about guage needle swapping...

[DontPassTheFence]

Ya, if I am going to do this, how exactly cn i go about no effing everything up?

More specifically, does anyone have a step-by-step to recalibrating needles correctly.

--FYI--
I want to swap some Grand Prix needles or some similar cool-looking red needles in place of my orange ones.
--------

[Big Joe]

Just have to make sure you mark the exact spots they came out of

[ephiny526]

i would take a digital camera and take pics of the needles before you take them out. also make sure you do it on a full tank of gas. that's my 2 cents

[DontPassTheFence]

really? just remember the exact location of the needles? I thought there was this long involved recalibration process :lol:

thanks guys, ill mark with pencil or something cleanable on the guage face itself, then take a picture just incase my marking method goes to hell. might have time to do this this upcoming weekend if I can get the needles by then.

wish me luck! :D

[Mazz]

You need to let the engine idle and warm up! That is critical. Then while the key is on and the engine is warmed up and idling. Make a sketch of each gage and the needle position. The speedometer, of course, will be at or near zero, but it is not affected by engine temperature as some of the other gages are.

Carefully pull the old needles off; all of them, not just one of them. Restart the car and let it come up to temperature again. Then refer to the sketch and carefully install the needles, one at a time. Make sure the location matches what is on the sketch. If you miss the mark, you'll have to re-pull the needle and re-install. Don't try to turn the needle on the spindle.

Once done, verify all needle locations and make any adjustments. It's easy, just take your time.

[DontPassTheFence]

wait, why would i do it when the car is? isnt that more work than possible? id say it would be easiest when the car is off completely, since all the needles are resting on the little pegs...

[Mazz]

Originally posted by DontPassTheFenc
wait, why would i do it when the car is? isnt that more work than possible? id say it would be easiest when the car is off completely, since all the needles are resting on the little pegs...

Fine. Do it your way. I've swapped needles and redone many gage faces. But then, what do I know?

[roksoc]

Chill out Mazz just explain why its better to do it your way and not when the needles are on the pegs.

[DontPassTheFence]

Originally posted by Mazz
Fine. Do it your way. I've swapped needles and redone many gage faces. But then, what do I know?

I know, Im questioning your abilities.
I do not know the first thing about guage needle swapping,s o I just wanty to figure it out.
Although my logic tells me its easier to do it with the car off, can you give me a reason why this is not so..
Maybe its impossible to get the needles off when the car is off? Or maybe they dont stay put like im thinking?

You do not need to get all deffensive, I merely asked a question.

[Sweet98GA]

yeah so mazz is right

the reasoning being that although they are sitting on the pegs, the spindle of the needle is almost like a spring load, and if u take the needle off you will loose the spot it is SUPPOSED to be at and when u go to put the needle back on, the needle will not be in the correct position. this goes for the temp, gas and rpm (since thats' all we have really). giving it 15 minutes to warm up and get up to proper operating temerature and just marking, pic taking or otherwise noting the location will insure that you still have that 1/4 tank of gas and not 1/2 or that you are runnin at ure normal temps and not like 100* or 240*.

short version - do what we say! lol

[Tommy00GT1]

I often wondered why Pontiac didn't put a voltage guage on the G.A.'s.
I kind of like to know the status of my electrical system..... Oh well, could always just install an aftermarket one I suppose; but I like the factory installed appearance.

Tommy

[InsaneSkippy]

Originally posted by Tommy00GT1
I often wondered why Pontiac didn't put a voltage guage on the G.A.'s.
I kind of like to know the status of my electrical system..... Oh well, could always just install an aftermarket one I suppose; but I like the factory installed appearance.

Tommy Yah that kinda makes me mad too, I'm just going to install an after market gauge.

[ga5speed02]

first i find this intersting, iwant to put the indiglo red gagues on from that site i can think of the of right now hahahah :lol:

anyhoo, with the car running and the gagues in place, what kind of tool(s) do you need to pop off the needle in that tiny space the GA has. will your fingers work?

i guess the advantage to doing it out of the car is more room to work.

but what you all are saying makes sence about the spring thingie. so i guess im asking how do you go about removing the needles with the car on. this ofcorse after the pics, sketces, and notes are made

[Mazz]

Originally posted by sweet98gagt
yeah so mazz is right

the reasoning being that although they are sitting on the pegs, the spindle of the needle is almost like a spring load, and if u take the needle off you will loose the spot it is SUPPOSED to be at and when u go to put the needle back on, the needle will not be in the correct position. this goes for the temp, gas and rpm (since thats' all we have really). giving it 15 minutes to warm up and get up to proper operating temerature and just marking, pic taking or otherwise noting the location will insure that you still have that 1/4 tank of gas and not 1/2 or that you are runnin at ure normal temps and not like 100* or 240*.

short version - do what we say! lol

Thanks for explaining that so well.

