Anyone else had this problem? I started up my car the other day, turned on the lights, and noticed my speedometer and fuel gauge were completely dark. Tried turning off/on the lights a couple of times, no luck. Seems like a loose contact somewhere, but wondering if anyone else has run into this. Doesn't seem like a bulb cause the entire left side is out.

 

could be a bulb, or two
if i remember correctly, there are 4 #74 bulbs that illuminate the gauge cluster, maybe 2 of them went out not sure
are you using the stock halogen bulbs or did you LED mod it?
if stock, it's perhaps the bulbs went out
one of my friends with a 5th gen had his entire side out because of a bad bulb

 

i have the same thing to me happen everyonce in a while, i think its a loose contact because it comes back on on its own, its a pain in the *** because when im driving in very dark roads i dont know how fast im going i havent taken the time to take it apart but since it comes back on on its own im not really worried about it, if you really want to get it fixed just take the cluster apart and check the connections for that side of the cluster

 

I would pop the gauge cluster out and check the connection and bulbs. There are only 2 bulbs that light the actual gauge cluster itself (which is why the cluster is retardedly dim), then a bulb for each lcd display.

S

 

They came back, so I'm guessing a loose connection. I imagine if theres only one bulb in charge of the entire left side, then the piece inside the bulb could be on it's last leg.

Any legitimate decent wide angle LEDs out there that are worth it? My friend doesn't do custom LED work anymore.

 

It's only worth doing plug n play LEDs if you get "HIGH POWER" LEDs. Like at least 0.5watts. Anything less will be too dim. The best plug n play route is to dremel out the holes slightly and solder in some #194 High Power Wide Angle LEDs. So not really plug n play, but easier than a full LED conversion. Trust me. That'll give you more light than any #74 LED could give you.

 

I have actually had this problem too with my 01 maxima. I figured it was a bad lightbulb and probably stock. Only thing is, how hard is it to remove the dash? I figure replacing the bulb is easy.

 

Easy. Lower steering wheel. Remove 3 screws under steering wheel (around the column). Remove black ring around key area. Pull steering column trim pieces apart and remove top one. Remove 2 screws under the gauge eyebrow. Pull gauge trim firmly out. Remove whatever connections on back of gauge trim that you need to in order to access the gauges (I don't completely disconnect it... just enough to place it aside to make room). Unscrew 3 screws holding the cluster in. Ease cluster out, being careful not to scratch clear plastic face on steering column area.

Now you can get at the bulbs. On my 2k2, there are 4 bulbs for the gauges, and then a bunch of others for other things (signal arrows, etc.). Now you can either replace the 4 bulbs with regular #74 incandescent bulbs or dremal the holes out slightly and solder in some #194 HIGH POWER LEDs.

 

We have a similar issue with our '01 for a couple of years now. Only, it's a case where the entire right half of the cluster goes dark. It comes and goes, but it's always an entire side of the cluster, not just a gauge face. I've had it apart, and re-did the connections, but that didn't solve it. The idiot lights still work, though.

 

jowo, your guage cluster looks very nice from the pic in your sig. I have a dumb question though. Can the high power leds you installed be dimmed?

 

you`ll need these LEDs for the cluster

http://cgi.ebay.com/10PC-0-5W-StrawH...57271387704006

 

Anyone got a photo of LED bulbs installed in the gauge cluster? I'm considering doing this as those little LCD screens found on the 2002 sometimes goes dark on me then it'll light up after some random amount of time. I've also had the RPM or MPH numbering go dark as well, but they do light up after some time.

 

I can tell you this:

Unless you are looking to do your own LED work (actually buying the diodes and soldering each one to your own panel and wiring it to fit behind the cluster), most LEDs are going to be dimmer than the stock bulbs. I ran into this a number of times except with ONE setup I used.

www.autolumination.com has hyper white LED bulb setups that if you use 4 of them, they'll light the cluster up. Unfortunately, it will have slight hot-spots, and it will not be much brighter than stock. The only real purpose for doing this?

It'll turn the guage cluster blue instead of pale green. I liked it because I had blue LEDs throughout the rest of the interior as well, and a blue escort radar detector. Worked well, but is more a matter of taste than utility.