ScanGaugeII/ BlendMount Installation
I know that many of you have ScanGauges and the installation itself really couldn't be any easier, but I picked up a ScanGaugeII/ BlendMount combo and I thought that I would post the install up here, because I know at least one other VXer who will be taking this on soon.
The first thing you have to do is get everything out of your way by removing the sill trim, door seal, kick trim, A pillar trim, and lower dash trim. This gives you plenty of room to work.
The BlendMount installation itself is pretty simple. It clamps to the rearview mirror post, and the most difficult part is just having the patience to bend and tweak the metal mount, little by little, until you get it just where you want it. Here's the final product after about a half hour of bending, checking and bending some more.
Front View
Rear View
I would have to say that the most difficult part of the whole install is running the freakin' ScanGauge wire up from the underside of the dash. There is no way to get your hands back there (it's cramped) and even with a pull wire fished through first, getting the plug to clear everything was a real pain in the tuckus. Trying to get the wire run probably took the better part of an hour and a half trying one route, getting stuck, pulling everything back out, and trying again. In the end I got it run where I wanted it and zip tied the wire to the stock wires that are already running up the A pillar.
ScanGauge wire zipped to stock wires.
One thing I did notice, that I didn't like, was the fact that when you plug the ScanGauge in to the OBDII plug the wire was oriented towards the driver and that would have just been unsightly.
You can't just flip the plug around because there are some plastic tabs that seat into a couple of notches in the plug mount.
I ground the plastic tabs down so the plug could be flipped around. That allowed the wire from the plug to orient towards the front of the VX.
It's really a pretty neat install. Super simple, and it puts the ScanGauge up out of the way, but still in an easy line of sight so all you have to do is glance at it without really taking your eyes off the road.
And, the only thing you really see is just the tip of the plug hanging down from under the dash.
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