that is likely to break again so I want to go electronic speedo drive.

Yesterday I bit the bullet and purchased a complete S15 dash with all vents, trim, speedo cluster and aircon controller. I still need to source the center console and potentially some indicator and wiper stalks (I was thinking A31 for this given the similarity of chassis)

I got the 32 dash out in a jiffy and got the S15 dash in there, the 2 lower mounts line up with some encouragement and 1 of the upper windscreen mounts line up, however I think its sitting slightly to one side so I'll need to make up a small bracket to mount it properly. 

The blower fan duct doesn't perfectly line up so some air gets through but some modification will be required.

I was able to remove the airbag unit from the dash also and still retain the cover which snaps back into place.

I have tracked down wiring diagrams for the cluster and possibly the aircon unit also but I've never seen the aircon unit swapped most people seem to retain the factory unit. The wiring for the cluster looks fairly straight forward but the speed and rpm will likely be a challenge...and it didn't come with any plugs on the cluster.(might see if I can get some tiny space connectors but not hopeful)

I'll post more pics as I go.

Cheers

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by wicked_two

[GTSBoy]

Convert to R33 turbo gearbox and an electronic speed sensor comes for free. Cannot tell you though whether the calibration will be correct against S15 speedo head. Other than getting the calibration right (regardless of what speed sensor you end up using), the S15 speedo head should then output the speed pulse to the ECU, same as either car (R32 or S15) does natively. Not too much hassle.

If you want to keep your existing gearbox, then you might have to look at whether you can get a speedo drive from an S13 or 14 to fit the 20 gearbox. I have no idea if they do or not. The small boxes are quite similar, but they are not exactly the same. You'll have to either research or just experiment.

Tacho is a whole 'nother issue. You will need to look at the R32 manual for the pulse rates from the ECU to run the tacho, and see if they are the same on the S15. They could well be - it's not like there needs to be a difference between 4 & 6 cylinder cars (like there was back in the bad old days of connecting the tacho directly to the coil and having the tacho have to divide by the firing rate, divisor being either 2 or 3). People have put RBs into S chassis cars many times and I haven't heard any whinging about getting the tacho working.

[wicked_two]

27 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

Convert to R33 turbo gearbox and an electronic speed sensor comes for free. Cannot tell you though whether the calibration will be correct against S15 speedo head. Other than getting the calibration right (regardless of what speed sensor you end up using), the S15 speedo head should then output the speed pulse to the ECU, same as either car (R32 or S15) does natively. Not too much hassle.

If you want to keep your existing gearbox, then you might have to look at whether you can get a speedo drive from an S13 or 14 to fit the 20 gearbox. I have no idea if they do or not. The small boxes are quite similar, but they are not exactly the same. You'll have to either research or just experiment.

Tacho is a whole 'nother issue. You will need to look at the R32 manual for the pulse rates from the ECU to run the tacho, and see if they are the same on the S15. They could well be - it's not like there needs to be a difference between 4 & 6 cylinder cars (like there was back in the bad old days of connecting the tacho directly to the coil and having the tacho have to divide by the firing rate, divisor being either 2 or 3). People have put RBs into S chassis cars many times and I haven't heard any whinging about getting the tacho working.

Yeah so apparently I can use either an s14 or d21 navara speed sensor for the 20 box, I'll put it in see what it reads and go from there. When the 20 box shits itself I'll go to the 25 big box or maybe look at the 350z box I've seen people using.

To complicate things the car is running a 25det neo and has been going ok with no speed input to the ECU.

[GTSBoy]

1 hour ago, wicked_two said:

To complicate things the car is running a 25det neo and has been going ok with no speed input to the ECU.

It stops the ECU from doing certain things like keeping the idle up in neutral at low vehicle speeds. It really should have a fault code though if the ECU is not seeing the speed signal. Are you sure that it does not have it? You should be aware that as long as the wiring from the dash down to the ECU plug is correct, the ECU should have the speed signal. The signal is generated in the R32 speedo head. Or are you saying it doesn't have the signal just since the cable broke?

[wicked_two]

Unless it has some other connection I really doubt it. The speedo cable has been broken since before the engine conversion and it doesn't seem to idle too high or low. I also wouldn't know if it had a fault code anyway.

[GhettoMonkey]

has there been any updates? i made the decision last night about doing the s15 dash conversion with my spare s15 parts i have laying around. took out the the dash and chucked in the s15 one to see how it looks like. 

 

thanks