LS - 1st and 2nd Gen (1990-2000) Discussion topics related to the 1990 - 2000 Lexus LS400

EASY 93-94 LS400 $3.00 CLuster Flicker and Gas needle Fix

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Old 08-29-13, 06:07 PM
  #76  
LScowboyLS
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Originally Posted by aaddpp
^^^^^^^^ What type of capacitor would be a better option than tantalum?

I've looked around, and found a thread that goes into a lot of detail about low ESR capacitors made by certain manufacturers - https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...capacitor.html . The capacitors mentioned in the thread are used in the ECU, and I'm wondering if they are a good option for the boards in the dash display.

Dave
YES, the capacitors we mentioned in our thread are the only type of capacitor and only manufacturers that you want to use at all!

and listen to Yamae, he is an ECU engineer who works closely with Toyota in Japan!
Old 09-04-13, 11:03 AM
  #77  
aaddpp
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Originally Posted by Yamae
Yes, low ESR electrolytic capacitors are better and safe for the dash too.
Don't use high capacitance ceramic capacitors to avoid the oscillation.
I also would not use tantalum capacitors available in the market for fear of the fire hazard.
Yamae, thanks so much for your response. For the dash, I selected capacitors from United Chemi-Con (UCC) and Nichicon that were of the same series as some of the options listed in the ECU thread - there were only a few compatible options in stock at DigiKey, that were radial cans (even if you increased voltage).

The caps I chose were:

10UF 16V - Nichicon, PW Series (http://www.digikey.com/product-searc...ds=493-1767-ND)

10UF 50V - United Chemi-Con, KZE Series (http://www.digikey.com/product-searc...ds=565-1702-ND)

4.7UF 25V - Nichicon, PW Series (http://www.digikey.com/product-searc...ds=493-1808-ND)

Again, not sure if these are the best / right choices, but I hope so. Any thoughts?

Dave
Old 09-04-13, 11:14 AM
  #78  
aaddpp
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Originally Posted by LScowboyLS
YES, the capacitors we mentioned in our thread are the only type of capacitor and only manufacturers that you want to use at all!

and listen to Yamae, he is an ECU engineer who works closely with Toyota in Japan!
Oops, sorry LScowboyLS, somehow I missed your post before before posting a response to Yamae. It seems, based on what you said, that the caps I chose should be OK for the dash?

Also, many thanks to you and Yamae for the excellent / informative ECU thread - I learned a great deal from it. Thanks for taking the time to list this information - extremely informative!!!

Dave
Old 10-07-13, 10:45 AM
  #79  
nostalgi
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A big thanks to the thread creator - I just managed to perform this operation on my own instrument cluster.

For those who wonder - the polarity is given away by the existing caps - the black side is negative.
Old 10-23-13, 07:31 PM
  #80  
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To rice4ever, thanks a ton for this right up i just inherited a 93 ls400 and of course none of the dash lights/ radio and hvac lights worked or the gas gauge. Picked my parts up from frys this evening got them in and sure enough its all fixed!! Much props!!
Old 01-22-14, 06:04 PM
  #81  
rich5556
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Sorry to bring back an old thread. I replaced the 3 capacitors. I basically went from nothing (no needle lights, warning lights, gas gauge) to full light on everything except the speedometer and RPM needle.

Anyone have an idea on what each capacitor controls? I'm wondering if its the needles themselves or if I screwed up one of the capacitors.

Also, I never noticed the problem before but my steering wheel adjust isn't responding very well. Is there a capacitor that controls this in the instrument cluster? Just wondering if I might've caused this problem from taking out the cluster and installing the 3 capacitors.

Thanks for your help. Great original post. It was my first time soldering so I wouldn't be surprised if I made some mistake along the way.

