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The tach isn’t working in this car after a manual swap. I did the trick where you connect power, tach signal, and ground to the screws on the back of the pod (see photo) and this didn’t help. I started to notice an electrical smell so I took the cluster apart and found this piece floating around. I don’t see where it came from. I really didn’t notice anything else that looked bad on the electrical components.
That's a transistor. It's definitely something the cluster will be needing .
Send the cluster to Michael Gagne for a full go-through. He'll get it 100% for you.
Dale
Thanks
I did think it looked important! haha. I have heard very good things about Michael Gagne. I was hoping this would be something I could fix myself. Finding that transistor may be a challenge. I am a little confused as to where it came from though. Maybe I need to take the gauges further apart and see if I can tell where it came from.
They don't just come off spontaneously - if it came off, something went wrong. I'd have him check the cluster out and get it 100%, quite possible you have other failed components.
I just spoke with him on FB messenger. That Transistor is from the Speedo it is TR4. he said he has never seen one go bad before. haha so that's a thing. He gave me some advice on what to check out. This is not my car, its for a friend so not sure he wants to send the gauges out. Prices seem very reasonable from Michael though.
I have done lots of soldering work for aerospace companies so I am confident in my abilities to do any fixes on this thing. Just nice to have someone who has been there done that pointing in the right direction.
I would strongly recommend having your friend send it in. Michael knows these clusters backwards and forwards and has a proper test rig to fully test all functionality out. He also knows what to replace to keep them being reliable for the long term.
Mike just fixed 2 clusters for me and his turn around time was less than 24 hours and he messaged me throughout the process with pictures of his findings.
Super reasonable price and he has a test rig to properly calibrate the gauges as well.
I'll just say this: I'm the first guy to do everything myself because I'm cheap (broke). However his service is so cheap compared to a new(used) cluster that it wasn't even worth my time to attempt this myself.
I can solder and I fix old game boys as a hobby, but using Mike was a much better option.
mike did 3 clusters for me recently and as mentioned, updated me AS HE WAS DOING THEM. hes the man with these and theres no reason to send them anywhere else.
also, you need to share where you got those faces from. i dont think its legal for you to post that and not share
mike did 3 clusters for me recently and as mentioned, updated me AS HE WAS DOING THEM. hes the man with these and theres no reason to send them anywhere else.
also, you need to share where you got those faces from. I don't think its legal for you to post that and not share
well if my buddy wants this sent out it will go to mike for sure. No question there! I think he is actually selling the car and has someone lined up that is getting it. This issue may be going to them with the recommendation that Mike Fixes it.
mike did 3 clusters for me recently and as mentioned, updated me AS HE WAS DOING THEM. hes the man with these and theres no reason to send them anywhere else.
also, you need to share where you got those faces from. i dont think its legal for you to post that and not share
Revlimiter.net
He also makes them for the Miata and Cappuccino.
Funny thing is i received one yesterday with that exact issue, turns out the transistor shorted internally and cracked/burnt. I replaced it with a known working one and no more issue. Made it run on the test rig to be 100% sure.
So if you order a replacement and solder it in place, if nothing else is shorted on the board you should be good to go!
Funny thing is i received one yesterday with that exact issue, turns out the transistor shorted internally and cracked/burnt. I replaced it with a known working one and no more issue. Made it run on the test rig to be 100% sure.
So if you order a replacement and solder it in place, if nothing else is shorted on the board you should be good to go!
Michael
hah what are the odds! I will give that a shot and hope for the best.
Mike did all the work including the faces. The price of this cluster, faces , and his labor was still less than what used clusters are selling for now.
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