Tach & Oil Gauge stopped working

[Kozmatic]

New issue noticed today. All of a sudden my tach is stuck on 2100 rpm and the oil gauge stopped working. Both were working fine and both stopped at same time. The rest of the gauges are working normally...so not fuse 5, although I did pull and replace with no better results. No other issues that I can tell. What would just break all of a sudden? I'm thinking ground somewhere, but wouldn't that mean all the gauges would quit together? ....binnacle has never been removed as far as I know...Is that where I'm heading next?

[DMCMW Dave]

New issue noticed today. All of a sudden my tach is stuck on 2100 rpm and the oil gauge stopped working. Both were working fine and both stopped at same time. The rest of the gauges are working normally...so not fuse 5, although I did pull and replace with no better results. No other issues that I can tell. What would just break all of a sudden? I'm thinking ground somewhere, but wouldn't that mean all the gauges would quit together? ....binnacle has never been removed as far as I know...Is that where I'm heading next?

Probably. All the gauges are on the same fuse. Most likely a bad connection on the larger of the two cluster connectors at the PC board.

[Kozmatic]

Probably. All the gauges are on the same fuse. Most likely a bad connection on the larger of the two cluster connectors at the PC board.

Welp... how hard can it be? Guess this is a good time for bulb replacements too. :)

[Jonathan]

Welp... how hard can it be? Guess this is a good time for bulb replacements too. :)

If there was some measurement of "differential difficulty" in terms of how hard the job seemed before you did it for the first time and how hard it actually is after you've done it once, binnacle removal to work on cluster bulbs or gauges or trip reset shafts would get a very high score.

Not saying it is simple, not necessarily the first time anyway. But once you've read about how to do it and then go ahead and do it, it is very straight forward. Just my opinion anyway. I had a list of things piling up that needed me to get into the cluster and when I finally did, I looked back wondering what the fuss had been all about.

I will suggest taking the driver's seat out as the first step in this job (which is also very easy, depending on rust I guess). It will give you much more room to work while you are upside down in the driver's footwell.

[DMC5180]

I will suggest taking the driver's seat out as the first step in this job (which is also very easy, depending on rust I guess). It will give you much more room to work while you are upside down in the driver's footwell.

Although I did do this upside down under the dash the very first time. I can now do it in 2 minutes flat kneeling outside the car working Blind. Ofcoarse I know what to remove by feel.

To make this a bit easier you need to light up the footwell with a droplight or even your Smart phone will work. lay the light on the floor pointing UP and have mirror handy. Now you will be able to see the obstacles that need removing.

1. Loosen the steering column adjuster and let the column drop to the lowest position.

2. Remove the forward screw from the plastic air vent duct support strap. You can simply bend the strap down a couple inches which is enough to allow the duct to come out to the left side. First you need push back on the paper duct to disconnect it from the ring in the knee pad.

3. With duct removed reach up and pull out the square flasher relay. When it's in place it obscures access to one of the binnacle nuts.

4. Now all you have left are FOUR 7MM socket nuts to remove that are up against fiberglass shelf. There are 2 on each side of the steering column. I use a 7MM deep socket on a nut driver handle. With those nuts removed you can now lift up on the binnicle to gain access to the speedo cable. Push the spring tab inward toward the housing to release the cable.

5. Tip the binnacle down so the you see the wire connectors through the windshield. squeeze the connectors at the ends with your thumb and index finger to release them. Remove binnacle from car.