I just purchased a 91 RS it has aftermarket gauges and they all work however none of the factory gauges work. So I have no way to measure miles and the gas gauge does not work these are the primary ones I need though a speedo would be nice.

This car has an engine swap so I am assuming that the gauages were never even hooked up. In addition it is rigged with a push button start so you turn the key to one then push the button and it starts so really the key just stay in the on position hope that makes sense.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I could do really I just would like fuel gauge and odometer. So I know when to change the oil and how much gas I have. Sorry if this is all stupid stuff.

 

I had the same problem with my 89 IROC just with different gauges. The problem with engine swaps is if they are not done correctly then alot of times the wiring is butchered. First look up under your dash on the drivers side and see if the wiring looks intact if not then that is a good place to start. Also check the fuse for the gauges and see if it is blown. The fuel sender and fuel gauge is somewhat of a direct circuit. The speedo Is driven By a cable on mine But im unsure of yours check the back of the gauge panel and see if it is cable driven or not if it is check the cable all the way to the transmission. hope this helps

 

Thanks for the info Dralen I really appreciate it.
The wiring under the dash really does not look to bad at all. I have checked all the fuses and they are all good. I climbed under the car yesterday and looked for a speedo cable as well as checked under the hood and and did not see one. I am going to pull the instrument cluster hopefully soon and see what I am dealing with and hopefully I can get some answers.

 

Your factory speedo is not cable driven (as of 1990), all the gauges are electrical. And the gauge cluster "plugs" into the dash, connecting to the flexible printed circuit board that's on the back of it. No separate pigtails actually plug into the cluster. Getting the cluster out is a little tricky with the steering wheel on, but it can be done, but I wouldn't go that far just yet.
From the factory, your original trans has a VSS (vehicle speed sensor) that is in place of where a conventional speedo gear drive would go. Since your engine is a swap, it's possible so was the trans. I would look at the tail of the trans and see what's there (or not) as far as a speedo hookup is concerned. Somebody could have swapped in an older cable driven model trans, and that setup isn't directly compatible with your speedo.
As far as the rest of the gauges not working, it's quite possible the original wires were hacked into to connect to the aftermarket gauges instead.

 

Thanks for the information that will be a big help