Dead Tachometer

[90Celsior]

Awhile ago i hit a curb with my car on the passenger side. Its the left side of my car (JDM import). After that accident my tachometer wouldnt register, actually it sits below zero! however, my speedo still works. When the car's rpm's go high enough then the tach seems to start moving. but it obviously isnt registering at the correct rpm.

I'm wondering if a cable came loose or where i should begin to start looking to fix this problem.

has anyone else had this happen to them?

[90Celsior]

no one else has encountered this?

[fsuguy]

Hi 90Celsior,

I have a 92 LS400 and the same problem! Car came with the problem - needle below zero, moves slightly with high RPMs, all other gauges work. I have not had a chance to check into the issue, but various check are indicated. One of the threads in the forum suggests sticky needle (hardened grease(?)), although I wonder about that.

If you find out how to fix, I would appreciate the info.

TIA

Mike

[tofu]

I have this problem on my 95 LS400 sometime the tach or odometer would not work. I just tap on the cluster instrument panel and it works.. someone told me that the cluster panel needs to be removed and cleaned the connectors.. I did and it wored for the whole year but now it is acting up again..

[cjmeyer]

I have this problem on my 95 LS400 sometime the tach or odometer would not work. I just tap on the cluster instrument panel and it works.. someone told me that the cluster panel needs to be removed and cleaned the connectors.. I did and it wored for the whole year but now it is acting up again..

My 95 is the same as tofu.A tap on the dash wakes up the tach and the speedo

[chilkoot]

my mechanic diagnosed it as a 'cracked resistor plate' on the circuit board behind the dash. mine is affected by heat as well, doesn't start cutting out until it hits about 75 degrees outside.

[17LexusOwner]

i have a '91 ls and it just recently started acting up. the tach sometimes doesn't register but then after awhile it will start to work fine again. i'm gonna have to guess it would be hardened grease by the way it acts and get stuck up.

[Blake_batonrouge]

I have this problem on my 95 LS400 sometime the tach or odometer would not work. I just tap on the cluster instrument panel and it works.. someone told me that the cluster panel needs to be removed and cleaned the connectors.. I did and it wored for the whole year but now it is acting up again..

Can you tell me how you went about cleaning the contacts?

[Mhouse11]

I have the same problem in my '91 Ls. Took it to the dealer who basically told me each guage in the dash has its own computer. In the past, they would replace one computer.. like the tachometer... but that in turn would mess up something else like the speedometer. So basically inoder to fix that problem they would have to replace the entire dashboard computer....

Estimated cost: $3,500...

Um, needless to say i can live without knowing my cars RPMs

[Blake_batonrouge]

I have the same problem in my '91 Ls. Took it to the dealer who basically told me each guage in the dash has its own computer. In the past, they would replace one computer.. like the tachometer... but that in turn would mess up something else like the speedometer. So basically inoder to fix that problem they would have to replace the entire dashboard computer....

Estimated cost: $3,500...

Um, needless to say i can live without knowing my cars RPMs

Why does that not suprise me. I called my dealer for a valve adjustment and I swear they thought I was speaking a new language. It's pretty sad when you have to get a tech to find out if you do that type of work.

[ramnozack]

okay guys, I am going to give you a very constructive advice on how to fix this problem.first remove the cluster and if you do not know how go to lexls.com and follow the instructions.then remove the face cover .first grap the tach needle gently and pull untill you hear a pop,again be gentle and do not ge scared.once you hear the pop move the needle clockwise untill it pops again then gently release it.now move the needle slowly counterclock till you sit it over the zero an on the dot and make sure that it sits right on the zero.to check your work move it gently say to the mark 3 then let go it should snap right back to zero,once you have accomplished this ,you are rock & roll baby.the same thing goes for speedometer.back light is not working change cap 212,after making sure your cathodes are okay meaning the bulbs.if not you can get them at a very good price from plano lexus,they are awsome as far as price goes.gas guage slow change cap 142.while you are at it change any bad or weak bulbs ,be the warning ones or the indicator ones such as shifter position.by the way guys the cluster lexus has on the first gen is the 1992,because the psb are so robust,where the 1993 and 1994 are made a little bit on the cheapy side.this job should take about an hour if you how to handle things.good luck and let me know.

please make a donation to lexls.com,this guy is great.may god bless his soul.

