Resurrecting my dad's car for my daughter.
Resurrecting my dad's car for my daughter.
Okay. I wasn't sure where to post this so I thought this might be the best place. I thought I'd include the story about why this particular Beretta is special, so this might be a little long-winded.
My father bought this Beretta new in 95 for my step mother. They had searched around and decided what kind of car they wanted. Then he went to the dealership and ordered it. He wasn't looking for anything special (AM/FM Cassette Player, Tilt Steering, Cruise Control, and V6), but his credit has always been immaculate (high 800's), so he could get what he wanted. The salesman let him know that there was nothing like that on the lot but there was a truck coming in next week with 9 Beretta's on it and there would be 3 for him to choose from. Dad said okay, paid for the car, and the deal was made. The next week when dad arrived at the dealership, they were already unloading the cars. He looked at all of them, walked inside and said "okay, looks like I'm taking the black one." The salesman told him "that one's not for sale, but you get your choice of the blue one or the white one." Dad looked at him and said "I may not know everything about these cars, but I can count. The only one with a V6 is the black one." The salesman got the manager and they checked out all the berettas on the truck. Sure enough, the only one with a V6 was the black one. The salesman explained that the black one was a special order for the dealership (Program Car). They were going to use it in their next commercial. It had a sunroof, a CD player, a rear deck spoiler with an LED brake light in it, and a splash from a Geo Tracker cut down to fit on the sides. Dad explained to the salesman that they had already made a deal and he had already paid. He said "I don't care about that other stuff. Rip that splash off the side, take that spoiler off, replace the radio with a cassette player, but I'm leaving with the car I paid for today. Either I'm leaving with that one, or I'm taking my money somewhere else." The salesman passed this information on to the manager, and they decided to let him take it. They did replace the radio with a factory cassette player out of one of the other berettas.
He's owned it since then and put 240,000 miles on it! He's incredibly anal about maintainence and upkeep, but hasn't had to do hardly any work on it. Except for routine maintainence, (tires, oil changes, engine belts and such) the only thing that's been replaced on it is the altenator. And of course the outside door handle on the driver's side. That thing's been replaced 6 times! Mainly because my step-mom has a bad habit of yanking on door handles. It's still going strong but he decided he was ready to get rid of it. When my daughter found out, she asked if she could buy it for her first car. Yes, I'm making her buy her own car! She's only 12, but has been saving allowance and gift money for a few years so we discussed it with him and he agreed. It's a 1996 Black base Beretta. It has some normal wear and tear issues consistant for an 18-year old car with 240k miles on it. The headlights are fogged and yellowed pretty badly. One of them is broken from a recent impact with a deer. It wasn't serious, but it did dent the hood a little and wrinkle the passenger fender some. There are a few rust spots in places. The spring on the drivers door is busted and makes a loud "popping" sound when opened and closed. The interior is worn pretty badly in places and expectedly dirty. The headliner is about to fall, and the sun visors look like they are about to fall apart. But my daughter had saved a good chunk of money and only had to pay $500 for the car. So she's spending the rest of her car money fixing things, with my help.
She's decided to try to make it a Z26 cause she likes the look of them. We've already replaced the shocks and struts. The replacement headlights are on the way. (I saw a posting somewhere on here about replacing the factory headlights with BMW headlights, so we're gonna try that.) We've ordered 16" Z26 wheels for it, and already bought the tires to go on them. I've found a few salvage yards where we can get the other parts to make it look like a Z26. And I've found a sign company that can recreate the splash on the side. She wants to keep the splash on the side but I explained that we needed to do some body work and then repaint the car. I also have a few other ideas to update the car, but that stuff will have to wait until she saves some more money.
The only issue we've had so far is we replaced the instrument cluster with one from a Z26. Everything works like it's supposed to except for the tach, the oil pressure gauge, and the air bag light. The tach doesn't work at all. The oil pressure gauge goes as far as it can and stays there. And the air bag light stays on all the time. When we put the old cluster back in, everything works correctly. I figured since this was a place for Beretta enthusiasts, someone here had probably tried to do the same thing. And might know how to make it work. Any advice about this problem or any other you think might come up would be greatly appreciated.
I will try to keep this thread updated so everyone can see the progress.
