I messed up my gauge cluster when I tried to install the darn Intelliglow needle kit. Anyway, my gauges now are way off, especially the fuel and temp gauges. I did the recalibration points thing, but it didn't seem to work. Any ideas?

 

there r guage clusters going on ebay alot now maybe u cloud get one

 

The trick is to find out what the guage SHOULD be showing at a certain point, then manually repositioning the needles...

1) Go fill your tank FULL, then with the ignition in the ON position you can pull the fuel needle off and reposition it to point at full. Fuelgauge fixed...

2) Drive your car for 20 mins to warm it up to normal temp, then with the engine still on remove and replace the needle so it points at the same position it normally points at when hot (mine = in Compass terms, exactly 270 deg )

3) If you have ABS, find out the speed of the self-test (my Taurus was 19mph) and when I had to fix an uncalibrated speedo I started the engine and slowly accelerated till I heard the ABS test. It was as (indicated) 15mph. I pulled the cluster, held the mechanism at 15mph then pulled the needle off and put it back on at 19mph. Then I went on the freeway, put the cruise control at 60mph and timed myself between mile-markers. Did the math to see the actual speed when the needle showed 60pmh. Then did the same hold mechanism @60, pull needle off and put it back on at 62mph (actual speed).

4) If you have an auto, the engine shouldn't let you over-rev in Park or Neutral. I think the limit in my Taurus was like 4k rpm (anyone know the Maxima limit?) So rev up till you hit the limiter and not the indicated rpm at the limiter. The remove and reposition the needle as above. If you have a stick, then you'll just have to bounce off the redline limiter which is probably about 6200 rpm (anyone care to contribute the real figure?)

These are not the only ways - this is just off the top of my head. Use your imagination, but don't blow up your engine or crash 'cos you're only staring at the guages! Good luck.

 

Wow the recalibrating your guages on the fly is pretty dangerous! I would suggest finding a shop with a dynometer and calibrating your speedometer needles on that. That way, you can really go 60MPH and adjust your needle without any danger.

 

Sorry - I should have been more clear... All needle adjustments should happen when you are STOPPED - I'm not advocating pulling needles off at 60mph! I mean get the actual speed at an indicated 60mph and then when you get home you can pull the needle and reposition it. The thing with the speedo needle on a cable-driven speedo is the mechanism is usually exposed at the back so you can manually turn the needle to the 60mph position and then hold it there from the back of the guage, then pull the needle off the front and put it in the new position. Again, the actual repositioning happens when you're back at home. I figured that would be obvious , but I'd better clarify...

 

I had these same problems when I installed mine. Here is what I did.

1. For the temperature needle: Started the car and let it warm up for 15 minutes, just to be safe. Then I manually placed the temp needle in the center of the gauge. Works perfect.

2. For the fuel needle: I went to a gas station and filled the sucker up. Then just manually placed the gas needle above the full mark.

3. For my speedo, this was interesting. Your cruise control will only activate at 30 m.p.h. or above. So I took my brother along and brought to car slowly up to 30 m.p.h. and as soon as the cruise was able to kick in, I told my brother to take the wheel and I placed the needle on 30 m.p.h. It was perfect. Or if you want, you can call a Speedo-calibration company from the back of your phone book and they can do this for you more precise.

4. For the tachometer: I turned the car on and let it warm up for about 15 minutes. Normal idling is around 500-800. So all I did is place it at around 600 when at idle. One way to check if you are right is if you have an auto.....go under WOT and see when it redlines. If it redlines right at or a tad before 6500, then you got it. Otherwise try it again.

I hope this helps you.

 

dont goto the dealer....they'll tell you that u need a new guage cluster.....which is most probably not the problem......goto your local mechanic - give em 50 bucks and they'll do it for you.....but if you wanna be a rebel....

 

Thanks guys. I'll try to fix it soon. The fuel and temp gauges seem easy. Just the speedometer and tachometer that are a bit tricky.

 

Is that a good idea? I thought our cars usually run below the 1/2 mark. Your engine is probably running cooler than indicated on the gauge.

Pro: You'll never overheat the motor (unless you don't look at the gauge)
Con: Winter warm up is decieving, you'll think the engine is warm when it isn't.

True?

I've got a handheld GPS that calculates speed .... YAY!

 

how did you guys take off your needles....i am kinda scared to do this my tach is off by 1000 rpm srewed it up when installing my indiglos. so any help would be apprciated