[90LS400Lexus]

Well, I posted a new thread on this, because I could not find this before. I recently noticed that my needle sets near "0" when the car is idling in drive. It will go up when driving, etc, but it seems to be lower than it should be.

Has anyone else tried the above technique and had success?

I am wondering if this is my issue?

[hughes369]

Awhile ago i hit a curb with my car on the passenger side. Its the left side of my car (JDM import). After that accident my tachometer wouldnt register, actually it sits below zero! however, my speedo still works. When the car's rpm's go high enough then the tach seems to start moving. but it obviously isnt registering at the correct rpm.

I'm wondering if a cable came loose or where i should begin to start looking to fix this problem.

has anyone else had this happen to them?

My RPM Needle sits below Zero. Barely moves when you rev it up. My car is Left Hand drive 1991 LS400. So , yes, its happening to my car now.

[Mattelex]

okay guys, I am going to give you a very constructive advice on how to fix this problem.first remove the cluster and if you do not know how go to lexls.com and follow the instructions.then remove the face cover .first grap the tach needle gently and pull untill you hear a pop,again be gentle and do not ge scared.once you hear the pop move the needle clockwise untill it pops again then gently release it.now move the needle slowly counterclock till you sit it over the zero an on the dot and make sure that it sits right on the zero.to check your work move it gently say to the mark 3 then let go it should snap right back to zero,once you have accomplished this ,you are rock & roll baby.the same thing goes for speedometer.back light is not working change cap 212,after making sure your cathodes are okay meaning the bulbs.if not you can get them at a very good price from plano lexus,they are awsome as far as price goes.gas guage slow change cap 142.while you are at it change any bad or weak bulbs ,be the warning ones or the indicator ones such as shifter position.by the way guys the cluster lexus has on the first gen is the 1992,because the psb are so robust,where the 1993 and 1994 are made a little bit on the cheapy side.this job should take about an hour if you how to handle things.good luck and let me know.

please make a donation to lexls.com,this guy is great.may god bless his soul.

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I tried this today on my 92 ls400. Both my tach and speedometer wer resting below zero one the dash. Took this advice and pulled the cluster. (wich do this in a quiet place, the sounds were hard to hear) but after reassembly the guages work well again. The tach is still sticky but i can live with it.....

Thanks for the idea!! Saved from buying sensors and a cluster which were my thoughts of how to fix itthanks again

[91LS400vgb]

okay guys, I am going to give you a very constructive advice on how to fix this problem.first remove the cluster and if you do not know how go to lexls.com and follow the instructions.then remove the face cover .first grap the tach needle gently and pull untill you hear a pop,again be gentle and do not ge scared.once you hear the pop move the needle clockwise untill it pops again then gently release it.now move the needle slowly counterclock till you sit it over the zero an on the dot and make sure that it sits right on the zero.to check your work move it gently say to the mark 3 then let go it should snap right back to zero,once you have accomplished this ,you are rock & roll baby.the same thing goes for speedometer.back light is not working change cap 212,after making sure your cathodes are okay meaning the bulbs.if not you can get them at a very good price from plano lexus,they are awsome as far as price goes.gas guage slow change cap 142.while you are at it change any bad or weak bulbs ,be the warning ones or the indicator ones such as shifter position.by the way guys the cluster lexus has on the first gen is the 1992,because the psb are so robust,where the 1993 and 1994 are made a little bit on the cheapy side.this job should take about an hour if you how to handle things.good luck and let me know.

please make a donation to lexls.com,this guy is great.may god bless his soul.

I realize this is an old thread, but I thought this might help others.

I also tried this on my 91 LS. In my case, the RPMs were reading about 600 less than they should have been until one day after hitting a pothole, the needle dropped to 100, and then would drop below zero after shutting off the engine.

it looks like this procedure fixed the issue - the RPMs match the ECU reading (using a scantool) perfectly. Hopefully, it will last.

Thanks for your help.

[Exhaustgases]

Just goofed up posting here. I tried to delete the whole post.