My father bought this Beretta new in 95 for my step mother. They had searched around and decided what kind of car they wanted. Then he went to the dealership and ordered it. He wasn't looking for anything special (AM/FM Cassette Player, Tilt Steering, Cruise Control, and V6), but his credit has always been immaculate (high 800's), so he could get what he wanted. The salesman let him know that there was nothing like that on the lot but there was a truck coming in next week with 9 Beretta's on it and there would be 3 for him to choose from. Dad said okay, paid for the car, and the deal was made. The next week when dad arrived at the dealership, they were already unloading the cars. He looked at all of them, walked inside and said "okay, looks like I'm taking the black one." The salesman told him "that one's not for sale, but you get your choice of the blue one or the white one." Dad looked at him and said "I may not know everything about these cars, but I can count. The only one with a V6 is the black one." The salesman got the manager and they checked out all the berettas on the truck. Sure enough, the only one with a V6 was the black one. The salesman explained that the black one was a special order for the dealership (Program Car). They were going to use it in their next commercial. It had a sunroof, a CD player, a rear deck spoiler with an LED brake light in it, and a splash from a Geo Tracker cut down to fit on the sides. Dad explained to the salesman that they had already made a deal and he had already paid. He said "I don't care about that other stuff. Rip that splash off the side, take that spoiler off, replace the radio with a cassette player, but I'm leaving with the car I paid for today. Either I'm leaving with that one, or I'm taking my money somewhere else." The salesman passed this information on to the manager, and they decided to let him take it. They did replace the radio with a factory cassette player out of one of the other berettas.
He's owned it since then and put 240,000 miles on it! He's incredibly anal about maintainence and upkeep, but hasn't had to do hardly any work on it. Except for routine maintainence, (tires, oil changes, engine belts and such) the only thing that's been replaced on it is the altenator. And of course the outside door handle on the driver's side. That thing's been replaced 6 times! Mainly because my step-mom has a bad habit of yanking on door handles. It's still going strong but he decided he was ready to get rid of it. When my daughter found out, she asked if she could buy it for her first car. Yes, I'm making her buy her own car! She's only 12, but has been saving allowance and gift money for a few years so we discussed it with him and he agreed. It's a 1996 Black base Beretta. It has some normal wear and tear issues consistant for an 18-year old car with 240k miles on it. The headlights are fogged and yellowed pretty badly. One of them is broken from a recent impact with a deer. It wasn't serious, but it did dent the hood a little and wrinkle the passenger fender some. There are a few rust spots in places. The spring on the drivers door is busted and makes a loud "popping" sound when opened and closed. The interior is worn pretty badly in places and expectedly dirty. The headliner is about to fall, and the sun visors look like they are about to fall apart. But my daughter had saved a good chunk of money and only had to pay $500 for the car. So she's spending the rest of her car money fixing things, with my help.
She's decided to try to make it a Z26 cause she likes the look of them. We've already replaced the shocks and struts. The replacement headlights are on the way. (I saw a posting somewhere on here about replacing the factory headlights with BMW headlights, so we're gonna try that.) We've ordered 16" Z26 wheels for it, and already bought the tires to go on them. I've found a few salvage yards where we can get the other parts to make it look like a Z26. And I've found a sign company that can recreate the splash on the side. She wants to keep the splash on the side but I explained that we needed to do some body work and then repaint the car. I also have a few other ideas to update the car, but that stuff will have to wait until she saves some more money.
The only issue we've had so far is we replaced the instrument cluster with one from a Z26. Everything works like it's supposed to except for the tach, the oil pressure gauge, and the air bag light. The tach doesn't work at all. The oil pressure gauge goes as far as it can and stays there. And the air bag light stays on all the time. When we put the old cluster back in, everything works correctly. I figured since this was a place for Beretta enthusiasts, someone here had probably tried to do the same thing. And might know how to make it work. Any advice about this problem or any other you think might come up would be greatly appreciated.
I will try to keep this thread updated so everyone can see the progress.
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- If you look close you can see the damage to the fender from the deer.
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- The damage from the deer was worse. I was able to straighten it a little.
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Last edited by Wyrm on Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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themixer
- Registered User
- Posts: 1569
- Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:13 pm
- Location: Truro, Nova Scotia. Canada
Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
you will need a cluster from a 1995z26 for the obd 1.5 computer. I have one for sale
Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Cheers on your daughter for having good taste and choosing the beretta! Welcome
To the club!
Iirc for oil pressure you had to change the oil sending unit or is that only for older gen rettas?
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To the club!
Iirc for oil pressure you had to change the oil sending unit or is that only for older gen rettas?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
1988 Beretta GT 2.8L V6 - Yeah my Retta is a year older than me! 
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
First off, thanks for the quick replies.
Mixer:
The cluster I found is out of a 95 Z26 with the 3.1 and automatic. (Same as the Beretta we have except Z26 and 95)
How do I know if it's for the 1.5 computer?
Zcylex:
What does "lirc" mean? And if I change sending units, won't that cause problems with the ecm?
Mixer:
The cluster I found is out of a 95 Z26 with the 3.1 and automatic. (Same as the Beretta we have except Z26 and 95)
How do I know if it's for the 1.5 computer?
Zcylex:
What does "lirc" mean? And if I change sending units, won't that cause problems with the ecm?
Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
proper year IPC required and the longer OPSU is needed, that should resolve the gauges and light.
Welcome!
Welcome!
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Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Thanks for the advice but,... what does that mean exactly? I've never done anything like this, so I don't know what IPC and OPSU mean.1988GTU wrote:proper year IPC required and the longer OPSU is needed, that should resolve the gauges and light.
Welcome!
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heavywoody
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- Location: Concord, NC
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Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Wyrm,
It appears that you have a 95 with the rare DRL option (daytime running lights). Any way we can get an engine bay picture?
OBD1.5 was a 94/95 thing; 96's got OBD2 (all computer tuning stuff really). An engine bay shot will determine what you have since your 95 has DRL's (96's were the only years to actually have them unless the car was a Canadian car).
With the cluster swap, most times everything works except the Oil Pressure gauge (OPSU = Oil Pressure Sending Unit). On the Base model cars, there is only an idiot light on the dash for the oil pressure; the Z26's had a gauge to read the pressure. The Z26's have a different sensor that read the pressure and transmit it to the gauge. Go to a parts store and ask for an oil pressure sending unit from a 95 Beretta V6. It threads into the block by the oil filter adapter.
The rest of the stuff should work, unless you have a 96 cluster by mistake (the wiring pinouts changed from 95-96 with the change to OBD2, that or the ground point changed, I can't remember exactly).
It appears that you have a 95 with the rare DRL option (daytime running lights). Any way we can get an engine bay picture?
OBD1.5 was a 94/95 thing; 96's got OBD2 (all computer tuning stuff really). An engine bay shot will determine what you have since your 95 has DRL's (96's were the only years to actually have them unless the car was a Canadian car).
With the cluster swap, most times everything works except the Oil Pressure gauge (OPSU = Oil Pressure Sending Unit). On the Base model cars, there is only an idiot light on the dash for the oil pressure; the Z26's had a gauge to read the pressure. The Z26's have a different sensor that read the pressure and transmit it to the gauge. Go to a parts store and ask for an oil pressure sending unit from a 95 Beretta V6. It threads into the block by the oil filter adapter.
The rest of the stuff should work, unless you have a 96 cluster by mistake (the wiring pinouts changed from 95-96 with the change to OBD2, that or the ground point changed, I can't remember exactly).
Geoff
95 Z26 Turbo 3400 5spd - R&D Project
Beretta Preservation Society - Director of Acquisitions
95 Z26 Turbo 3400 5spd - R&D Project
Beretta Preservation Society - Director of Acquisitions
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davbell25413
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Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Nice lookin Beretta.
1994 Chevy Beretta Z26
3.1L
4T60E 4 speed automatic
16in aluminum factory wheels
3.1L
4T60E 4 speed automatic
16in aluminum factory wheels
Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Okay, I think there's been some confusion about my situation.
The car is a 96 base Beretta with a 3.1, automatic, and yes daytime running lights.
The gauge cluster I put in is from a 95 Z26 with a 3.1 and automatic.
The tach doesn't work at all, the oil pressure gauge goes to max and stays there, and the air bag light stays on. Anybody have any ideas about this specific combination?
The car is a 96 base Beretta with a 3.1, automatic, and yes daytime running lights.
The gauge cluster I put in is from a 95 Z26 with a 3.1 and automatic.
The tach doesn't work at all, the oil pressure gauge goes to max and stays there, and the air bag light stays on. Anybody have any ideas about this specific combination?
Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Then your problem is that you have a 95(obd1.5) cluster in a 96(obd2) beretta , wires and computer are different. And the oil pressure will be always to the max until you either lose all pressure in the oil or you change the oil sending unit with one that is compatible with you new cluster.
To make your tach work you will have to change the cluster for a 96 z26 cluster (not 95) or modify your current wiring to work with your older model cluster.(fixing the pinouts should fix the air bag problem i think) ill try to hook you up with the wiring needed in case you want to modify it, if not the easy fix is just change your cluster for a 96 and your fuel sending unit for a z26 compatible.
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To make your tach work you will have to change the cluster for a 96 z26 cluster (not 95) or modify your current wiring to work with your older model cluster.(fixing the pinouts should fix the air bag problem i think) ill try to hook you up with the wiring needed in case you want to modify it, if not the easy fix is just change your cluster for a 96 and your fuel sending unit for a z26 compatible.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
1988 Beretta GT 2.8L V6 - Yeah my Retta is a year older than me!
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
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heavywoody
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Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Wait, what? Since when does oil pressure maintain max pressure at all times? You need to do your homework. If the gauge is pinned, the sending unit is bad (or in this case non-existent).zcylex wrote:Then your problem is that you have a 95(obd1.5) cluster in a 96(obd2) beretta , wires and computer are different. And the oil pressure will be always to the max until you either lose all pressure in the oil or you change the oil sending unit with one that is compatible with you new cluster.
Corrections in BOLD.zcylex wrote:To make your tach work you will have to change the cluster for a 96 z26 cluster (not 95) or modify your current wiring to work with your older model cluster.(fixing the pinouts should fix the air bag problem i think) ill try to hook you up with the wiring needed in case you want to modify it, if not the easy fix is just change your cluster for a 96 and your oil pressure sending unit for a 96 V6 compatible (parts stores don't care what model we have).
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Geoff
95 Z26 Turbo 3400 5spd - R&D Project
Beretta Preservation Society - Director of Acquisitions
95 Z26 Turbo 3400 5spd - R&D Project
Beretta Preservation Society - Director of Acquisitions
Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Sorry for my bad english lol. about the oil pressure i meant the one he has works as a switch that turns on the idiot light when you have low or no oil pressure and turns it off when everything is working correctly(so it starts or stops sending a signal)... about the 96 v6 sorry i assume all of us select our car and engine before buying as i just buy stuff online (cause im not in the states).heavywoody wrote:Wait, what? Since when does oil pressure maintain max pressure at all times? You need to do your homework. If the gauge is pinned, the sending unit is bad (or in this case non-existent).zcylex wrote:Then your problem is that you have a 95(obd1.5) cluster in a 96(obd2) beretta , wires and computer are different. And the oil pressure will be always to the max until you either lose all pressure in the oil or you change the oil sending unit with one that is compatible with you new cluster.
Corrections in BOLD.zcylex wrote:To make your tach work you will have to change the cluster for a 96 z26 cluster (not 95) or modify your current wiring to work with your older model cluster.(fixing the pinouts should fix the air bag problem i think) ill try to hook you up with the wiring needed in case you want to modify it, if not the easy fix is just change your cluster for a 96 and your oil pressure sending unit for a 96 V6 compatible (parts stores don't care what model we have).
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
sorry if i mistyped me reply...
1988 Beretta GT 2.8L V6 - Yeah my Retta is a year older than me!
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Instrument Panel Clusters are specific to engine and year for these cars when it comes down to OBD1(87-93), OBD2 (96), or OBD1.5 (94-95)
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Re: Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
I'm just trying to help clarify.
The correct oil pressure sending unit will be longer that the one on the car now.
If you go to buy one, they will ask if you have a light or a gauge.
The one for the light acts like a switch, "on or off".
The one for the gauge acts a variable resister to display the amount of oil pressure.
The correct oil pressure sending unit will be longer that the one on the car now.
If you go to buy one, they will ask if you have a light or a gauge.
The one for the light acts like a switch, "on or off".
The one for the gauge acts a variable resister to display the amount of oil pressure.
Resurrecting for my dad's car for my daughter.
Thats what i was trying to sayjskiguy wrote:I'm just trying to help clarify.
The correct oil pressure sending unit will be longer that the one on the car now.
If you go to buy one, they will ask if you have a light or a gauge.
The one for the light acts like a switch, "on or off".
The one for the gauge acts a variable resister to display the amount of oil pressure.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
1988 Beretta GT 2.8L V6 - Yeah my Retta is a year older than me!
Work in Progress
Work in Progress