JeepJeremy

So, the wife and I are heading out to Moab for EJS in 2015!! Very excited!! We went in 2012 and 2013, but had to miss 2014 b/c we had a baby. Now he's coming with!! A week before he was born, I installed a Ripp Mods Supercharger on the 3.8L (Black Ops Edition). Thought I would get some gauges to monitor everything and stumbled onto the Aeroforce Interceptor. Lots of you guys have these, but it was new to me. Here's my install using the Rugged Ridge (RR) A pillar pod designed for switches. I've seen some A pillar pods for sale for hundreds of dollars, but the RR was about $22.

First, you have to drill a hole in the RR pod. I centered my gauge on the two lower switch spots and drilled using a 2" hole saw. The gauge is technically a 2 1/16", but a cheap hole saw makes a nice tight mount. My son Gage was my co-pilot for this mod. **Yes, his name is Gage**


After some minor trimming with a pocket knife, it's a nice tight fit.


I opted for the brushed aluminum bezel from Aeroforce b/c I hoped it would match the stock gauges. It's pretty good



Here's a pic of the back of the gauge. It has a wiring harness that plugs directly into the OBD2 port. There's another 3 wire harness used for other applications (I didn't use). It has two screws with a bracket to keep the gauge snug.

JeepJeremy

Here's a picture of the back of the RR pod with the Aeroforce Gauge in place. It was pretty snug and there was no room for the bracket, so I used a wood chisel to trim off the fins inside the RR pod. It allowed me a little more room and to be able to get the bracket in place. I did have to trim the bracket a little to get the screws on to tighten it into place.


Here it's in place after trimming the plastic fins on the RR pod (left side of photo).


Next, you open the driver side dash panel. It pretty much just pulls open. Underneath you can see the wire running to the A pillar for the U Connect microphone.


To remove the original A pillar plastic pieces, you start by removing the upper first. There's one of those plastic plugs with a plastic screw. For those of you who've wrestled with these. The key is to unscrew the plastic screw by barely placing any pressure on the screw. If you push at all, the screw just spins. When you have it removed, you can pull the plug.


Here's what it looks like when removed.

JeepJeremy

Next, you remove the two torx screws holding the visor in place. A T20 torx bit fit fine for me. Set the visor aside.


Then you just pull straight down. There is a white Christmas tree popper (see pic) that locates the piece and holds it in place. Be mindful of the U connect microphone and wire. You can then unplug the wire from it's gray harness and set the upper plastic piece aside.


The original A pillar pod just pulls straight out. It has two metal clips holding it in. I transferred those metal clips from the original to the Rugged Ridge pod. Here's a comparison of the two pieces.


Then you thread the gray wire (that connects to the OBD 2) up from the footwell and plug it into the gauge.


You push the pillar pod in place. I then zip tied the excess gray wire into a coil out of the way. Then reinstall the driver side dash piece.

JeepJeremy

Then you reinstall the upper pod piece (reverse of removal), secure with plastic screw, then reinstall the two torx screws with the visor.

Here's what the final product looked like. The Rugged Ridge A pillar pod was close in color (but not perfect). It's good enough for me. I was impressed how the brushed aluminum bezel matched the stock dash gauges. I like the angle of the gauge down low. It's easy enough to glance at, but not directly in my face. Some people prefer the carbon fiber or molded ones. I'm cool with this and it does angle in toward the driver slightly.


Finally, I plugged the connector into the OBD 2 port and did some minor programming. I opted for the green backlight gauge (b/c it matched the factory greenish lighting). I have yet to figure out all the programming, but it's in and functioning. I made sure that the boost reading was operational since I wanted to monitor the boost on the supercharger.


So the numbers are: $250 for the Aeroforce Interceptor, $10 for the extra brushed aluminum bezel, and $22 for the Rugged Ridge A pillar pod. Of course you could do this install with any 2 1/16" gauge, but here's my result. Now, I have two potential switch places when I next need them. Thanks for watching. Can't wait for Moab EJS in 2015!! Gage is only 9 months, but he's very excited too!! That, and his toes. He thinks his toes are pretty awesome. I can't argue with good logic.

calys003

How does it measure the boost, did you have to get any other parts? I have this gauge installed in my sPod and I have a Ripp system sitting in a box that I'm getting ready to install when I can get the guys together.

14Sport

It gets everything from the OBD2 port, meaning the computer.

Earth Siege

Here is how i install both of my interceptor gauges (one for jeep computer and one for gm computer)

Earth Siege

Here is a better view

Earth Siege

JeepJeremy, i like how clean an install urs looks. I would prolly gone the same route but my rock hard cage blocks the pillars.

14Sport

I like how yours are mounted. I live in FL and would be concerned about seeing the gauges if the sun could hit them. Is that a custom panel or aftermarket, cause it looks great?