Made a BIG MISTAKE..ooops

[spc2125]

when i was taking about the spedometer, i did not think there was a particular way to take out the needles. now my needles are all messed up.
does anybody have anyway to fix this?

[spc2125]

do i need to buy a new spedometer from a junk yard?
and would it be compatible?

[IRONDOG442]

you can fix this!

just take the needles off replug it into the dash
carefully place all the needles at 0 degrees f 0 mph o rpm and empty

it will work I have done it!

[Naich]

Fix it like irondog says. If you use a junkyard speedo, ur miles will display however many miles were on the junked alero.

[spc2125]

Fix it like irondog says. If you use a junkyard speedo, ur miles will display however many miles were on the junked alero.

that is a GREAT way to sell your car and trick someone for more money.
but i would NEVER do that :p

[cherrington17]

The tach is easiest. just know what engine, and someone can tell you approx where it idles.

speedo... you can calibrate with a GPS and cruise control.

Gas, it might take a few fills to get REALLY accurate readings.

and temp, get your car to its normal idle heat (usually 1/2 on mine) and set your needle there.


Its not THAT hard.




Also... if the needles move backwards, or really slow... you have the motors mixed up. They seem interchangeable, but they aren't.

[MotorCity]

haaha i remember when i messed up my needles :lol:

[spc2125]

holy shoot man i thought i was done for. my pop keeps getting worried because ill mess something up and then he will freak. and then ill look it up here and ill fix it and he will be like phewwww

so thank you guys for all your help

[cherrington17]

unless something is very clearly broken (like.. in half) its just a matter of taking it apart again and doing it over.

its the nice thing about cars.

[Stickybuddz420]

I did the same shit, Except I just slapped the needles back on facing every whichway, then turned the car on then off then on then off & back on and vwallah! The motors aern't run by cables.....so why would it matter which way they face, the motor can always be reset...maybe just works on the 04.....but yeah thats my exp. with it.

[spc2125]

my needles are still off.
i plugged it in and then put the needles at 0 degrees, around 1000 rpm, 0 mph, and Empty

the temp goes up to around 3/4 instead of 1/2
the rpm goes to just under 1000 rpm
the mph starts at like 10 mph (i would try putting it back at 0 but then it wouldnt move at all) and the gas one seems ok

[Gr1m]

good luck, a life lesson is shit never goes back in the way it came out.

[spc2125]

good luck, a life lesson is shit never goes back in the way it came out.

true. sucks even more because i went out with my girlfriend and we're on the highway and it says im going 90 mph and she is holding on for dear life :p

[heineck]

I just turned the key to on. The needles all swept forward then back.

[spc2125]

is there any place where i could bring it to so it can recalibrate the needles?

[redrider07]

Don't worry they will go back. When I took mine off and painted them they were all messed up too. Take them off one more time and put them on just enough and tilt the dash so gravity takes them to zero. Then gently push them down till they click;) ...I put my key in the on position then started...all mine were fine except fuel
Eventually it will correct and go back to normal...mine took a couple of days...don't worry.

[spc2125]

Don't worry they will go back. When I took mine off and painted them they were all messed up too. Take them off one more time and put them on just enough and tilt the dash so gravity takes them to zero. Then gently push them down till they click;) ...I put my key in the on position then started...all mine were fine except fuel
Eventually it will correct and go back to normal...mine took a couple of days...don't worry.

give me step by step directions because im a little confused on how you did it.
did you have your car on when you plugged in the speedometer. and when did you put in the needles. etc.

[AlbinoMonkeyRat]

hehe...you're definitely not the only one to have these issue. reading through these posts, I think they have all bases covered. keep us updated on your progress.

speedo is the easiest. turn engine on, put the needle on 0. dundo.

heat...drive around for a few miles to get the car warmed up completely. typically, the needle gets to the exact halfway point if everything is warmed up and cooling system works properly.

tach is the most difficult, but probably the least important (on automatics). Get your heat gauge fixed up, and while in park and engine running, set the needle to your typical rpm. all cars are different. my car idles around 500rpm, and others 750rpm. if you remember where your car normally idles at, set it for that rpm. :)

fuel...fill up the gas and put the needle on the F.

and as the others stated, sometimes the computer will correct it. the closer you are, the easier the correction.

[spc2125]

its weird because ill put the needle in for the speed at 0 mph. but then ill start driving and then it wont move. so then ill haveta move it a little past 0 mph. and then it goes automatically to 10 mph

[Stickybuddz420]

Try this, unplug you're battery take out gauge cluster and set all needles to their rest point, if you need a pic let me know, re-install cluster. Start and restart your car a few times, (approx. 3 times while letting it run 2 minutes each time) I just did exactly what I mentioned after uninstalling my needles and and spinning motors then re-installing them and the reset I mentioned worked for my 04' V6, Hope this helps bud.

[spc2125]

Try this, unplug you're battery take out gauge cluster and set all needles to their rest point, if you need a pic let me know, re-install cluster. Start and restart your car a few times, (approx. 3 times while letting it run 2 minutes each time) I just did exactly what I mentioned after uninstalling my needles and and spinning motors then re-installing them and the reset I mentioned worked for my 04' V6, Hope this helps bud.

i will try this on thursday when the weather is nice again. ill keep you possted. thanks

[spc2125]

its been almost 5 months and i still havent figured out how to get my needles back to normal

[Brad Jahnke]

Junk yard -> new cluster?