[DontPassTheFence]

God damn it!! I NEVER SAID HE WAS WRONG! I love how everyone reads my posts.

But thanks for telling me about the secret springload that totally destroys my easy way of removing the needles.

I know Im still going to screw something up though :lol:

[Sweet98GA]

oh dude, i didnt say u said he was wrong, i was just further verifying what he said for ya, and elaborating a lil bit :) its all good matt

02- you cant really do this mod while the car is on, but what you want to do, and what matt wants to do are totally different. ACTUALLY MATT - if u want to change the needle color, you can just take the needles off (and u said u wanted a better red?) so just sand off the lame orange thats on the back of them, and paint them with like nail polish, or a model paint. Thats what i did to mine (sanded and painted them white so the led behind the needle lights up the needle the blue color a lot better)

back to u 02... if u just wanna put overlays on, you do NOT need to take the needles off. As long as they are connected to the stem they sit on, you can just remove the whole gauge bezel and you can move them how ever you need to to get the overlay on. Then just put the bezel back in ure car and awaaaaaaay you go. any other questions post up and ill help ya the best i can, or u can hit me on aim after 6pm est (sweet98aedga)

[DontPassTheFence]

kick ass, i didnt realize you could just paint the needles. Thanks alot - you asved me the trouble of having to find some grand prix to jack needles from. :thumbup:

[ga5speed02]

http://www1.ecxmall.com/stores/americanperformance/Detail.bok?no=27

this is what i was talking about. the indiglo needles. they offer a hype red. i think it will be cool.

i like your sanding idea. when they are sanded do the become clear??? so if i put a red LED behind it it will be red, or do i paint them red and put like a hyper white LED behind them

[ga5speed02]

http://www1.ecxmall.com/stores/americanperformance/catalog/needles.jpg

[Sweet98GA]

mike sry, i wasnt home when u im'd me.... yeah those are the same needle kit i have. If you are planning on doing that kit, (depending on the color of the led's) you should definitely change the needle color. sanding will leave the needle clear on the 3 sides as it is now, and the side u sand the orange off will be a scuffed-whiteish color (not clear like the other sides)... um let me do a lil more research to help you guys out and see if i can find a place that sells clear needles

[RickHigginsHtbr]

I never took my needles off to investigate them, but are they like the window controls where you can either boil them or use acetone to get the orange crap off, but keep them crystal clear?

[ga5speed02]

Originally posted by sweet98gagt
mike sry, i wasnt home when u im'd me.... yeah those are the same needle kit i have. If you are planning on doing that kit, (depending on the color of the led's) you should definitely change the needle color. sanding will leave the needle clear on the 3 sides as it is now, and the side u sand the orange off will be a scuffed-whiteish color (not clear like the other sides)... um let me do a lil more research to help you guys out and see if i can find a place that sells clear needles

hey thanks, i appreacite it

[PontiacGT]

Yay colored needles.

Whatever you guys are doing, i'll try it to. get the info flowing, I want green needles baby, yeah!:lol:

[phattymcgee]

i want light blue needles whoever tells me how to do this, I will give you some money thank you

[XoticGA]

:lol: Pay someone for what? The link on the bottom of the previous page is a site that sells blue needles...

You just pay them :)

[PontiacGT]

Originally posted by XoticGA
:lol: Pay someone for what? The link on the bottom of the previous page is a site that sells blue needles...

You just pay them :)

um ok, first of all, that's only for 99+ and I quote

"NOTE!!! ONLY THE HYPER RED WILL WORK IN THE GRAND AM!"

that's not blue is it.

[DontPassTheFence]

to change the color of your needles, carefully remove them then sand them, then paint them, then put them back in the same way you removed them... I think someone already covered this on the prev. page (I still havent done this, Ive been to busy fixing my suspension... argh)

[magyver]

i did mine when off and engine cold.. only one i had to ever mark was the gas. everything else pegged on the left.. the "kit" that changes your needle color sucks.. led's are way to weak and small. i got 3 5mm led's under each of mine.. and its still soft in some spots.. i sanded off the orange, painted the back, left and right sides interior blue, then skuffed the front of the needle to catch the light... and changed all of the factory led's to blue as well.. never had a problem.. well, till i took it out to test another one and dropped it.. DO'H! now she's all messed up..

but ive never see any brighter than these needles.. and when i started my car, i had to wear sunglasses... wasnt such a smart idea using non sanded led's.. another DO'H!

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/11/web/395000-395999/395002_63_full.jpg


http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/11/web/395000-395999/395002_64_full.jpg

[ga5speed02]

^ wow looks great. did you use resitors and if so what kind?

[Sveach]

You'd have to use resistors...No LED can handle 12 volts alone. Maybe a lot of them in series...but not a single one. He probably used superbright led's though.

*EDIT*
Oops. I forgot I was searching through these threads, not reading new ones :banghead: