1993 Sc300 Instrument Gauge Cluster Problem

[roman309]

Hello everyone, my name is David and this is my first post here on Club
Lexus, so I apologies if I do something incorrectly in the post.

I have a 1992 Lexus SC300 with 194000 miles on it. Every time I start up
the car, my instrument cluster does not light up, and the display of
the odometer flashes random numbers. To correct this, I have to smack
the top of the dashboard over the instrument cluster to get it working
normally. But after turning the car off and letting it sit for a bit-
such as when I go to the store, the same problem occurs when I start the
car back up.

Also, I'm not sure if this is really related to the problem, but the
hour button on the clock does absolutely nothing, even after the
Instrument cluster is working again.

This problem is really getting on my nerves and people think I'm crazy
when they see me beating the dashboard in the store parking lot....



Any ideas on what may be causing the problem??