guage needles , help please .

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 12:01 AM

Hi all , Im wanting to know if the speedo needle / tacho needle / temp / battery etc etc needles pull of the shafts ? , or are they glued on ? , any attatchments holding them on ?
Any help appreciated , cheers .

12-06-2006, 12:10 AM

think i read on here somewhere to use a fork, as they pull off, don't quote me but..

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 12:25 AM

Hmmmm , i tried lightly prying them off last time i had the cluster out , but they seemed pretty tightlly jamed on ( or fastened some how ) ? ..

Main reason i wanna get them off is so i can see about hitting them with some fine grade emery/sand paper and get the red off them , i'll have to look at them propperly when i get them off , but they look white under the red. Since i put the blue led's in my dash i can't see the red needles no-more of a night , looks awesome but can't see the needles :( . ..lol

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggee

think i read on here somewhere to use a fork, as they pull off, don't quote me but..

Thanks Ziggee ;) , can anyone please confirm this ?

JC · 12-06-2006, 01:37 AM

Yes - a fork will get them off. Getting them back on and working properly is a different story (ie lining them up so that speedo is 0 when ignition off, temp at C, etc)

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC

Yes - a fork will get them off. Getting them back on and working properly is a different story (ie lining them up so that speedo is 0 when ignition off, temp at C, etc)

Cheers mate , I can't see llining the needles up again to be too much of a problem for me , as they sit hard on the bottom line of each guage and dont go down no futher. What im woried about is you saying getting them working again ! ...lol , did you mean as in lining them up ( i dont mind if that takes a few goes ) , or did you mean it is easy to break/damage the guages when removng the needles ? - like them might not work again after prying the needles off ? ..lol , cheers mate

JC · 12-06-2006, 02:04 AM

Lining them up is the hard part - especially the speedo. Not much danger of breaking them; they are pretty sturdy for something so small.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 02:05 AM

lol , i'll tell you all now ... ( i can't see the needles with the blue led's .....so ) .
Once i get the needles off , all of them , i plan to get some sandpaper around 1200 grit and put it on a flat surface , turn the needles upside down and just hone the red facing off them until i reach the white layer underneath , leaving a white needle with red edges . Then of a night to seperate the blue needles (white during day) from the blue dials , i plan to use a clear light thin clear yellow adhesive film over the surface ( like clear yellow contact or something ) , apply it with no airbubbles then trim it off neat , so in the end i will actually have yellow needles with red outlines during the day and green needles during the night to seperate it from the blue dials a bit .

By the way , this is all providing the red surface doesnt go down to deep ! .

KOUPE76 · 12-06-2006, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6-VCT-2000

Cheers mate , I can't see llining the needles up again to be too much of a problem for me , as they sit hard on the bottom line of each guage and dont go down no futher. What im woried about is you saying getting them working again ! ...lol , did you mean as in lining them up ( i dont mind if that takes a few goes ) , or did you mean it is easy to break/damage the guages when removng the needles ? - like them might not work again after prying the needles off ? ..lol , cheers mate

As JC said below,

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC

Lining them up is the hard part - especially the speedo. Not much danger of breaking them; they are pretty sturdy for something so small.

Trust me, you will never line up the needles correctly the first time you put them back on coz' as soon as you turn the ignition on the speedo and tacho needles will go "boooiiinnnggg" to the furthest starting point of your cluster. I had to do it a heap of times until I figured to pull the SPEEDO and TACHO needles out and plug the dash into the loom with the front clear cover off, turn ignition on and then (with gloves on if you have) slowly and gently push the needled in until it lines up with the zero mark, then turn ignition off then on again and you should have them spot on.
WARNING: Do not push needles all the way in as you will find it will rub on the surface and not want to move .

jonbays · 12-06-2006, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLUPRNT XR8

As JC said below,

Trust me, you will never line up the needles correctly the first time you put them back on coz' as soon as you turn the ignition on the speedo and tacho needles will go "boooiiinnnggg" to the furthest starting point of your cluster. I had to do it a heap of times until I figured to pull the SPEEDO and TACHO needles out and plug the dash into the loom with the front clear cover off, turn ignition on and then (with gloves on if you have) slowly and gently push the needled in until it lines up with the zero mark, then turn ignition off then on again and you should have them spot on.
WARNING: Do not push needles all the way in as you will find it will rub on the surface and not want to move .

