I wanted to ask because I'm not quite sure.. I bumped my speedo needle tonight while installing LED's in my guage cluster and initially it wouldn't work. After getting home (..while taking it easy on the gas) I opened things back up and played with it a little. Now, it appears to be working again but it does seem a little sluggish. Anyone come across this before? or.. Does anyone know if it will correct itself?
Ask bikerboy about what happens when you fat finger your gauges. New gauge cluster is in your future.
Why would that be? Everything appears ok.. Most I did was tap it, I didn't try forcing anything. Is that how sensitive Subaru's are?
Nope, just the gauges. If you move the needles against their will at all, they will be perma-farked. It it isn't reading right now, it will not get better over time.
yeah i have to agree with the mix. you cant get anywherer near the needles in there or else its fubar. why were you by the needles anyway? dont you install the LEDs from teh back? you might be able to getit repaired, i know there are some guage specialty shops that might and i state might be able to help you. i dont know of any in MN though. good luck.
So, I'm basically screwed then? I should start hunting for a new set? This is kind of b.s., I've never owned or worked on a car that was this sensitive.. As for the 'why I was in there'. I lifted off the lense and laid the cluster on it's back while I was installing things. I was looking for whether or not things lit up. The connectors the LED's came with, weren't the greatest for making contact. It took some time and 'switching' things around. Minus the needle issue, I think it was worth the time.
I do understand why you were in there....trust me, I'm scared to death to mod my gauge cluster (want all red in there ) but speedos and tachs and such are sensitive. They are calibrated and are very sensitive to any forces outside of what they were designed to put up with...mainly a 5v signal to their synchro. Any sort of forced motion will damage that precision. I don't know how many gauge clusters you've messed with in the past, but I know that even the 93 gauge clusters are super sensitive. SO this isn't some new development.
I've done a lot of customization over the years, however, it's been with Nissan parts and Toyota. This is my first Subaru, let alone messing around with it. I'm disappointed to learn that the gauge clusters on theses are so sensitive. I'll be taking off for work soon and I'll see how it does then. Like I said earlier, I wasn't muscling it around, I know what you're talking about when you mention they're sensitive but for it to have no 'bounce back' ability is kind of rediculous in my opinion. If it comes to it, I'm sure I'll be calling the parts shops looking for a replacement but I sure hope it doesn't come to that.
^ yeah look or a used one cause a new one will be $$$$$. you might try checking some of the big swap companies. like garae tuning, or east coast swappers. they sometimes have extras left over form swaps where people keep the GC cluster.
On mine, i bumped it too...i pushed it way way down, but all i did after that was spin it all the way around backwards to 0 and it was fine
I'll check around.. On the drive in, it seemed sluggish on acceleration and then towards the top end around 70, it seemed to register high. It could be that I'm still tired but it does seem to work ok and then it's a little off at higher speeds. Where it registers more than it used to.
Well, I stopped off and ordered a new speedo and tach today. The total came to around $84, not too bad in my opinion. It'll be swapped once I get it.
