Anyone know of someone/somewhere which will repair the speedo on the 300zx? I seem to have b@llsed mine up by removing the needle - Oops! Gave Speedy Cables a call, but they weren't sure without looking at it and quoted £80-£120 plus vat and delivery anyway.........

try pulling the needle out slightly, if they are pushed in too much when refitting it can balls it up, so pull it out slightly then try it.

Right, ive taken my old jap clocks apart, and also removed the needle to find out what problem your going to have.

 

Now with the unit removed from the dash cluster

 

 

The only real problem is, the needle housing is enclosed, so not much use there.

 

Its soldered on to the PCB in 4 places and also held in place by the 4 copper screw mounts

 

 

so replacing the unit is going to be a pain in the ass by the looks of that, unless you get a new needle PCB with the needle already in place.

 

When the needle is removed you can clearly see the splines in the needle shaft

 

 

This connects inside the unit. problem being is, once removed it is free of the housing that in closes the splines onto the plastic holder at the bottom.

 

Now my perfectly good rev counter needle (didn't touch) if it works the same as the speed needle is quite floppy with very little resistance.

 

Only problem I've found so far, with placing the needle back in, is that there now seems to be movement in the vertical plane of the needle, so even when bringing the needle back out slightly it eventually works its way back into the unit thus stopping it moving.

 

 

My only thought on repair would be to either put a small paper washer inbetween the unit housing and the needle and hope it doesnt interfere with the workings. or strip the unit down completely and see if you can get to the rear of the needle to glue it back into place, I wouldn't recommend putting glue on the splines and pushing the needle back through the hole as it would just get stuck half way down before you even got the needle seated right, even then im sure you would end up gluing the needle mech lower down thus ruining the speed o completely,

 

Only real advice would be to see if anyone has a spare set of clocks they are dismantling and installing a new needle PCB, biggest problem though would be getting the dial face off with out taking the needle off in the first place to get to the screws.

 

Not much use i know, but doesnt look like a very servicable part to me.

Edited July 14, 201114 yr by vodkashots

You've pulled the needle and shaft out together (as above) then? If so, you'll prob have to get a replacement... You can pull the needle of without removing the shaft, just a bit fiddly.

Cheers for that Vodkashots - Much obliged to you - Some excellent research there! Vodkashots/Rich I think the problem has come from when I read an online guide recommending alternately turning the needle fully clockwise/counterclockwise and gently pulling to remove - It seemed to shift the 'finishing point' of the needle on each turn. I removed it fine without pulling the spline out, and only placed it back on carefully - Perhaps a little too carefully (I'll have a look!) I'm thinking that the turning fully one way then the other has damaged something?

Just thinking - I have my old set of jap clocks - Perhaps I can swap the needle unit parts over? I'll have to strip 'em (and risk ruining my jap needle - Think I'll just go for the 'gentle tugging' approach :)) and see if they're the same part no.........

Cheers for that Vodkashots - Much obliged to you - Some excellent research there! Vodkashots/Rich I think the problem has come from when I read an online guide recommending alternately turning the needle fully clockwise/counterclockwise and gently pulling to remove - It seemed to shift the 'finishing point' of the needle on each turn. I removed it fine without pulling the spline out, and only placed it back on carefully - Perhaps a little too carefully (I'll have a look!) I'm thinking that the turning fully one way then the other has damaged something?

 

 

resetting up the rev gauge is easy if you knock it out slightly, you have to get the needle sitting on the end mark when at rest if that makes sense.

 

You may have to lift the needle over the needle stop to do it, you will feel the resistance, just do it gently and see where the needle sits.

It's ages since I messed with mine, but I think I removed the stopper and wound it off...

 

If you can get some small pliers on the spine to absorb the shocks, try tapping it on a bit harder.... nothing much to loose now I suppose!

Just thinking - I have my old set of jap clocks - Perhaps I can swap the needle unit parts over? I'll have to strip 'em (and risk ruining my jap needle - Think I'll just go for the 'gentle tugging' approach :)) and see if they're the same part no.........

 

You could do, but its still going to involve taking the dial face off to get to the screws holding the clear plastic part off to get to the screws holding the boost gauge in place, other wise its going to be one fiddly job.

Ideally you need to remove and replace the needle under load, ie ign plugged in and ign lights on.

Cheers guys - I'll certainly have another bash (not too hard though!) at removing/replacing the needle and see if I can get it working. Will let you know the results ;)