Bluprnt has got it 100% right here. I had the same experience. Lots of caution care and some basic cleanliness make this a slow but rewarding task. go in fast and quick and you will regret it. lots of clips to break that you can't ever get again. marks that will annoy you forever etc.

Duffman · 12-06-2006, 10:55 AM

The clusters are very tough for something that is so sensitive. I took the needles off a friends cluster and on his the fuel wouldnt let go and took the pin with it lets say it never worked again properly. I droped my cluster on the ground on the way out the door and then the needles worked but they all went the wrong way!! I replaced it with a tickford cluster and its the best thing I ever did the old forte one... yuck!

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 11:23 AM

Thanks for all the info guys , very much appreciated . Seeing im gonna have to do ALL the guages i might just leave it a week or so before i attempt it , just incase if i damage any guages like Duffman mentioned happened with his mates fuel guage ..lol . In 2 weeks i could afford another 1 if i mess it up , at the moment i havent got $$ to spare for buying a new cluster ! ..lol , thanks again everyone .

NeishaXR8_347 · 12-06-2006, 01:14 PM

hey xr6-vct-2000 on mine when i did it i tried the blue leds and had the same needle problem, i then tried yellow leds and it looked ok but didnt suit, then i tried the pink ones and it came out a nice purple color and the needles and red bits pretty much stay the same. thats what i used. have fun

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neishaxr8

hey xr6-vct-2000 on mine when i did it i tried the blue leds and had the same needle problem, i then tried yellow leds and it looked ok but didnt suit, then i tried the pink ones and it came out a nice purple color and the needles and red bits pretty much stay the same. thats what i used. have fun

I had marker/ink on the previous original dash bulbs , that was a bluish/purple , and yeah my needles and everyhting else still stood out good. but after doing the elec window switches with blue led's the colour was sooooooo beep blue and bright ( ...drooling.. i love it ) , and i wanted the dash and the rest of the interior lights the same deep bright blue color matching. I recon ill be able to hone the red face off the needles with a bit of carefull sanding , that should allow the light to pass though the needle again .

NeishaXR8_347 · 12-06-2006, 01:39 PM

cool sounds like youve got your work cut out with those needles, i know u cant do it today but y not wait and get a set from the wreckers? just to try

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neishaxr8

cool sounds like youve got your work cut out with those needles, i know u cant do it today but y not wait and get a set from the wreckers? just to try

I've seen the white face panels , but do they actually make white needles to suit the AUII xr6 ? , i would rather buy some than attempting wrecking my original 1's if possible .. ???

JC · 12-06-2006, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6-VCT-2000

I've seen the white face panels , but do they actually make white needles to suit the AUII xr6 ? , i would rather buy some than attempting wrecking my original 1's if possible .. ???

IIRC, AU1 Fairmonts came with white needles.

mattp · 12-06-2006, 04:36 PM

The needles on my S1 Fairmont are orange.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC

IIRC, AU1 Fairmonts came with white needles.

Cool , thanks mate , i'll keep an eye out for a set ;) .

JC · 12-06-2006, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattp

The needles on my S1 Fairmont are orange.

Maybe it was series one XRs then - mine were orange, but once I scrubbed the orange backing off, the needles are clear.

Actually, I think it was EF Fairmonts etc that had clear/white needles. And I don't think the E series needles are compatible with AUs. I know the series 2/3 AUs have red needles - and I am fairly the sure they are made of red plastic, not just a red backing.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC

Maybe it was series one XRs then - mine were orange, but once I scrubbed the orange backing off, the needles are clear.

Actually, I think it was EF Fairmonts etc that had clear/white needles. And I don't think the E series needles are compatible with AUs. I know the series 2/3 AUs have red needles - and I am fairly the sure they are made of red plastic, not just a red backing.

