Removing needles on instrument cluster
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I am having a bit of trouble removing needles from an instrument cluster I am doing up for my car
any tips as i seem to have already destroyed the fuel gauge needle :oops:
this isnt my strong point and I dont want to destroy any more parts :x
any tips or tricks on what should happen are greatly received
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On the 323F's we use a fork or something similar behind the needle and they come off with ease :)
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oh no!, did you not read mine and dirtyfox conversation. They dont come off, when i asked on mx3.com on a how to, i was repeatedly shouted at NO DONT PULL NEEDLES!!, the dials slip over the needles over the existing dials. The fuel/temp is the trickest one. I undone the barrals from the PCB so you can rotate the needles and have them both pointing up. I wish i done a how to on them really. So many victims of snapped needle syndrome !!
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Technically you can remove the pointer without taking the needle out with two teaspoons but its likely the needle will come out too and then the guage is pretty useless, I would get another set of clocks and start again without removing any needles or pointers if you can.
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You don't need to remove them if you are doing reverse glow dials etc.
You just need to work around them.
PM me if you need another set of dials, I think i have a set lying around £12.50 plus postage. Let me know if your interested and i will have a look.
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also,
will delete this link once action ends not to clog up thread
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Thanks guys knew I went wrong somewhere lol, I have another set of dials in the shed, unfortunately this set had low mileage for the car :evil:
I will look to see if its possible to swap the whole part over so I keep the mileage :wink:thanks - made a right poop up, thought I had crcked it using a crab fork to remove them but I have ruined it now lol
DARYL - HOW MANY MILES DOES YOUR CLOCKJS HAVE
Thanks all :lol:
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The dials all come out separately. If you haven't touched the speedo yet your be fine. I've got one last dial left which is speedo one which has 109k on it if needed.
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right move clear lid by pushing in tabs and your be at this phase.
Then remove the black surround, ( which im tempted to spray ! ), again pushing in the tabs and your be here.
On the back side of the PCB, your see 6 brass screws, remove these and the fuel/ temp dial will be released.
Right once the dial is out you see more brass screws as per this pic below of the rpm guage i removed for fox. The long screws in pic are the ones that you previously removed to release the dial.
Firstly remove the dial face retaining screws, then remove more brass screws as seen in pic above, then it will release the servo from the guage pcb, then CAREFULLY and take your time on this one, have the needles pointing both up and slip the new dials over existing. Then reinstall dial face screws and, re install brass screws on pcb, and reset the needles to where they were before ( fuel ), i ensured my tank was nearly empty when i done mine so that i knew to leave it at its lowest point. I then refilled tank to full to ensure it went straight to full after re fit. Refit to cluster PCB.
Take your time and dont over tighten screws. Honestly the fuel/temp are the hardest to work around, this is where needles snap. The speedo and rpm dials just slide straight on and you wont need to play with servos, pcbs screws etc.
I rekon allow a hour to get it all done and cluster back together ready to be put back in dash
Some of the cheap ebay dials are quite thick. So the needles may catch. In this case your gonna have to remove your glow dials and so carefully sand the under side of the needles. I know for a fact the speedhut ones fit without this need.
The wiring was negative with a holed lug to the metal frame behind clusters and the live was spliced onto the dash dimmer switch, if you need to know which wire, i can pull my dimmer out and find out if you like.
I left my glow switch /dimmer tucked under steering wheel cowl.
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Lol - have not taken the cluster out yet and thus not seen the PCB. The layout made me smile. Looks like some Japanese had fun with an etching pen. :)
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youd have no chance doing this with a modern car i doubt !
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THANKS GARFY
Will be a lot more careful now lol, thank god for my endless garage of parts lol
will get it done the weekend and get pics up of the finished item :D
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If you can take pics of anything I haven't covered like final connection. Then were get this onto a how to guide.
No problemo.
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will do 8)
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Once finished installing the guages its worth having a clean up and removing all your fingerprints with rubbing alcohol/surgical spirit.
I mounted my dimmer switch next to the hazard warning switch> looks cool there as the words speedhut light up in blue LED fashion :D
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GARFY & DJ's HOW TO is now live :wink:
http://www.uk-mx3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=46195#46195
If I have missed anything PM me and I will update it :D