i know this forum is for performance mods, but i ran into a problem that i need help with that is off the topic. i removed the needles from the dash gauges on a '99 silverado in order to install a new dash display kit. i put the needles back on the gauges after i was done and the needles do not move or work when the truck is turned on. do i have to align the needles up accurately in order to get them to work?

 

You plugged the cluster back in right? Assuming you did, you may have put the needles back on to hard and thier getting stuck on the guage face or damaged the servos somehow. Did you mark where the needles were at when you removed them? If you not your most likely going to need a recalibration. Ask me, I know all about it. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="gr_sad.gif" /> I did this mod shortly after the gauge faces came out and really screwed up my cluster because the servos had moved after I removed the needles.

 

thanks for replying. i plugged the cluster back in. yes, i did forget to mark the needles. i wish they would of told me that in the directions. the needles were easy to remove. i just pulled them straight out. now some of the needles face downward. the speedo is stuck on 20 MPH. the tach is on 0. sometimes the speedo will jump to 40 mph. i hope i am not screwed. the kit i bought from stylin concepts. it is made by Eurolite (Blue Carbon Electro-Luminescent Gauges). looks great, but it would be nice to know how fast i am going, especially with my bolt-on mods.

 

Not good. Your going to need to send your cluster in for service/recalibration through the dealer. When I had to do it it cost me $250 bucks. All of my needles read incorrectly and the speedo hung between 20 and 60 miles per hour. Good luck.

 

Yea dude, those guage faces are bad news. If i were you i'd just go ahead and buy a new cluster, or better yet, get the escalade cluster....they're fosho!

 

Yeah, just get you an escalade cluster. You can get one of those for $250.

 

pretty much everyone across the forum said i'm screwed. why would the directions say to remove the needles from the gauges in order to get the dash overlay in place? i wrote the company. i'm sure they have had complaints in the past. they should of warned customers of this posssibility. "easy installation", my A$$. thanks for the feedback everyone. i must look like an idot now.

 

Nah man, i did the exact same thing...that's why i got the escalade cluster now. It's awesome.

 

well, for all those that said i am screwed and would have to pay $250 for a new cluster or recalibration, i just saved myself $250. i was able to solve the problem. actually it was pretty simple and i feel stupid that i didn't think of it before. i guess i just had a panic attack. i removed all the needles/pointers, turned on the ignition. i placed the 1st needle at 700 RPM when in park. i just filled up my tank and place that needle at full. i made sure my truck was completely warmed up and placed the temp gauge in the correct spot. as for the mph needle, which i feel is the most important to me, i end up placing it in the resting position and proceeded to drive and see if it was at 15 mph when the doors locked automatically. it was close enough (16-17 mph). at least i will think i am going faster than i really am. it will help keep my insurance down due to the lack of tickets. kind of a good way to recalibrate it, but not exact. i also checked to see were my shift points were for both RPM and MPH. it looked good to me. thanks for the info guys, i did check out those escalade clusters, and they looked sweet. but i like my new dash overlay better. i soon will develop a website and put pics of it and my truck. by the way, anyone know of any tracks in upstate NY where i can do 1/4 runs and get some ET's? all i found so far are dirt tracks up here.

 

I have a NuImage gauge face (Silver with the Escalade lens). When I first put it together I was lost none of the needls worked right. Then I came up with the idea of starting the truck without the lens or needls on and I would put the needs on where they should be at idle and they they worked right then I put it back together and drove off into the sunset.

For the speedo it was a little harder to set I had to put it in drive and roll very slowley to get it right

<small>[ January 30, 2003, 07:31 PM: Message edited by: goldenvelvet ]</small>