"tick Tock" Sound From My Instrument Panel

[flanker271]

My 92 LS suddenly developed a tick tock like sound today. It sounds almost identical to those old mechanical clocks. What's strange, this tick tock sound seems to be speed dependent. The faster I go, the faster it ticks. The sound seems to be coming from the instrument cluster panel, but I can't pinpoint it exactly. The tick tock has nothing to do with the engine. As long as the car is not moving, even if I rev up the engine there is no tick tock sound. Other way around, if I put the car in Neutral while traveling, the tick sound is still there. Could it be my odometer or something else that measures the speed?

[Lexls]

I doubt it's your instrument cluster. There really aren't any big moving parts in it, it's mostly electronic. The fact that it makes a sound while moving only should tell you it's not the cluster :whistles: .

[woodshak]

My 92 LS suddenly developed a tick tock like sound today.  It sounds almost identical to those old mechanical clocks.  What's strange, this tick tock sound seems to be speed dependent.  The faster I go, the faster it ticks.  The sound seems to be coming from the instrument cluster panel, but I can't pinpoint it exactly.  The tick tock has nothing to do with the engine.  As long as the car is not moving, even if I rev up the engine there is no tick tock sound.  Other way around, if I put the car in Neutral while traveling, the tick sound is still there.  Could it be my odometer or something else that measures the speed? 

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[woodshak]

My 91 does this as well. Sometimes it is more noticeable than others. I believe it is the odemeter cable. I have not torn into it to try to fix so I cannot give you any pointers, but you might want to look there.

[flanker271]

My 91 does this as well. Sometimes it is more noticeable than others. I believe it is the odemeter cable. I have not torn into it to try to fix so I cannot give you any pointers, but you might want to look there.

This could be it. My odometer stopped working at 110,000 miles (2 years ago). I had to keep track of my miles using my trip meter and spread sheet. I still couldn't tell if the sound is mechanical or electrical. It sounds both like a clock and the turn signal "clicks". Since the odometer is the only mechanical part in the intstrument panel, I highly suspect the sound comes from the meter.

[Lexls]

Oh, if your odometer isn't working then that's probably it...you should have said that before....it's an important piece of the puzzle! I'll take a quick look at my spare clusters to see if I can find anything that may help.

[lexus400]

I had the same problem and it went away by itself. Pretty sure it's the odometer/speedometer cable making the noise - probably needs some lube.

[VBdenny]

I had a Buick Electra that did the same thing. Then the odometer stopped working. I took it apart and found that the screw holding the cable in was loose and had let the square end of the cable retract from the seat and it caused a ticking as it tried (but failed) to engage.

[flanker271]

Very interesting. I'm convinced that it's the odometer cable then. Strange thing is that my odometer failed 2 years ago but the ticking sound only started yesterday!

[VBdenny]

That might be because the square end of the cable eased out slightly and is making contact with the housing. I dunno, maybe the cable itself broke and it making the noise? Either way, I'd guess it is the cable because it is about the only thing in there that could make that noise that changes with the speed. Probably about impossible to get to it though. I saw in the LS gallary achieve a picture of an LS with the cluster removed. You might be able to see something in one of those pictures. On one of the very last pages.

[90LS400Lexus]

My 1990 did this, but like Lexus400 said, it went away by itself. It only did it for one day and then it was just for a few minutes. I am almost certain it was coming from the odometer. It still worked fine, but had the "click" that clicked more often as the speed increased. Hopefully yours will stop as well.

[Lexls]

Here's a couple pics of what the odometer looks like....

From looking at it my guess is that the odometer motor is still working but one of the plastic gears has been stripped or has jammed up. This would explain the "clicking" noise some of you have experienced.

[bartkat]

Here's a couple pics of what the odometer looks like....

From looking at it my guess is that the odometer motor is still working but one of the plastic gears has been stripped or has jammed up.  This would explain the "clicking" noise some of you have experienced.

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I guess if I was gonna fix that, I'd roll it back a few miles or so while I was at it.

[flanker271]

Lexls, is this odometer in your photo working properly? If so, will you consider sell it to me?

Thanks

[Lexls]

I think it is because nothing appears to be broken...but I haven't tested it on the road. This came from one of the clusters I bought for doing lighting testing. Email me with an offer...I could probably let this one go.

[VBdenny]

Interesting. I noticed in one of the pictures that there is a 1/10 mile digit on the odometer which appears to be blocked by the "miles" portion of the cover. Since my car doesn't have a 1/10 indicator (except on the digital trip meters) I guess that's how it is.

[Lexls]

Interesting.  I noticed in one of the pictures that there is a 1/10 mile digit on the odometer which appears to be blocked by the "miles" portion of the cover.  Since my car doesn't have a 1/10 indicator (except on the digital trip meters) I guess that's how it is.

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It does look like it, but all the numbers on the tenth place are cut in half. It's probably just for spacing.

[90LS400Lexus]

I noticed that too VB.

Interesting.  I noticed in one of the pictures that there is a 1/10 mile digit on the odometer which appears to be blocked by the "miles" portion of the cover.  Since my car doesn't have a 1/10 indicator (except on the digital trip meters) I guess that's how it is.

