mjr24

I see theres been a decent amount in the archives on suggestions....we need to fix these speedometer needles. It CANT be that hard.....can it? To fix them someway?
My Bimmer had orange dash lights and the needle was simply painted white and it was fine at night....so how hard can this be?

Phoenix88

I don't think you can fix the. I think there are 7 tiny bulbs on the big needle which lights up at night, lucky for me mine are still fine except one little bulb has a loose connection and sometimes works sometimes doesn't. The only way to fix them I think is to drop a lot of $$$ and buy a bunch of junk you don't need that comes w/ the big needles, I think you can buy the little needles seperate. If you are desperate look for a salvage SC and take the needles from there, if they work... maybe you can pick it up for cheap.

ThE sQuArE

I think you shouldnt be so colorful with your words!

Instead of "damn" you could of said "darn" or "dang"!

Im offended!

Your not only on this site with people your age or with your background!

Be respectful.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Just to remind other Clublexus members of a cool feature (I don't often use this option), at the top of CL, select User CP

In the little white boxes there are several menu items - the sixth one over is 'Edit Ignore List'. This basically keeps you from having to waste your valuable time reading posts from people you don't want to or other CL members that have an ongoing agenda you don't agree with.

"You are the weakest shape, good-bye."

eric150db

If you go to http://www.lexusclub.co.uk/ they have a walk-through on how to do it. You need to take the whole board out and replace a transistor and a couple capacitors, thats it!

IVIark

Were you joking or being serious? I am still new to the board but if people get THAT offended off of words like that, man I got to be careful. Sure we might have a few youngsters amoung the board, but if they have access to this board they also have access to the internet. If they have access to the internet they are going to see a lot more then the word "damn".

Mark

Camshaft

Turn down the illumination as low as possible while they still work, and it is fine. You get used to it after about 30 minutes.

SilverBolt 219

I remember a while back, someone here put white reflective tape over the needles and used small blue led's thus creating a "blue needle effect." I thought it looked real cool, I searched for that thread a while so I could post his pic, but I couldn't find it And there's nothing wrong w/ saying damn. This is what it says in the Forum Rules:

Profanity
Any profanity that cannot readily be heard on prime time network television will not be tolerated anywhere on the ClubLexus site.

There is no disrespect intended when using this word, & most people hear it all the time. So what's the big deal?!

SSmith

iTrader: (7)

I don't think anyone on who has (10) whole post on this site should be saying anything to anybody on this site about the word "damn". Get a life.

rushgator

Dang! There sure are a heck of a lot of friggin touchy people out there! Sheesh! Darn crazy mother truckers.

hwallen172

I haven't disassembled a gauge assembly personally so if someone could verify my assumptions, that would help a lot. I assume the needles will pull off from the gauges and that there are two contacts in the base of the needles that supply them with standard DC power. If that's the case, I may be able to help with the illumination part.

Here's what I'm thinking: take a busted needle and use a Dremel to route out the illuminated part. Find the electrical connections and solder in a small LED, probably a surface mount device. Naturally, you'll need a step down resistor. Point the LED down the routed out portion of the needle from the base, and epoxy in either a translucent piece of plastic or a clear piece of plastic that you've made notches in. Personally, I'm going to experiment with the notches.

Anyway, I don't have a Dremel so if anyone wants to hold up the mechanical end of this project, I'll do the wiring.

As an afterthought, if the plastic strip in the needle will come out in one piece, don't route it, and you may be able to use the plastic strip.

PERRYinLA

...but I'm all the way in LA. Maybe someone more local will step up. If not, and you don't mind mailing the needle out here, I'll be glad to route it out for you.

My needles are fine (knock on wood), or I'd offer to try it out on my own set.

Dremels are kinda pricey, but the clones aren't- this is the one I got on eBay for $20:

Vegassc400

I pulled my gauge cluster about 3 months ago. It's pretty easy. The Lexus dealer here told me they can get me the Gas and Temp gauges for around $100 a piece. They're just attached with clips. Sadly, if your speedo or tach are out, you gotta buy the whole cluster. about $575.

mjr24

I was treated to a light show on my dash tonight. Apparently the RPM and MPH needles...parts of them keep flickering...and sometimes even a whole section will light up! I guess I COULD pray and hope maybe its just a bad connection....but thats wishful thinking.

PERRYinLA

I mean, if it lights up intermittently, what else could it be?

It can't be burnt out, or it would never light up or flicker in the first place. So it's a bad connection, hopefully on the "2 contacts" area hwallen172 refers to, or more likely (and more unsalvagable) in the actual red area.

Like I said, my gauge needles work fine, so I don't know how they look when burnt out, but I'm suprised that just painting that red area with very reflective white paint is not a satisfying fix, like on your BMW.

By the way, I recall a post (too lazy to search for it now) where it was mentioned that the small gauge needles will fit in the socket for the large ones. Not the best "fix", but certainly one of the more affordable.