Serious problem. Needles for RPM and MPH Don't work after custom gauge install!

[ChandlerT]

Me and my dad just replaced my old gauge face with a new one and replaced some leds as well.

We put the whole thing back together, put it in the car, and now even when we gun it or drive it around, the needles no longer move at all.

I've tried all the methods of calibration and they will move it seems magnetically or something on some of the calibration methods but we can never get them to actually move when the car is turned all the way on.

What did we do wrong? If one of the LED's is out would that cause the whole thing not to work? Is there something we broke on the motors for the needles?

Thanks for any help, its making my car un-drivable right now so help is important!

[adalos]

which new face did you install? did you remove the old one and put the new one in or lay the new one on top of the old one? the only thing i could think of is that your needles are rubbing against the gauge and sticking?

[Omnious]

You probably pushed them in too much. They should fit on with just a little pressure.

[ChandlerT]

I took out the old one and put in the new. So your saying don't push very hard? I mean, when we do the calibrating steps the move some, but just not when we turn the car all the way on, they can still move if we move them outselves or we do the calibration step they move somewhat.

[adalos]

if the needles touch the gauge face even a little, they will get stuck.

how did you do your calibration, by the way?

[ChandlerT]

Turned the car off. Unplugged both connectors in the back, then turned the car on but not the engine on. Plugged blue one in, then plugged white one and the needles would move to a certtain point on the gauge.

And I guess I will try to see if they are touching at all but they seem to move when we calibrate so it doesnt seem to be stuck.

[adalos]

you have to wind the needles backwards first. for example, the RPM needle. you know the plastic pin that it rests on when the engine is off? when you push the needle onto your gauge, it needs to be aligned on the right side of the resting pin. then you wind the needle all the way back to the left side of the plstic resting pin.

you do it similarly for the speedometer needle, except you don't start flush up against the right side of the resting pin. when you push the needle onto the gauge, it needs to be about 10 mph counterclockwise from the right side of the resting pin, and then wound back to the left side of the resting pin. i forget the exact placement, but you can either experiment or look around this site for the calibration guide.

[ChandlerT]

if that works i love you bro, ill test right when i get home. Do I put the car in on for all this? and do I just leave connections plugged in or do I do like i explained earlier where I plug one in at a time?

[adalos]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/seanyiya/Gauge%20Face/Custom/Calibration/Needlie_Calibration.jpg

step by step

[S|Lv3rBu||et]

If all else fails you can probably send the whole gauge cluster to Dooly for repair.

[v3bahumut]

Sounds like the needles were just pressed on too hard, they just barely need any pressure.

And Dooly's guide works very well.

I confirmed the calibration with GPS and another Tach and they were near perfect.

[ChandlerT]

BREAKTHROUGH:

We took the whole thing apart in my car, so we're down to just the circuit board. We plugged it in, put the motors in, put the needle on, and the needle works with the RPM, but not very well, if we tap it sometimes it spins all the way around. Also, our main issue is that the way we put the motor in won't fit with the plastic piece that covers it due to the 2 brackets that it hooks in with the plastic piece and we try to rotate the motor but then the needle won't move at all.

Also, it appears on one of the motors that one of the threads came semi-undone and is kind of loose, is this really bad or won't affect anything?

[v3bahumut]

Why in the world did you take the motors out in the first place?

[adalos]

ya, sounds like you may have just screwed yourself.

[ChandlerT]

The needle tops wouldn't come off and we didnt want to completely snap them off so we took out the motors first and it worked, thats why.

just by taking them out they break?

[v3bahumut]

you may have just screwed yourself.


I am leaning toward this response as well.

[adalos]

The needle tops wouldn't come off and we didnt want to completely snap them off so we took out the motors first and it worked, thats why.

just by taking them out they break?

i wouldn't **** with taking the needle motors out. they're touchy enough just calibrating the needles themselves, let alone removing the motors... which is completely unnecessary anyhow. just get two spoons from the kitchen, put one under each side of the needle base and gently lift it off from the gauge face. sounds like you had them pressed on waaay too hard.

[ChandlerT]

well its too late now. Is there any way to fix the motors or buy them seperately? We found a junkyard with a whole cluster but its 130$ and I don't want to have to pay that if its possible another way.