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[flanker271]

I just discoverd a pattern with my tick tock sound. Here is the deal: The sound come and go in the interval of 10 miles, and stay on for 1.5 miles. I discovered this with my trip meter. Lets say the sound comes on when my trip meter says 23 miles. It will continue stay on until the trip meter says 24.5 miles. The sound then stops until I reach 34.5 miles. The sound then come on again and drives me nuts for another 1.5 miles, and so on...

Very strange. Kinda funny too!

[AzHotLS]

Mine clicks/ticks too. Same thing, clicking gets faster/slower depending on speed. I found this thread and a couple others, but no one says they actually fixed it and what they did.

Has anyone experienced this ticking sound and actually got rid of the sound? If so, what did you do?

[1990LS400]

Replacing the odometer on a 90 LS at 125,000 miles I used to have stopped the ticking. I don't remember the total cost (part + labor) but it was relatively inexpensive. This is a very common problem.

I drove the car to 183,000 miles and the ticking never returned.

[hughes369]

Here's a couple pics of what the odometer looks like....

From looking at it my guess is that the odometer motor is still working but one of the plastic gears has been stripped or has jammed up.  This would explain the "clicking" noise some of you have experienced.

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I guess if I was gonna fix that, I'd roll it back a few miles or so while I was at it.

My odemeter quit counting at 257667, then started counting again till it got to 257706. I took it out to inspect. It looks fine. Bulb was burned out silver looking after pealing off the blue bulb condom, LOL!! What can I do to test it? There are like 4 very tiny wires going to that electric motor that drives the odometer. Can power be applied to it manually to see if it even turns? My digital trip meters are all still working fine, so I dont think anything is wrong with any sensors on the transmissioin... Sewell Lexus Parts does not have a page for looking this part up, they skip any diagram with anything to do with the Cluster assembly. They have the idiot light surround with the warning light bulb strips, but thats the closest thing to the Cluster assembly they list on thier site. Any ideas on how to get it counting again would be appreciated. I guess from the pics that has been posted of the odemeter, everyone can tell that an LS400 does not have an Odemeter cable, LOL!!

[1990LS400]

Hughes, you may have set a record for one of these odometers lasting so you might as well replace it. I looked up the part number for a 92 LS odometer on http://www.toyodiy.com which indicated that it is the same as for the 90 LS I drove for many years - part number 83121-50010. I didn't find the part number at Sewell but this website has them: http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/parts/lexus-odometer-assy~83121-50010.html

The price looks high even with inflation -- I think I paid about half that for one in the late 90's.

I recommend calling Sewell and asking for a price -- they are usually a little lower on price. Register on the Sewell website for better prices.

These odometers can work intermittently until they fail completely and sometimes make quite a bit of racket while they fail. Maybe they can be fixed but I've never heard of anyone fixing one.

[hughes369]

Hughes, you may have set a record for one of these odometers lasting so you might as well replace it. I looked up the part number for a 92 LS odometer on http://www.toyodiy.com which indicated that it is the same as for the 90 LS I drove for many years - part number 83121-50010. I didn't find the part number at Sewell but this website has them: http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/parts/lexus-odometer-assy~83121-50010.html

The price looks high even with inflation -- I think I paid about half that for one in the late 90's.

I recommend calling Sewell and asking for a price -- they are usually a little lower on price. Register on the Sewell website for better prices.

These odometers can work intermittently until they fail completely and sometimes make quite a bit of racket while they fail. Maybe they can be fixed but I've never heard of anyone fixing one.

I have attempted to repair my odometer in my 1992 LS400. I have photos of my attempt, detailed. Showing the crack in the first driven gear by the worm gear from the electric motor on the odometer assembly. The first driven gear is a 10-tooth gear with a slight angle in the teeth to match up with the worm drive gear on the electric motor. If this 10-tooth gear cracks, the splines on the tiny shaft that this gear rides on does not engage the gear, and hence the shaft stays motionless while the worm drive gear continues to rotate in one place on the 10-tooth gear.

My attempt to slide the 10-tooth gear off the splines, load it up with plastic epoxy weld, and then slide it back onto the splined portion of the shaft, against the little "e-clip", failed. After that attempt, I robbed the whole shaft and gear assembly off my 1991 LS400, and it looked ok, but was also cracked,. My attempt to fix that gear was better but this gear cracked completely into 2 peices from just inspecting the crack by opening it up just a hair to see how bad the crack was. So I glued this one onto the splined shaft, one half at a time onto the shaft. And then holding it with my fingers pressed on it for 5 minutes. After reinstalling into the car with this "repaired" odometer, i drove it over 1.5 miles and still have the clicking problem and no counting. Sewell states they can sell to me in person only, not online. The still wont give me a price, and I would rather just deal with them. Maybe they will send me a price soon, its only been a day since i read their first reply about my request for 2 odometers. If anyone knows where to get those gears from or gears similar in size and tooth count, this can be an easy fix.

I just looked at the price on the website you (1990LS400) mentioned. The price is like $126.34. Not bad at all. You may have just solved my problem. Thanks for the heads up.