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HELP - GX470 gauges problem

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Old May 9, 2013 | 04:06 AM
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Default HELP - GX470 gauges problem

Hi all.

I have a problem with my gauges.

Sometimes my RPM gauge works, and sometimes it doesn't.

When I approach the car and open the door, I hear a weird noise coming from the gauge cluster (or a nearby area). When I start the car, none of my gauges work, and you can see the temperature, speed, and fuel gauges flickering. After about 10 or 15 seconds all gauges fire up, except for the RPM gauge.

The flickering does not always occur, but my RMP gauge is dead most of the time. It works once in a while in the morning when I start the car, but once I shut down the car and start it again, I loose my RPM gauge the rest of the day.

I think the noise I hear behind the cluster or inside the steering wheel area has something to do with this problem because the cluster problem arouse when I started hearing the noise.

I managed to put the problem on video, and you may see it here. If you focus your attention on the fuel and temperature gauges right after I start the car, you will see the flickering. You will then see the needles jump to their correct readings about 15 seconds after the car starts, but as you can see the RPM gauge is dead.

Does anybody know the cause of this nuisance and how to fix it?

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Old May 9, 2013 | 07:07 AM
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I can't watch your video from work, but I'd start with checking all your ground wires in the engine bay, as that's what it sounds like to me. Have you had any recent work done that could have disturbed the ground wires?
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Old May 9, 2013 | 07:14 AM
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Originally Posted by IanB2
I can't watch your video from work, but I'd start with checking all your ground wires in the engine bay, as that's what it sounds like to me. Have you had any recent work done that could have disturbed the ground wires?
No work done on the truck but I'll check the engine bay for anyting suspicious in the wiring. How could a bad ground cause the weird noise from within the cluster/behind the steering wheel area, which I highly believe has something to do with the gauges problem? - do you think it may be concidential?

Thanks
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Old May 9, 2013 | 04:10 PM
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did u add a remote starter alarm
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Old May 9, 2013 | 04:11 PM
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check all fuses
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Old May 9, 2013 | 04:53 PM
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I read in another forum if you simply pull the negative battery cable and then reconnect, the car will reset itself and all the gauges may spring back to life. Worth a try.

Last edited by fishhuntnc; May 9, 2013 at 05:28 PM.
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Old May 9, 2013 | 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by oardila99
No work done on the truck but I'll check the engine bay for anyting suspicious in the wiring. How could a bad ground cause the weird noise from within the cluster/behind the steering wheel area, which I highly believe has something to do with the gauges problem? - do you think it may be concidential?

Thanks
The noises are likely relays clicking open/shut, which could be due to a bad ground connection.
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Old May 9, 2013 | 06:08 PM
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Weird!!

Where is our expert Mann777 at?
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Old May 9, 2013 | 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by fishhuntnc
I read in another forum if you simply pull the negative battery cable and then reconnect, the car will reset itself and all the gauges may spring back to life. Worth a try.
I'll give that a shot in the morning. If anybody else has an idea, please post! Thanks!
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Old May 9, 2013 | 06:33 PM
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Originally Posted by IanB2
The noises are likely relays clicking open/shut, which could be due to a bad ground connection.
You are correct. That could be! Although the noise is more like a soft grinding noise, like plastic gears grinding on each other. I'll still look for A possible bad ground and see if I see something. Thanks!
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Old May 10, 2013 | 08:22 AM
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There is a guy on eBay that repairs those clusters. Just search for 'Lexus speedometer' or 'dash gauge repair'. He should have some ideas if it's a mechanical problem behind the gauges. I believe he repairs Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and a few other high end automotive console instrument clusters. Mike
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Old May 10, 2013 | 09:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Cheesy55
did u add a remote starter alarm
No remote start added.
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Old Dec 1, 2013 | 10:27 PM
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Originally Posted by oardila99
No remote start added.
Just wonder did you find out what wrong with it? I just got the same problem w/ my gx470. Thx.
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Old Dec 1, 2013 | 11:37 PM
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WOW--What year GX'S are these?
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Old Dec 2, 2013 | 12:01 AM
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OP you also have a LED that is out between 0-20mph.
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