sorry if this is a repeat question. i tried using the search but it sucks.

i paid a place to put in my gauges and i think they messed it up. basically the temp gauge and the speedometer are completely off. most noticably, instead of resting at zero the needle on the spedometer points STRAIGHT DOWN!!! they said that i needed a pin or something to hold it at the zero. i have no idea what they're talking about. they said i just need to get it recalibrated from the dealership. They say they did not break anything.

it seems like other people on the board are only having trouble getting it to stick. can anyone tell me what they did wrong? or how to fix it since their intallation is supposed to be guarenteed. yeah yeah i know i should have done it myself but i just don't have the time. any input at all would be appreciated. thanks!

 

If you wanna do it right, you gotta do it yourself.

Anyways... I'm assuming they took out the stock gauges and I'm assuming your talking about the indiglos. First off, what year Max do you have? The 95-97 don't have screw holes, the 98-99 does.

They took off your stock gauges and the needle rest hole is too big to just stick the needle in there. If it points straight down when the car is off, it's okay. Just as long as the temp needle stays in the middle and all the needles read the right reading.

Get a thumbtack or something similar and make sure the needle is long enough so that the gauge needle can rest on it and tape that sucker to the back of the indiglos.

But... if you think the readings are completely off, better to take the indiglos out, put the stock ones back on, take it to the dealer, get raped, and then put the indiglos on yourself. And this time, keep the stock gauges on. Go to http://www.maximadriver.com and go to How2 and you'll see directions on how to put the indiglos on the right way.

And people stuck their indiglos on with a hot glue gun. People who used the tape have had problems. Me included. BUt the people who tried the hot glue gun have had no problems.

 

It seems like shops mess up the easy installs. How much did they charge you to mess up your car?

 

you know what the kicker is!? I made their life sooo easy by printing out those maximadriver instructions for them to look at so there would be no possible way for them to mess up. The freaking thing has step by step pictures!!!

btw i have a 98 maxima. and yes they did take off the stocks..i'm staring at them in disbelief now.

so basically if they put the stock gauges back on and then put the indiglos over them like they should have in the first place it should work? or is the damage already done?

i guess i'm just trying to determine which of the two methods is better at this point: the tack method you were describing or putting the stocks back in and putting the indiglos over them. what did you mean by getting "raped" by the dealer. am i gonna have to get them recalibrated? how much is it gonna cost? the speedometer gauge does move but if its accurate..i dunno. if i need to shouldnt i get it recalibrated AFTER i reinstall them the correct way?

oh yeah and the temp gauge is all the way at Hot..i dunno what there excuse for that is though..is that beyond repair?

thanks again for any input i'm so lost here.

 

Temp gauge at hot... sounds familiar... that's what happened to my gauges when I took the indiglos off.

Well... right now, you don't know if your speedo is correct. It could be a bit off. If you can live with that, that's cool. My tach gauge is off too. I took the stock gauge off and screwed around with it. But I figure that my tach is a little less important than my speedo so I didn't mess with my speedo.

Right now, it's up to you. If you feel that everything is all good, just that your needles are looking funny when you turn off the car, just pop the tacks in there.

And anything at the dealer is expensive. They'll tell you that they have to take the dash apart and take the gauge out to recalibrate. (Which they do, but they make is sound like a big deal.) And then they'll start asking questions like why'd you do it in the first place, blah blah blah.

I'm planning on getting some SE gauges by the summertime so... I'm not too worried about the tach and the temp gauge for now.

It's relatively easy to put everything back together. And the proper way via Maximadriver.com was to put the indiglos over your stock. So... the other way to go would be to take indiglos off, put stock back on, get it recalibrated, then put indiglos back on.

 

That happened to me too. That happened to me yesterday. All my Speedo is mess up. My Fuel is not all the way up to full is on second line, MPH is on 15 MPH, RPM is on 2, and when I turn my car on the TEMP is on hot. They will do it for $40 to put on indiglo...now they want me to pay them $97. That F*** up! They didn't do a good job. Lucky that I pay them $45 but they still want me to pay them $47. I SHOULD do it by myself. Damn it!

 

Another option for you guys with messed up gauges is to order a used gauge pod from a junkyard or used parts dealer. Ask how much the dealer will charge for exact re-calibration. If it's over $125 or so, do some searching on the internet for used Maxima parts. I've seen used gauge pods for as low as $65 (shipping included). Some have warranties, some don't - make sure you ask. The only bad thing with the used pods is that the mileage will obviously be off from the true mileage of your car.