Gauges installed--little bit of trouble

andy

Today I went to a custom audio/security place and asked about someone installing my reverse glow gauges. I expected a quot;noquot; but one guy said he'd do it right then. Wow, so anyway, I waited for a while and he came back quot;did you know your check engine light is on?quot; yeah i did, so a little bit later quot;One problem......quot; he got it all together but the gas and temp needles wouldnt go back in, can I bring it back tomorrow so he can take it to his repair shop right next door? Sure. I'm nervous about that still, but the gauges are in and look realllllllly good. I'll have to get some pics of them. So off I go tomorrow to (I hope anyway) get the rest of it fixed. The speedometer needle is working great (as far as I know lol). How would I know if it's broken? And if for some reason I have to get a new cluster (I can't cope with having a nonworking gas needle--no way) could the miles on it be changed to accurately reflect the miles on my car? I'd never find one with 61,940mi lol. Sorry for the stupid questions, but I'm concerned if those two needles are broken, what should I do? (besides throw a tantrum and refuse to pay lol) Thanks,
Jenn

.yeah they are broken, they are not to be removed regardless of what anyone says, honda never made them to be removed, that's why one can't buy just the needle when they go to the dealer, cause they are not available, my guess is he wants you to come back so he can fix his screw up, if he charges you then that's bullshizz.

.Uh oh, can he fix it?? I don't know why he couldnt just, stick them back in, but I wasn't touching it. I never signed a relase of liability or anything so if he broke it, he better fix it. What's weird is the speedometer needle is fine. He had no problem with it and it worked fine driving home. I guess I could learn to live with the broken gas needle, just fill up every 100-200 miles to be safe. How freaking annoying though. Maybe his repair place can fix it, but I'm going to worry about it until tomorrow. I definitely won't be taking my alarm to them to be installed if they can't fix the gauges, unless of course they do it for free, lol.

.damn, that really sux man. i would of never paid that guy. as far as the needles go, hell yeah theyre broken. ive broken a couple already. there is one tool that ive seen used for to remove the needles. a couple shops here in la use them, but i dont know what they go for or who makes them. youll probally be better off buying another cluster.

.only problem is honda needles are not made to be taken off, if they were designed to then honda would sale the needles seperately, which they do not.

the gas and temp needles are common to be broken on gauges where the needles are made like they are on our vehicles, it's a pain in the ass, but it's something we have to live with.

P.S. she's not a man.

here a pic direct from my catalog from work, i copied the whole damn thing one day while bored at work..As we have already determined they are broke. If he says quot;hey they are fixed...here you go.quot; Ask him what kinda glue he used. Coming from someone who works in a shop...they are liable. Unfortunately they can't be held responsible as far as I know (each state is differant) since you didn't fill out any forms. Try talking to the owner and see what he is willing to do.

.Well damn. So should I pay him/not pay him/throw a big stinking fit? I'm wondering if I just cant deal with the broken gas thingy if I can get a new cluster and swap just the odometer part out? My dad informed me that if you try to roll one back it will break on most cars, but on some you can take the odometer out and put it in a new cluster? Let the temper tantrum begin.........(edit) And yep, obviously from that diagram, needles should stay put. I wonder why he removed them anyway. Can't you slip the gauge things over them? Or is that just too hard. I'm wondering why the speedometer needle is fine still, but I guess I'm just lucky he didn't screw that up. Ok, I wish I hadn't gone there, but I'm still madly in love with the way the gauges look.

.how he broke the needles is cause you have to slip the gauges down the needles shafts, yes i know that sounds wrong to some pervse, but it's the only way, with the gas and temp needles this is very hard and they tend to break, best bet is to just buy another gas and temp gauge or a whole cluster from the salvage yard and swap the gas and temp gauge to your existing cluster.

.What usually happens is you don't pay for the labor and they pay to replace what they broke. Your a girl so no offense you have your work cut out for you. As you can see in the pic above they need to get the temp and fuel gauge replaced and leave everything else alone. I would also check the car over before and after they work on it again. If you feel uncomfortable having them do the work then go some where else and have them pay for it......like the dealership. They will love that bill. Get some estimates from some respectable places and take those in with you when you go in next time. This will teach them to not let the janitor work on the cars next time.

.OH!! I can do that?? You're my hero. If I go by the salvage yard, should I just purchase the whole cluster then come beg you for instructions on how to get just the gas and temp gauges? Or can they get just that part out for me? Sorry I'm so car stupid, but I'm learning, slowly but surely. (Yes, I do have Auto Repair for Idiots lol). You bring good news with the fact that I can replace those gauges themselves.

.Thanks--I'd like to bring a guy along with me, but don't know of anyone who could do it.(I know people take advantage of girls, because, yes, most of us don't know jack about cars--fortunately for me, they don't know I have a ton of them online telling me what to do lol). I'm also really shy so telling them they have to fix it will be really hard. I'm more likely to just kindly suggest that I not be charged, but pay anyway, and then foot the bill myself for new gas/temp gauges. I'm not very outgoing lol.

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Originally Posted by jenns91civicOH!! I can do that?? You're my hero. If I go by the salvage yard, should I just purchase the whole cluster then come beg you for instructions on how to get just the gas and temp gauges? Or can they get just that part out for me? Sorry I'm so car stupid, but I'm learning, slowly but surely. (Yes, I do have Auto Repair for Idiots lol). You bring good news with the fact that I can replace those gauges themselves.

i'm postive they will only sale the whole cluster, and what ya should do is set down with your dad and look over the new cluster to see how to get it apart, it's really easy so it won't take long trust me, there should be only 3 to 4 screws on the back of the cluster that are holding that part of the custer on, so just have to take them out and reinstall the new one, when i went through this my first time years ago i left the indiglo gauge face off of my gas and temp needle to prevent it from happening again, yeah it looked gay, but i wasn't going through that again.

.yea i would take it somewhere else if they try to fix em.  then just put you own glow gagues in.  they dont take to long maybe 25 min.

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Originally Posted by jspeczcturboyeah they are broken, they are not to be removed regardless of what anyone says, honda never made them to be removed, that's why one can't buy just the needle when they go to the dealer, cause they are not available, my guess is he wants you to come back so he can fix his screw up, if he charges you then that's bullshizz.

Actually you can remove the needles. There is a special tool. i had the tool when reomoving mine in my old Civic. but got lost when moved back here to VA. Although I would not recommend trying to remove them, with or without it. The shafts are VERY weak and will snap easily.

Also most gauges sold now a days USUALLY just slip over the existing gauges. Large enough holes for the needles to go through.

.I would have done it myself in the first place but couldn't figure out how to get the cluster out. I was probably being too impatient, now look where it got me. I'm going to have to contact the place that fixed my old 90 Camry for me after I wrecked it. Really good salvage yard, they hooked us up cheap, even ordered the aftermarket parts we needed. Fixed a supposedly totalled car for $600, DIY. That was FUN. So I do have some experience with body work, but electric stuff? Forget it lol. I'll mess around with my new speakers (see other post) but Dad's going to have to do the wiring (he and my brother are both electricians so I'm good there)