Help: White dial installers!

NightFire · Post by **NightFire** » Sun Jun 22, 2003 7:44 pm

I installed my KMC white dials on saturday, and have run into a bit of a problem. In fact, a big bit of a problem.
I suppose I mis read or mis understood the instructions, but I ended up pulling the whole needle out of the old dial. I broke one needle, but now all five needles don't work. Well, they kind of work. The speedo gets to 30 and stays there. The revs half move. (its fun trying to judge how fast you are going...)

So, 2 questions. Is this going to be easy to fix? Possible to do it myself, or will I need a mechanic / auto electrian to do it? I'm thinking things are going to be needed to be re calibrated etc...
2nd: Rather than trying to fix the broken needle, I guess its just as easy to get a new one. Wheres the best place to get one? Parts dealer or goto Mitsu themselves?

On the positive side, the look damn good, and they look really good at night. The reds and blues match my Sony headunit..!!

Hez · Post by **Hez** » Sun Jun 22, 2003 8:27 pm

well its hard for u to get it fixed as there are lots of places dat wont touch the speedometre/instruments bcause i have a kit myself and wanted to get ppl to install them, i rang over 10 places and only 3 places would do them.

Where u from?

Tip:when buying white dials make sure they are the slip on ones which u dont have to remove needles, makes it so much easier and less stress!

NightFire · Post by **NightFire** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 5:15 pm

Look at the dials, I now realise they are the slip on type. The whole in the centre is bigger and I suppose thats there to slip them over the needle...
I am getting a bit more movement today, but they are still not right..

I'm from Wellington, over in NZ.. use to live in Sydney though

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 9:53 pm

did you cut the old dials off before you put the new ones on.

i fitted the KMC dials to mine and they work great and look great too, had no problem fitting them.

Just follow the supplied instructions and you should have no problem

make sure you read the instructions properly.

rxboy · Post by **rxboy** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 12:18 pm

When fitting the KMC dials, how do u go around the large trip meter reset rod? Do you have to remove it somehow or cut around it?

NightFire · Post by **NightFire** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 5:50 pm

Well at the time I didn't understand the need to cut the old ones off. Now I do. Basically I pulled the whole needle out, the black top cover, the needle, and the metal post that goes into the dial mechanism.
I'm not 100% sure why they aren't working properly. They appear to be sticking, so I wonder if they need some oil or something to help.
I'll have a decent go at them over the weekend.

rxboy, I just pulled the reset rod out. It just clips into a holder that is part of the dash.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 9:29 pm

you need some clearance between the dials and the needle so they will move with out sticking,

the instructions that came with them are very clear if you read them properly

one thing when you cut them i found if you try to turn the old dials before you cut them so the glue holding them in place breaks free makes it easier to cut the last 5 mm

rxboy · Post by **rxboy** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:09 pm

In my opinion the instructions are a little vague. For example:
“8 . Now to remove the dial faces. Firstly by removing the small delicate post, simply ease off slowly. Put this somewhere safe…..”

Originally, I had no idea what these small delicate posts were supposed to be. I'm grateful to Dash who told me that these are the tiny rods on which the needles rest at 0.

Do I need to somehow attach the NEW dials to the plastic underneath? The instructions say to use the double-sided tape attached to the dials, but my dials have none: "11. Take the NEW gauge and use the 2 double-sided tapes on back of gauge preferable near the centre."

Also, I've had 2 different opinions on what to do with the long trip meter reset rod:
1) it can be pulled out
2) cut the old dial around the trip meter rod

The problem with cutting around it is that once the old dial is off, the new dial will never slip on under the needle if I also have to "thread" it through the rod. So my assumption is that the rod CAN be pulled out and reinserted afterwards. Is that correct?