I've read nothing but "you will NEVER get them back to normal again"

[Shiwnath]

The tach is easiest. just know what engine, and someone can tell you approx where it idles.

speedo... you can calibrate with a GPS and cruise control.

Gas, it might take a few fills to get REALLY accurate readings.

and temp, get your car to its normal idle heat (usually 1/2 on mine) and set your needle there.


Its not THAT hard.




Also... if the needles move backwards, or really slow... you have the motors mixed up. They seem interchangeable, but they aren't.

^ This.

[spc2125]

it wont let me just put the needles in where i want them to go. they wont stay. for example, ill but the speed at 0 and then it will move up to 10 mph. then ill put the temp at halfway and it will go down to like a quarter (even tho my car has been running for like 15 min) and tach changes everytime i put it in as well

[AZFire316]

that is a GREAT way to sell your car and trick someone for more money.
but i would NEVER do that :p

Also a GREAT way to get into alot of trouble also, dont ever think about it!

[cherrington17]

it wont let me just put the needles in where i want them to go. they wont stay. for example, ill but the speed at 0 and then it will move up to 10 mph. then ill put the temp at halfway and it will go down to like a quarter (even tho my car has been running for like 15 min) and tach changes everytime i put it in as well

you have to be very careful when putting the needles back on. i pushed one thumb hard against the gauge face, and used it as the bottom anchor for the needle (something for the needle to press against toward, as i seated the needle properly in the center, since if you don't have something to brace the end against, it tends to wobble around and throw things off.


as for the speedo, i went on an open highway with my gps, set cruise at 30, and placed the needle. went to 50, reset the needle. went to 60, reset it. I had to keep fine tuning its placement. (I DO NOT ENDORSE THIS!) You can get it in place without doing that. if its off by +10mph. measure how far that is, and put it that far below 0. that should offset your +10.

...same applies for the heater. but i'd get the car started, let it warm up to normal operating temp (i had mine marked off before hand) then put repeat like i said the first time. have your finger right at that edge where it should be sitting, seat the needle while bracing the distal end.

seriously... not that hard to do.... just tedious.

[Shiwnath]

I used the same method as Cherry. I used a GPS to calibrate my speedo. To verify I used an OBD2 scanner to scan how fast my car actually thought it was going(very close to the GPS reading). It doesn't work well if you start off putting the needle on zero from a stop. At first I did this as well and my speedo was way off. I also used the scanner to verify my RPMs. For fuel I just waited until my low fuel indicator turned on and then set the needle right on the empty line. Temperature is kinda tricky to get accurate, but the scanner can help you with that reading as well.

[spc2125]

you have to be very careful when putting the needles back on. i pushed one thumb hard against the gauge face, and used it as the bottom anchor for the needle (something for the needle to press against toward, as i seated the needle properly in the center, since if you don't have something to brace the end against, it tends to wobble around and throw things off.


as for the speedo, i went on an open highway with my gps, set cruise at 30, and placed the needle. went to 50, reset the needle. went to 60, reset it. I had to keep fine tuning its placement. (I DO NOT ENDORSE THIS!) You can get it in place without doing that. if its off by +10mph. measure how far that is, and put it that far below 0. that should offset your +10.

...same applies for the heater. but i'd get the car started, let it warm up to normal operating temp (i had mine marked off before hand) then put repeat like i said the first time. have your finger right at that edge where it should be sitting, seat the needle while bracing the distal end.

seriously... not that hard to do.... just tedious.


kind of confused when you say " i pushed one thumb hard against the gauge face, and used it as the bottom anchor for the needle "

and what do you mean by "measure how far that is, and put it that far below 0. that should offset your +10."

lastly what does "distal end" mean

sorry if i sound completely retarded, i just have tried sooo many things and its been like this forever and i just want it fixed

[cherrington17]

1) if you push your left thumb against the gauge face, so the side edge of your thumb is right where you want the needle to be resting. then when you push the needle base onto its peg, with the other hand, you can have the actual end of the needle against your thumb, so its in the right spot and doesn't bounce around. They are VERY easy to "mount" and have off by a little, since the motor spindle moves so easily

2) Never mind that. Just calibrate it as I said before, BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BE CAREFUL!

3) Distal = furthest from the origin. If the base is the origin, that would mean the tip of the needle.

[spc2125]

still havent fixed this problem :P
is there any car that has a cluster compatible with the 02 alero besides another alero?
if not im gunna custom make one with plexiglass and speedhut gauges. The only thing im worried about is not having the lights. (oil, tire pressure, SES, CEL). Any idea?
Also does the little box that holds the mileage able to be taken out by itself and re installed on my custom cluster?


p.s. not to start another thread but is the glove box and the tiny area around the glove box able to come out by itself without taking apart the whole dash so i can re-upholster it?

[SIUlero]

Intrigue has the same instrument cluster, at least it looks the same. I haven't taken one out to confirm the connectors and fitment are identical, but I doubt there would be any difference.

[Shiwnath]

the intrigue cluster looks identical, but I havent actually tested on to see if its plug and play... So what's wrong with your cluster? Is it just not reading correctly no matter what you do? I've had my needles off atleast 3-4 times so I know that unless there is something actually wrong with the needle motors, you're probably doing something wrong.

Edit: ^ damn lol you beat me to it

[zearchyo]

have u gone to the junk yards yet?

[robalero]

you can go to the dealer and they can calibrate it for you