basketthis

Thanks for the speedy reply. I will most definitely be doing this DIY. I just wanted to double check everything before I attempted the fix. I do electrical work to vehicles all the time so this should not be a problem.

As far as someone messing it up, I think it was someone who pushed it on too hard and damaged it and another where their needles were sticking...

I do know someone personally that tried to remove their needles on another car (not a 95 es300) and ended up having to buy a whole new cluster. I don't think that they operate the same. The one's he was working with didn't look quite like the Lexus ones. Anyway, thanks for the reply and now I know that if I don't get them aligned there won't be any problems making it work right. BTW, that dude ended up having to pay almost 300 for a new cluster. whew!!

omega808

Hi, have a 1993 es300 the needles and backlight im repairing on my own on the bench, i was wondering if anyone knows how to benchtest the cluster itself so i do not have to go back and forth to check my progress, thanks in advance

rlx101

here is direct link in japanese: http://ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~lexus/opti.htm

in order to translate go here: http://www.google.com/translate_t and enter web page address that you would like to translate.

heorung

OR ... do what i did.... got some LED .. hardwired to the rest of the cluster's lights to shine direcly at an angle on the dying needles and voila ... u can at lease see better at night.



You can't see the LED at all from the driver's view ... only if you lean forward then u can see them.

My idea to see the dying speedo needle will get some fluro yellow paint .. paint the middle of the needle... give it the LED treatment like so ...and hopefully things will be visible at night... will post pics soon.

Merritt8

Is there a step by step to remove the cluster? I just wanna make sure I do it right and safe. I just busted my center vent trying to get to my stereo. Thx

Lexucan

yep, here it is:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...78#post2508878

4mula_J87

what type of cluster bulbs did you use and do they come in different color such as blue or red also can you get the needles in different colors?

Lexucan

You'll find information about cluster bulbs in this thread, under the sub-heading LED Sources:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...ing-bulbs.html

They come in various colors, such as white, red, blue, amber.

The surface-mount (SMD) LEDs for the needles also come in various colors, however, because the opaque window on the needle itself that the light from the LEDs show through is not clear but sort of amber in color, whatever color LED is used, the color will be altered. So, for instance, if you were to use blue LEDs in the needles, they would appear to be a shade of green when installed.

4mula_J87

do any one a good website where i can get some purple hid cluster lights and different color needles

justind89

Well, i did the needle fix, and had to take the back off several times as i found out the right hand drive version has different polarities for the backlights, as a result the screws holding in the temperature gauge have become a bit loose (one of them wont tighten at all, and 2 others spin) what can i do to get the temperature gauge to work again?

Lexucan

Wow, you must really have overtightened the screws at some point that the threads became stripped and the screws won't tighten any longer. They should be snug but it sounds like you over-torqued them quite a bit.

flyboymatt

Can anyone help me. I did the DIY needle swap and the blue LED backlight upgrade and it looks just awesome! One problem is that the fuel guage does not go all the way to full anymore. It hangs at 1/4 tank when full. I ballanced the needle thinking that was the problem but no good. Still does not work. Does anyone have advice on how to calibrate this or other way to fix the problem. I have a 92 es300.
Thanks

Lexucan

Did you put the proper needle on the fuel gauge or maybe it and the temperature gauge needle got mixed up? The fuel gauge needle has an extra small counter-weight and the temperature gauge needle does not.

flyboymatt

Thanks for the fast reply. I originally did mix up the needles but have corrected this mistake. I also ballanced the needles because i thought that it may have been too heavy on the needle end. Still made no difference. I read somewhere that the fuel guage may read incorrectly due to a burnt out resistor. Not sure if that is the problem or if i need to unhook the dash cluster, reset the fuel needle and plug it back in. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ariyanna

you have to pull the needle off and reseat it thats your problem, I had the same problem when I had my 92 ES a few years ago.