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:48 pm

sorry when i did it i found them very easy to understand and had no problem

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:56 pm

yea the trip meter rod just comes out and mine i didnt use two sided tape once it went back together they are held in place by the plastic surrounds

it all seemed very easy to me but i think there is also a couple of other places that have directions on installing them try

http://www.mitsubishi-fto.net/main.htm

rxboy · Post by **rxboy** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:30 pm

Thanks for that dannyboyau, you've cleared a few things up for me. When you're installing these dials for the first time and you're worried that u might screw up the needles (thereby requiring expensive recalibration), it's easy to misinterpret the instructions or not understand them at all. Look what happened to Nightfire.

Are those black tab stickers very important by the way? I don't understand what purpose they serve. Can't the NEW dials go in without having these stickers underneath?

indyfto · Post by **indyfto** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 2:11 am

rxboy wrote:Are those black tab stickers very important by the way? I don't understand what purpose they serve. Can't the NEW dials go in without having these stickers underneath?

You can install the dials without the black sticker tabs but you will end up with the backlighting (yellowy light) shining through the centre of your dials. Not the best look when the light should be behind the dial numbers etc...

The only reason the black sticker tabs are there is because the dials need room to slip over and under the needle. If you were to remove the needle then the dials could be made with a tighter hole in the centre and therefore eliminating the need for black stickers.

NightFire · Post by **NightFire** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 5:06 pm

After reading the instructions a few hundred times, they are clear, now. But, instructions shouldn't need to be read a lot for the user to understand them, so I to think they are vague.

The small delicate posts are a lot easier to remove if you cut the dials off first, as they have a spring style clip on the back of them. I'm not sure how you remove them without squeezing the back of them to remove it. However the instructions say to do it the other way round (remove then cut).. thats really a minor point though..

Just to clear something up, the black tabs go under the new white dials, which sit under the needle like this right?
_____
needle | |

dial ------------

black tab ---------

I have light actually leaking through the needle it self. It comes through the side where the needle comes out of the black round post in the middle (I'll try to get a pic of what I mean soon..)..
Now is this to be expected..?

I think I have worked out why I'm have sticky needles.. I may have pushed them in and so they are to tight. I will try to reinstall the needle with the car going, which should have the posts in their 'neutral' or right position.
Can someone tell me if when the car is off, with the front plastic cover off, their needles slowly return to the right position if they are moved? Some of my needle hold their position (hence why I think they are to tight) and some fall back down again...
Thanks guys!

rxboy · Post by **rxboy** » Fri Jun 27, 2003 10:05 pm

I've just fitted my blue dials and I can say that it was frustrating.

Some advice for anyone else trying to fit them: when you stick the black tabs on the clear plastic under the dials, make sure that they are as centred as possible. I have light bleeding through my fuel gauge because I stuck the tab a little to the right. Just have a small pair of tweezers handy and don't be afraid to pry off the sticker and reapply it if you're not happy with its positioning.

As far as I can tell, there's also no problem with touching or moving any of the needles because they always will return to their resting position. The only needle to be careful with moving is the fuel gauge. Just remember what level it's sitting on before touching it.

Also, the little plastic rods on which the needles rest are easy to take out of the old dials, but almost impossible to reinsert into the new ones. You can rectify this by making the tiny hole on the dial a little bit wider.

NightFire · Post by **NightFire** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 5:00 pm

Okay, quick update.
I found, that if I pull the metal pin out of the actual needle and insert that into the dash part, and run the car with no needles, and then, after a decent run, push the needles back onto the pins, then everything is pretty much working again!
I did the fuel one after a complete fill, and I think its now a bit more accurate.
Wasn't 100% sure on the engine temp, but thats looking fairly good.
Speedo I *really* hope is accurate. I pushed that back in when it was at 0.
The revs, well, thats using the needle I broke, and its not so flash, but not to worried, as its an auto.

Biggest thing I did wrong the first time, was pushing the needles in to far. In fact, so far, that they basically didn't move. So, I almost have my dash back together! Hoping to fix the rev one abit better, and hopefully thats it!

Cheers for the help/comments guys!