sticky gauges after replacement

[scooby491]

hey guys, hoping someone can give me some pointers here....

i just swapped out my cluster faces (the plastic sheet insert things) and needles to suit.

i managed to calibrate the speedo with aid of gps, and knowing my car so well i also managed to get the tacho as close to dialled in as possible.
now..... my temperature gauge is sticking and my tacho is lagging/unresponsive, both mainly when returning down...
the tacho seems to be just sticky, but the temp gauge goes up fine but doesnt come back down on its own when the car is off, but does if i pull the needle a little....
i quickly tried contact cleaner in an effort to remove any oil/dirt that may be evident from fingers but still no good..

any help, pointers or anything of the like would be greatly appreciated!

p.s 2gen lib sedan auto

[Brunsy3.0]

Bro, leave the needles alone. Too temperamental. I too learnt this the hard way ended up replacing mine with a 2nd hand unit having to recalibrate the odo and resync it to the car via subaru dealer. Not cheap is the end result but cheaper than a new cluster which iirc is around the 3000 dollar mark without syncing or fitting

Dont despair. When I get back from my holiday I aim to consult with an electronics engineer I know about replacing the needles which is bugger all soldering to do I just need him to help source the parts. If I can do that ill be replacing my dash background lights. Should come up trumps

Sorry for the bad news

[scooby491]

yeh there was no soldering required, simply pull the needle off one cluster and place onto the other.

i came across a 97 heritage cluster with speed incriments every 5 k's and rev incriments every 100 rpm, with red needles and charcoal background.
as opposed to the black background with speed incriments every 10 k's and revs every 500 with white needles

i was anal with the odometer and wanted to keep my original k's without messing with the winder and assy.

all this because i changed my backlights to blue and it really didnt react well with white needles, made it very hard to see

ive fiddled with clusters before but never have i come across this issue..

[bigBADbenny]

Iirc there's a recent how-to topic on Ozfoz or subyclub etc.
I'll look it up if you can't lmk

[scooby491]

Iirc there's a recent how-to topic on Ozfoz or subyclub etc.
I'll look it up if you can't lmk

thanks mate, just had a good look and cant seem to find anything on needle replacements
i think the metal rod that holds the needle may be in the cluster too far and not in the needle enough.
definitely need to tinker with it i think

[Brunsy3.0]

It doesnt take much to bend the needles and once their bent it is pretty difficult to straighten.

[scooby491]

yeh the needles are very delicate, so was very careful not to bend them..
is the any sort of lubricant anyone can recommend as a safe option to use within the cluster?
or is there a chance it will come good and free up over time?

[scooby491]

**update**

so i just took it for a drive up the shops......... all gauges are working beautifully! the tach still has a little lag in it but nothing overly concerning.
so mission accomplished!

shall be doing an update on my member profile shortly

thanks for the input guys

[bigBADbenny]

I'm on a need-to-know basis...

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=suba ... edle+fixed

Many have asked, some have fixed...

[scooby491]

I'm on a need-to-know basis...

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=suba ... edle+fixed

Many have asked, some have fixed...

i will be continuing with the tinkering and will keep you guys posted on what i do/how i do it.

please keep in mind that the car is a gen2, and one of the first off the production line at that (6/94) so if using this as a reference for doing your own please keep it in mind as im not sure that the gauge setup would be the same