I have the series II red needles , if thats the case and if no white needles are available for the series II & III , are the series I orange needles the same length/size/compatible with the AUII cluster ( least i could clean them back to white if the red are solid red needles ) ??????

chief · 12-06-2006, 10:08 PM

What about getting needles of another car, such as a merc for example. It could be an option.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 12-06-2006, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chief

What about getting needles of another car, such as a merc for example. It could be an option.

Not a bad idea at all , if anyone could confirm any needles that have the same size shaft fitting and same length & size roughly as the 4 smaller guage needles and the speedo and tacho needle, that would be great . Otherwise im even thinking of going get some clearish/white custom perspex/acrylic 1's machines up for me from a place around the corner from me in keysborough , they do stuff like that pretty cheap there , i've had other stuff made in the past there , any custom work . I'll get the name of the place for ya all soon , cant think of it off the top off my head , just remember where it is , anyway i'll let you all know if i end up going there again ..lol

JC · 13-06-2006, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6-VCT-2000

I have the series II red needles , if thats the case and if no white needles are available for the series II & III , are the series I orange needles the same length/size/compatible with the AUII cluster ( least i could clean them back to white if the red are solid red needles ) ??????

Yep, I have an AU1 and an AU2, and they look the same to me - just different colours. I also have police pack dash in the XR, which is maybe why they're clear?

XR6-VCT-2000 · 13-06-2006, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC

Yep, I have an AU1 and an AU2, and they look the same to me - just different colours. I also have police pack dash in the XR, which is maybe why they're clear?

Cheers , thanks for confirming that ;) . I'll keep an eye out for a set of those orange needles then . I think you mentioned you had cleaned the orange backing off them on your set ? , have you got the blue led's in your dash and did it help light the needles up of a night having them white ?

Oh I just remebered too that 'Spotlight' ( the material/crafts shop ) sells fluro glow in the dark paint ( charges off the light ), they have it in fluro blue / green / red , i might even give the needles a coat with this stuff , they sell it in the craft section of spotlight .... hmmm

JC · 13-06-2006, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6-VCT-2000

Cheers , thanks for confirming that ;) . I'll keep an eye out for a set of those orange needles then . I think you mentioned you had cleaned the orange backing off them on your set ? , have you got the blue led's in your dash and did it help light the needles up of a night having them white ?

Oh I just remebered too that 'Spotlight' ( the material/crafts shop ) sells fluro glow in the dark paint ( charges off the light ), they have it in fluro blue / green / red , i might even give the needles a coat with this stuff , they sell it in the craft section of spotlight .... hmmm

Yep, if you used the article on AUFalcon dot com, I wrote it. So yes, I have blue LEDs in both cars. The XR looks good (apart from the botch job i did on parts of it), and in the AU2, I just used a red LED in the middle of the cluster instead of a blue one, so the display goes from blue, through to purple, then red, purple and back to blue. The red lights up the needles very well. I have a pic of it somewhere.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 13-06-2006, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC

Yep, if you used the article on AUFalcon dot com, I wrote it. So yes, I have blue LEDs in both cars. .

Yeah i did for a bit of a reference , came in handy for the polaritys on the back of the cluster ( saved me alot of time checking with my multimeter ) , cheers , nice well done article .

, and appreciated .

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC

and in the AU2, I just used a red LED in the middle of the cluster instead of a blue one, so the display goes from blue, through to purple, then red, purple and back to blue. The red lights up the needles very well. I have a pic of it somewhere.

That sounds very interesting ! , might try that too myself to have a look , i did notice first time i modded it when i had like a light purplish/blue background that the red needles lit up well.

Oh , 3mm led's fit nice in the original green plastic globe holders for the DTE lcd display ;) , i changed mine today to led's , heaps brighter , tops off the led dash lights nice

(they are 12v sockets and looking from the rear of the cluster, the right hand side contacts are the + ( positive ) contacts on both sets of globe holes )

lol , so many decisions ..lol .. new needles ? , sand orange needles ? , use glow in the dark red paint ? , use a red led in the top centre dash light ? ...hahah :nutsycuck