Installing gauges

It is the weekend of March 14th after a relatively lucky Friday the 13th. My task for this weekend is/was to install the voltmeter and the ammeter gauges. The voltmeter reads from 115v-175v dc. The truck will be powered by 24 (6 volt) golf cart batteries for a total system voltage of 144v. The ammeter reads from 0-500amps. There is a meter shunt installed in the motor controller so the gauge is only getting 0-50 milliamps. Not sure I would want 400 amps going through my dashboard anyway. :) (unless you are cooking a chicken, and I am not!) I began by readying the light kits and installing them into the gauges. The bulb is held in the end of a short white tube with a drop of glue. I used superglue. Then the tube slides into the opening for the light. A small blob of silicone rtv to hold it in place. Next is the wiring and tie wrapping and drilling some access holes in the a-pillar. The gauges fit very snug in the pod and are held in place by the tight fit. Four holes are drilled through the pod and the pillar, then plastic fasteners hold the pod to the pillar. I then put the pillar/pod assembly on the dash and fed all the wiring through an opening under the pillar. Time now to move the assembly into place and then snap in the fasteners. The photos show the finished product. More time was spent with my head up the dash connecting wires to and fro, hither and yon. I tapped into the dimmer switch wire for the gauge lighting. Ammeter wires to the shunt in the controller, voltmeter wires to where HV+ and HV- will be under the hood. A short test verified the gauge lights worked and dimmed with the other dash lights. All good. Alas, I won't be able to test the actual gauge functions until I have batteries. There is much work ahead. Left to complete are the rear battery boxes, tilt bed, charging system, install and wire batteries, high voltage wiring, and testing. Then there is painting and cosmetics. Whew! I am going to keep moving forward. Until next time...