Stick tach needle

[steveinjapan]

My tach needle only drops to 1500 now but can be "tapped" back to normal idle speed. Just started doing it suddenly today but we've had exceptional high humidity the last few weeks and I see a little fog around the rim of the glass cover. Is there any safe way to get the glass cover off without removing the whole cluster?

Steve in Okinawa

[4Aaron GE]

Kind of. You can pull the back off the cluster while it's still in the car, but once you get to that point, you may as well just pull the harness out from the cluster and get the rest of the cluster out. Otherwise, it'll be a royal PITA.

[steveinjapan]

I had the cluster out once to swap all the lamps with LEDs and I remember it was difficult to get the mounting bolts lined up when I replaced it. Maybe I'll wait until it gets cooler, and by that time maybe it will dry out and start working again :)

[4Aaron GE]

Perhaps throw a couple of silica gel packs in the back and hope they do something?

[BomberMan]

I've had a similar problem with a sticky tach needle around the idle area. Either that or my car is demonically possessed and the engine continues to idle with the key removed. :P

I fixed the issue by removing the cluster and applying a light oil to the bits around the needle motor. That was about 10,000 km ago, and it still works fine. Some oils can stain the gauge face if you're too liberal with applying it so be careful there. In my case there was some slight rust that had begun to form, so if the gauges are getting fogged in yours I would say a disassembly is warranted so the inside can be dried before oiling and reassembly.

[steveinjapan]

Thanks Bomberman. I will get around to removing the cluster now the weather is cooling. Yesterday I had the rather unpleasant surprise of learning that the needle also sticks in the high direction. It doesn't go past 6500, which was a bit scary, as I was accelerating up a steep hill thinking I was still in a safe rev range, and suddenly felt the engine reach the limiter!

I agree it must be a lubrication and/or rust issue. It has been low-ish humidity for a week or two now and the problem did not go away as I had hoped it would.

Steve in Okinawa

[BomberMan]

Ugh, I don't want to imagine what corrosion must be like in Oki man... Good luck!

[steveinjapan]

Would someone kindly remind me how to remove the instrument cluster? I vaguely recall some bolts that had to be undone below the steering column cover, but now I can't find them. I'm 5 years older than the last time!

Thanks,
Steve

[BomberMan]

After the lower part of the steering column cover is removed (4 screws) you'll have access to the 3 screws that hold the cluster in place. They're small and one is at an odd angle so it'll require some yoga, not too difficult though. After this there is one last screw that holds it to the dash. This one is behind the pop-off rubber cover on the back of the cluster. You just need to loosen it a little and the cluster should slide right out.

[old'uns]

After the lower part of the steering column cover is removed (4 screws) you'll have access to the 3 screws that hold the cluster in place. They're small and one is at an odd angle so it'll require some yoga, not too difficult though.

I 'think' from memory that the 3 are Hex heads?

[4Aaron GE]

Mine are all Phillips head.