DIY- 01-02 civic manual cluster to 03-05 cluster swap.Go from the top one to the bottom one. i went from a 02 ex coupe cluster to a 05 lx cluster from a 4 door, the blue ring one. but i think it doesnt matter what model the cluster comes from
This swap is pretty easy once you get the hang of how you are suppose to get the wires out of each connector. The swap took like an hour and 10 min., but is not that hard.
Tools needed.
1) Philips screwdriver
2) wire cutters/strippers
3) black electrical tape
4) a razor blade
5) a jumbo size paper clip, this is to take out the wire from the connectors, you can also use a safety pin or a sewing needle but it will be a little bit harder to use cause of the size. the jumbo paper clip is the perfect size and makes life much easier, trust me i tried everything.
STEP 1
remove plastic from around the cluster.
there are two screws on the top remove them and it should come out with little force. it helps may to take the top cover off of your steering Colum. to do that take screw driver or your hand and push up on it. it will release from its tabs. be careful not to break the tabs.
STEP 2
remove cluster
there are three screws holding it in. one on top and two on each side on the bottom. remove them and the cluster is ready to come out. then pull the two plugs from it. a green one and a blue one. then put the cluster aside you will not need it any more because a better one will be replacing it.
STEP 3
take both connectors apart. start with the green one first. i did but its up to you .
on the top and bottom of the connectors at the part where the wires go in, you will see a very small gap. If you use your finger nail or the tip of a razor like i did, push it in the gap and attempt to pry up, do this with care, cause if you break it your wire may not stay in place once you put them back. it should release from its tabs and come free. then just fold it back. do this on both connectors on both sides. there is a top and a bottom to each connector. after you have them open then come the part that takes the most time removing the wires from the connectors.
STEP 4
remove wires from connector. ONE connector at a time green first.
this part is tricky but once you get one out the rest come easy.
insert the jumbo size paper or safety pin in the top hole of the wire you need to remove. do this from the front side. its the bigger of the two holes. insert the paper clip at a slight angle down pointing towards the middle of the connector. as you slide it in you will feel it drop down a little, once it does push a little, it doesn’t take much force at all so don’t force it. you will hear a click sound, that’s the wire coming out the tab inside the connector. then try to take that wire out it should come free, if not try it again. this take time so don’t get upset if you don’t get it the first time. once you get all the wires out the connector you ready reorder them.
STEP 5
repining the connectors.
back to the green connector first. there is a bunch of wires that need to be switched from the blue connector to the green one a one wire from the green to the blue one. the yellow wire with the black stripe is the fuel sending wire. this is the only wire that requires an extension to the be wired to the blue connector. remove it and tuck it away or put a piece of tape on it so you wont forget about it until we are ready for blue connector.
here are some diagrams of the green connector of what it looked like and what it needs to look like when your done. Done worry about the 04 vp and 03 ex on the diagrams. The bottom one is what it looks like when you took it out. You need to make it look like the top one. You will notice the there are a few wire on the top one the are not on the bottom one that’s because those wire are on the blue connector and need to be moved to the green one and those are on the top diagram # 2, 5, 19, 14, 12, 11
STEP 6
Wire the blue plug. The bottom one is how it looked when you took it out ,the top is how you it needs to look like, you will have one wire that is not used and on the cart I think in the cart it green/orange but I think the wire is yellow with another color, just tape that wire up and tuck it away. Here is the diagram for the blue plug.
STEP 7
After all the wire are back into the connector, connect it and test to see everything work. If it does you and start putting everything back into and enjoy. 
Hope this helps, do have a camera so no pics. I’ll try to get one from a friend, then I’ll post some.
Modified by stinkypinky1011 at 10:01 AM 1/24/2008
2004 White em2 (DD) 
2004 Black em2 (sold) 