Any advice or guidance is much appreciated.
Old 01-27-14, 04:55 PM
  #82  
Michael
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Default Type of Caps

Cowboy, Yamae,

I've already used the caps that was recommended by rice4ever, the ceramic type and fixed the problem. Do you think I should redo this job with low ESR caps picked by Dave or would it be OK to leave the caps in until something goes wrong?

BTW, the 3 caps on the dashboard fixed following problems on mine:
- Dashboard dark when cold.
- Gauges working sluggishly (the gas meter is the one that was most noticeable).

Replacing caps on ECU as LSCowboy recommended fixed following problem:
- Speedometer & tachometer gauge sometime doesn’t work (AKA Sticking needle)

I still have a speedometer needle being half lit problem. Know what to do to fix it but are not getting to it as partly, I may brake something else in the process, and partly I can live with that.
Old 01-27-14, 05:25 PM
  #83  
LScowboyLS
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I think I would not worry about the instrument cluster caps as long as the cluster is performing as it should!

those caps are not as critical to use the exact type as the ECU caps
Old 01-27-14, 07:17 PM
  #84  
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We have every gauge cluster part available for the LS400. We can also perform any repairs if you don't feel comfortable. Send us a PM with any questions.
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TANIN AUTO ELECTRONIX
262-456-4147
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www.taninautoelectronix.com

Old 02-26-14, 01:27 PM
  #85  
J053Ph
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My cluster does not lit up but everything works and it flickers. They also lit up when I turn on the headlight. Which capacitor do I remove to fix the lighting issue? Do I replace all the capacitor mentioned by OP? Your help is much needed. Thank you in advance.
Old 08-06-14, 06:17 PM
  #86  
jonathanmx
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is their any way some one could send me a better link or something I cant get any of the pics to load.
Old 10-11-14, 09:04 PM
  #87  
87phantom
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I'm having the backlight cutting off issue... I do not see the C212, C142, or C147 in my circuit board. I think it's because I have a 1990 - 1992 model. Does anyone have the capacitor reference numbers for this model LS400?? Thanks!
Old 01-25-15, 05:12 PM
  #88  
93Ls400916
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Default Help

Can't see any photos of what you posted can you please add them again ? Thanks for the life saving how to . Not worth 1k just to have my dash and gas gauge working
Old 03-11-15, 04:57 PM
  #89  
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Default Pictures Not Displaying

I am experiencing a similar issue with the pictures not displaying. I would really appreciate it if someone could re-post them or email me the original tutorial. Thanks in advance.
Old 03-11-15, 07:01 PM
  #90  
lexmoose
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Ok I managed to get the pictures back, but i'm limited to 5 pictures per post so ill have to split the OT

Originally Posted by Rice4eveR
REVISED*For people with some technical knowledge only* Do this at your own risk!*

Hi... My name is Rice. I wasn't gonna pay 1200 bux to get my 93 ls400 Lexus cluster to stop flickering and my gas gauge working again! Here is my permanent fix. It cost me $3 or $4 bucks!

Here is my cluster. I just took it out and I'am ready to get to work! The whole job took me 12-15 mins but I was a technician for like 15 years so please take your time!
EASY 93-94 LS400 .00 CLuster Flicker and Gas needle Fix-lex01.jpg

Back of the cluster. take the white plastic cover off. It is held together with 10 or so screws!
EASY 93-94 LS400 .00 CLuster Flicker and Gas needle Fix-lex02.jpg

I bought these capacitors from Frys electronics. If you don't have a Frys near you then hop your *** on www.Frys.com and order them by the part numbers provided below!
EASY 93-94 LS400 .00 CLuster Flicker and Gas needle Fix-lex03.jpg

The labels with prices and part numbers
EASY 93-94 LS400 .00 CLuster Flicker and Gas needle Fix-lex04.jpg

Unsolder (from the top side) capacitor from c212 that is located on the small board and replace with a 10 uf (10mfd) 16 volt capacitor.
EASY 93-94 LS400 .00 CLuster Flicker and Gas needle Fix-lex05.jpg



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