Aftermarket gauges vs New Gauge Cluster

[chrisc2306]

I am looking for some advice on which to purchase for my 1990 Patrol. The speedo has given up and will not do anything neither will the odometer. I have taken out the cluster and removed the motherboard for the speedo and resoldered everything on the back but it still isn't working. So that leads me to my question am I better of just buying a replacement cluster for it or do you recommend putting in aftermarket gauges instead, if so what ones would you recommend? Thanks in advance

[the evil twin]

Is it just the Speedo/Odo?

If it is have you checked the pick up at the Gearbox end?

Replacement OEM is a lot easier than aftermarket but neither will help if it isn't a fault in the gauge cluster

[chrisc2306]

Yeah all the other gauges are working fine. The speedo was working a bit but it was very erratic sometimes it would show the right speed and other times it would just sit at 0 or off the scale and then it finally stopped altogether

[chrisc2306]

Still having trouble with the speedo I ordered a Patrol speedo (I have a safari) but that ended up being 12v I connected it up anyway and everything worked for a couple of weeks but then the speedo and odo stopped working. Kind of fed up with it now and I'm seriously considering just replacing the whole thing with an aftermarket set of gauges. Has anyone done this or can recommend a good brand to use?

[mudnut]

As asked by the evil twin, have you checked the pick up at the gearbox and the wiring? The pick up has grey and light blue wires. (that is for 12volt patrols, but I am guessing it should be the same for the Safari). The manual states that the pick up should be removed and it should give a 0.5 volts AC across the terminals when the shaft is spun by hand. Being an erratic fault I suspect a loose connection, bad earth or a crimped or broken wire.

[chrisc2306]

As asked by the evil twin, have you checked the pick up at the gearbox and the wiring? The pick up has grey and light blue wires. (that is for 12volt patrols, but I am guessing it should be the same for the Safari). The manual states that the pick up should be removed and it should give a 0.5 volts AC across the terminals when the shaft is spun by hand. Being an erratic fault I suspect a loose connection, bad earth or a crimped or broken wire.

Yeah that is all working fine the new speedo worked perfectly for about 2 weeks but I reckon with it being only 12v and I put it onto a 24v supply that eventually cooked it. Are there any other gauge clusters from other vehicles that fit in the Safari/ Patrol

[mudnut]

I don't know, yet. It is something I need to research. I think a wreckers may be your best bet to obtain one. When you inspected it, what did you find wrong with your original speedo?

[Yendor]

I think the gauges in the safari are 12 volt, they run through a factory voltage reducer. I'm not 100% sure on this.

What was written on the back of the old gauge?12 volts or 24 volts.?

[chrisc2306]

I think the gauges in the safari are 12 volt, they run through a factory voltage reducer. I'm not 100% sure on this.

What was written on the back of the old gauge?12 volts or 24 volts.?

I put my multimeter on it and the yellow/red wire which I believe is the incoming wire was 24v

[chrisc2306]

I don't know, yet. It is something I need to research. I think a wreckers may be your best bet to obtain one. When you inspected it, what did you find wrong with your original speedo?

I think it was the circuit board on the back because as soon as I replaced it with the new one it worked straight away and then all of a sudden it stopped and so did the odo and trip as well

[mudnut]

Too bad you are so far away. I would have been curious to have a look at it and see if it is repairable. Is there a business in your area that repairs gauges etc?

[chrisc2306]

I don't think there is anyone in the area that repairs them thats why I'm just considering buying an aftermarket speedo and running it through a 24v to 12v converter. If you'd like I can post you the old motherboard from the first one that came with the truck that was the one that was pretty erratic it looks like someone has already tackled resoldering it

[mudnut]

Thank you, Chris , but keep it there, as you might find someone that is a bit savvy with electronics, that can fix it for you.

[mudnut]

crisc2306, could you post up the part numbers of the gauges, if you have pulled it apart?

[Ade]

Hi Chris

I had the same problem last time and ended up with another 24v speedo from wrecker. As for the manual its seems to taking forever to upload.

Ade