[v3bahumut]

Contact Dooly, and see if he can do anything for you.

If not try a conpany called LKQ on eBay, I've seen quite a few gauge clusters come from them in the past for much lower than your local junkyard.

[LEDmod]

If the copper line on the needle motor is cut or lose, motor is pretty much useless...
It's very hard to fix them...
Needle motor isn't sold seperately.... so you'll have to get whole gauge cluster.. prefer used for like under $100....

By the way..did you get stock layout or center tach layout??

[ChandlerT]

stock layout, and its the green cord it just seems loose, its just weird that all we did was take it out and it broke the whole thing?

[LEDmod]

Did you do the LED conversion??

Worst comes to worst.... send it to me for repair....

[ChandlerT]

yeah LED conversion to. Dad already ordered the new cluster, worried though cause we're going to try to take the new ones out and put them in the old one so hopefully they work this time cause we don't want to have to mess with the odometer or buy new leds.

[LEDmod]

Keep me updated...

[adalos]

the easiest way to remove the blue LEDs is to hold a pair of tweezers on the side and keep alternating your soldering iron on both the top and bottom solder pad. this will liquify both ends eventually, allowing you to push the led right off with the tweezers without any dammage.

[ChandlerT]

we didnt have any problem at all with soldering on the new LEDs on, that went fine, we just never could get the needles to work again

[pnoy]

dooly how much do you charge for LED replacement? Also, how long is the turnover? pm me for details. I have a GT.

[Celica402GTS]

i'm wondering if u even did research on the led conversion b4 u attempt this project..seems like u turn this some what simple project into hell and pita..just curious..good luck with everything..

[adalos]

dooly how much do you charge for LED replacement? Also, how long is the turnover? pm me for details. I have a GT.

it's a very simple mod to do yourself, and there's multiple guides in this subforum that walk you through it.

[ChandlerT]

we followed the instructions sent to us step by step. he had nothing about taking the needles off with 2 spoons so we thought we had to take the motors off as well since they would come off.

[v3bahumut]

Who did you get your LEDs and gauge swap from?


here is that ebay company I was talking about
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-01-02-Celica-GT-Speedometer-Speedo-Cluster-OEM-LKQ_W0QQitemZ190164516958QQihZ009QQcategoryZ33678Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[ChandlerT]

Caribbean custom designs, gauge looks good, just really wish he would have gave me better instructions. and that'd work but it says 00-02. My dad jumped to conclusions and already bought one from a junkyard for 130$ I figured we could of got one cheaper but whatever.

[DURASPANK]

Caribbean custom designs, gauge looks good, just really wish he would have gave me better instructions. and that'd work but it says 00-02. My dad jumped to conclusions and already bought one from a junkyard for 130$ I figured we could of got one cheaper but whatever.

Your DAD kinda sounds like me. Try it and fudge let me buy another one and try again.
KIDS sometimes you wish you could beat em but you'll still go the extra MILE! HA
Dooly is your best hope!!

[skunk2celica01]

Caribbean custom designs, gauge looks good, just really wish he would have gave me better instructions. and that'd work but it says 00-02. My dad jumped to conclusions and already bought one from a junkyard for 130$ I figured we could of got one cheaper but whatever.

Your DAD kinda sounds like me. Try it and fudge let me buy another one and try again.
KIDS sometimes you wish you could beat em but you'll still go the extra MILE! HA
Dooly is your best hope!!

+1 Dooly FTW

[v3bahumut]

Caribbean custom designs

Thats your problem, CCR is a giant rip off. Should have done a little bit or research before you bought from them.

Here are my dealings with the douchebags. The moderators closed my thread, and LarryD deleted my negative feedback for them becasue they were a paying site sponsor, and paying site sponsors are more important than non paying members :rolleyes:
http://www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?t=225506&highlight=carribian

[pnoy]

dooly how much do you charge for LED replacement? Also, how long is the turnover? pm me for details. I have a GT.

it's a very simple mod to do yourself, and there's multiple guides in this subforum that walk you through it.



i know it's easy but to have the time and tools to do it.

[v3bahumut]

i know it's easy but to have the time and tools to do it.


Soldering Iron - $15 bucks at radio shack
Time - 30 minutes to an hour depending on your skill level