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Should I attempt to fix the needle in mine or buy an entire cluster to part out. I found em on ebay for $100-$150 in poor condition, but I could possibly salvage the needle as that's all I need.
I started my car this morning and noticed the speedometer needle only lit up halfway and it's absolutely bugging the crap out of me. $100 seems like a better price than the $500+ others are charging to Refurbish it.
From my reading the painting grease over it isn't a guaranteed fix and at that point i feel finding a replacment would be the smarter idea.
Can anybody chime in on their experience if this has happened to them? Much love ❤️
It appears that part of the black casing is missing where the light "stops" working on the needle. Reading up I saw grease is used to fix it but I'm not sure if that would work in my case. Is this needle even repairable?
I appreciate the response... but that didn't answer my question. I was asking if the current needles can be repaired OR is a junkyard replacment needle suggested
I'm fully capable of tearing apart the cluster and swapping the needles (which Im probably going to do) so it doesn't make sense why I would be paying another company a few hundred dollars for the work. I've torn apart engines and transmissions, and I've taken apart clusters in other cars too. I've just never worked on one with fluorescent bulbs inside and would like to know if it's possible to repair what I already have. It seems there's a black conductive coating that cracks on the bulb rather a casual bulb like other cars.
It is proving hard to find a decent cluster for a good price so I'll definitely keep them in mind... But I usually like to do my own work if possible.
I appreciate the response... but that didn't answer my question. I was asking if the current needles can be repaired OR is a junkyard replacment needle suggested
I'm fully capable of tearing apart the cluster and swapping the needles (which Im probably going to do) so it doesn't make sense why I would be paying another company a few hundred dollars for the work. I've torn apart engines and transmissions, and I've taken apart clusters in other cars too. I've just never worked on one with fluorescent bulbs inside and would like to know if it's possible to repair what I already have. It seems there's a black conductive coating that cracks on the bulb rather a casual bulb like other cars.
It is proving hard to find a decent cluster for a good price so I'll definitely keep them in mind... But I usually like to do my own work if possible.
I remember some people were fixing the needle applying some conductive ink. Search the Forum and you will find posts about it.
I remember some people were fixing the needle applying some conductive ink. Search the Forum and you will find posts about it.
So i have but the information seems to be a bit misleading and I was curious if you, or someone could clarify. The lexls website states and shows pictures about rubbing conductive grease on the clear front side of the bulb... other forums have stated redoing the black layer with a rear window defrost kit which is supposed to also be conductive.
I'm not sure which one it is because as you can see on the picture I posted its missing about half an inch of black layer on the bottom of the needle. Is that what needs to be redone with conductive ink/paint?
that's pretty much what I needed. i must not have used the correct key words to find that post. Thank you so much! This is on my todo list this Wednesday once I have a day off.
that's pretty much what I needed. i must not have used the correct key words to find that post. Thank you so much! This is on my todo list this Wednesday once I have a day off.
You are welcome. I am an old man but I found my memory is still partly OK although it was stored "conductive ink" in my memory. But searching the Forum using words "conductive ink", I found the thread.
In Japan, "conductive ink" is rather common as is sold here. Anyway I hope your fixing job will be succeeded on Wednesday.
You are welcome. I am an old man but I found my memory is still partly OK although it was stored "conductive ink" in my memory. But searching the Forum using words "conductive ink", I found the thread.
In Japan, "conductive ink" is rather common as is sold here. Anyway I hope your fixing job will be succeeded on Wednesday.
Call it a "half asassed" repair... but its fixed! The entire coating came free from the needle and slid down causing that gap. What I did was super glued it back together, keeping the original conductive layer and voilà she started working again. I used high quality super glue so personally I don't expect there being any more problems with it just separating like before. I didn't use ANY conductive paint over it. It was actually really straight forward but a scary job since these things are rare and expensive. At least no junkyard in my state has one. I really appreciate your responses @Yamae , you are a true gem on this website!
Total cost to fix was $5.87, and it was only that expensive becuase i bought name brand, fast curing glue. Now my lexus with 282k miles on it can continue on with a correctly working spedometer!
Thank you for the update. I'm glad that you succeeded to fix it. I can easily imagine how you are feeling now. It sure is a fun to fix something without asking professionals and spending some big money.
Call it a "half asassed" repair... but its fixed! The entire coating came free from the needle and slid down causing that gap. What I did was super glued it back together, keeping the original conductive layer and voilà she started working again. I used high quality super glue so personally I don't expect there being any more problems with it just separating like before. I didn't use ANY conductive paint over it. It was actually really straight forward but a scary job since these things are rare and expensive. At least no junkyard in my state has one. I really appreciate your responses @Yamae , you are a true gem on this website!
Total cost to fix was $5.87, and it was only that expensive becuase i bought name brand, fast curing glue. Now my lexus with 282k miles on it can continue on with a correctly working spedometer!
Can you post a link to the specific glue product you had luck with? I will be attempting this soon myself.
I used this stuff. Cured almost faster than I could set the conductive coating into place. Stuck really nice and i dont think ill have problems with it ever coming off. Good luck with your repair.
I used this stuff. Cured almost faster than I could set the conductive coating into place. Stuck really nice and i dont think ill have problems with it ever coming off. Good luck with your repair.
Awesome thanks. One other question- it looks like the black covering or sheath or whatever you want to call it that separated is U-shaped did you apply glue to all sides of it or just one or two particular sides? I don’t want to apply glue in any way that interferes with the conductivity or whatever it’s supposed to be doing. Thanks I appreciate it
04-30-23 | 07:45 PM
Fix or replace needle in cluster
