RockTheShazbot
New member
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any damage cause to your vehicle. If you don't feel comfortable doing the DIY shown below, then take it to someone you trust to work on your vehicle.
It bugged me how the Sonic lacks a temperature gauge for the engine. My wife ended up buying me an Ultragauge which adds up to 105 gauges to the car, but I think only like 65 are compatible with the Sonic, which is still more than enough. I now have instant MPG, engine temp, horsepower, torque, boost, and intake temp. Another advantage to this particular gauge is that you can set it that if/when you check engine light comes on, the screen will display what the code is and give you the option to clear it. It can also let you know when your coolant goes over a certain temperature, battery voltage is too low/high, and so on. More info can be foundhere. There are other gauges, like Scangauge II, Drag gauge, and others. I wanted this one because 1: the interior matches the Sonic better and 2: the screen seemed to be more customizable and easier to use. It also just plugs into the OBDII port so installation in insanely easy.
I chose to set mine up the way I did because I prefer an OEM style look over suction cups all over the place (the Ultragauge comes with a suction cup arm).
You will need a flat piece of metal or plastic, some type of fabric, super glue, 3M dual lock, a pair of pliers, tin snips, and the gauge of your choice.
For the flat piece of metal, I went to Home Depot and bought a 1 1/2"x 5" stud guard from the plumbing department for $0.25. This particular piece had sharp points on it made to stick into a stud (go figure).
Bend them flat.
Cut out a piece of fabric big enough to wrap around the piece of metal one and a half times. Also, make sure there is some fabric overhang on at least one side of the metal piece (top or bottom). The reason I did this was to prevent the metal with its sharp edges from scratching anything in the car. Also, it looks better from the back since it is not visible in the front.
Super glue a small part of the metal to the fabric.
Keep doing this, putting glue on each edge until the metal is covered.
Cut out a small square of dual lock and stick onto the lower portion of the covered metal piece.
To hide the metal bar better, I cut about an inch of the metal using tin snips.
If you look behind the digital portion of the gauge cluster, there is plenty of wasted space.
Remove the backing of the other piece of dual lock and stick onto the back of the cluster.
Place a piece of dual lock onto the back of the Ultragauge (or whatever gauge you are using).
Stick on in a way that doesn't block the buttons on the back and that you can't see the metal bar.
Now it is time to run the wire. Run it behind the gauge and along side the stock gauge cluster.
Continue running the wire around to get to the OBDII port.
Remove the fuse box cover to the left of the steering column.
Pull the wire under the steering wheel and through this hole.
It bugged me how the Sonic lacks a temperature gauge for the engine. My wife ended up buying me an Ultragauge which adds up to 105 gauges to the car, but I think only like 65 are compatible with the Sonic, which is still more than enough. I now have instant MPG, engine temp, horsepower, torque, boost, and intake temp. Another advantage to this particular gauge is that you can set it that if/when you check engine light comes on, the screen will display what the code is and give you the option to clear it. It can also let you know when your coolant goes over a certain temperature, battery voltage is too low/high, and so on. More info can be foundhere. There are other gauges, like Scangauge II, Drag gauge, and others. I wanted this one because 1: the interior matches the Sonic better and 2: the screen seemed to be more customizable and easier to use. It also just plugs into the OBDII port so installation in insanely easy.
I chose to set mine up the way I did because I prefer an OEM style look over suction cups all over the place (the Ultragauge comes with a suction cup arm).
You will need a flat piece of metal or plastic, some type of fabric, super glue, 3M dual lock, a pair of pliers, tin snips, and the gauge of your choice.
For the flat piece of metal, I went to Home Depot and bought a 1 1/2"x 5" stud guard from the plumbing department for $0.25. This particular piece had sharp points on it made to stick into a stud (go figure).
Bend them flat.
Cut out a piece of fabric big enough to wrap around the piece of metal one and a half times. Also, make sure there is some fabric overhang on at least one side of the metal piece (top or bottom). The reason I did this was to prevent the metal with its sharp edges from scratching anything in the car. Also, it looks better from the back since it is not visible in the front.
Super glue a small part of the metal to the fabric.
Keep doing this, putting glue on each edge until the metal is covered.
Cut out a small square of dual lock and stick onto the lower portion of the covered metal piece.
To hide the metal bar better, I cut about an inch of the metal using tin snips.
If you look behind the digital portion of the gauge cluster, there is plenty of wasted space.
Remove the backing of the other piece of dual lock and stick onto the back of the cluster.
Place a piece of dual lock onto the back of the Ultragauge (or whatever gauge you are using).
Stick on in a way that doesn't block the buttons on the back and that you can't see the metal bar.
Now it is time to run the wire. Run it behind the gauge and along side the stock gauge cluster.
Continue running the wire around to get to the OBDII port.
Remove the fuse box cover to the left of the steering column.
Pull the wire under the steering wheel and through this hole.
