Can anyone give me pointers on what's going on with my speedometer? I've already had my cluster rebuilt! (2003 LX470)

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tmoneyallday

tmoneyallday

Joined
Sep 20, 2022
Threads
18
Messages
151
Location
Los Angeles
My speedometer has gremlins which I've noticed is a pretty common problem. When I get in the car, I can hear a little bit of a noise and I see all my gauge pointers twitching. I turn on the car and all of them keep spazzing for a few seconds and then they all work except for the the voltage gauge which is completely 0, but it also twitches upon ignition. The speedometer is also occasionally 0 but usually resolves itself the next time I crank the car.


I should point out that I've had the cluster completely rebuilt thinking that would resolve the issue and I have video proof that all gauges do work from the rebuilder.

I have no idea where to look and I'm just hoping yall can give me some pointers on what to test out. I plan on testing the voltage for each of the points in the 4 connectors that the cluster plugs into but since they're all going nuts. I don't think I'll find anything. I almost think it's something to do with the voltage in general. Since the voltage reads 0, maybe it's underpowering the entire cluster somehow? I do have a newish battery (june 2022) that tests perfectly and recharges with the alternator correctly.
 
Just a thought… how confident are you that the gauge cluster is properly seated and securely connected to the harnesses with the screws tightened down
 
leveeguy said:
Just a thought… how confident are you that the gauge cluster is properly seated and securely connected to the harnesses with the screws tightened down
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You're probably right but I've reseated it about 10x at this point. I tighten the brass screws until right before they pop and I firmly press it in.
 
Mine is doing the same thing, with the noise and twitching on key on. Did you ever get yours resolved?
 
garrettlwn said:
Mine is doing the same thing, with the noise and twitching on key on. Did you ever get yours resolved?
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Nope. Gave up on it. I'm pretty sure I just need to replace the cluster as I proved that my speed sensor was working correctly. Something is dying in the cluster
 
What did you do to test the speed sensor? My speedo will be way off at times too, says im going 90mph when im going 45-50. May be just like you said, a dying cluster
 
garrettlwn said:
What did you do to test the speed sensor? My speedo will be way off at times too, says im going 90mph when im going 45-50. May be just like you said, a dying cluster
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So I looked up a wiring diagram and the speedometer passes through the cluster before going into the computer. What I did was hooked up tech stream and drove. Turned on my phone's map app and got the gps speed and compared it to what the ECU (tech stream) thought it was going vs the speedo. The ECU was always accurate while my speedo wasn't. That told me that the ECU and speed sensor were correct but the instrument cluster wasn't.
 
Did anyone else ever fix this? My 03 hdj100 cluster is doing the same thing, needles are twitching even with the car off completely and tacho and oil pressure gauges are both dead
 
I'm going through the same thing after receiving a "refurbished" unit coded to my mileage. The replacement unit is worse than the one I sent in as a core so I'm very upset at my current predicament.

I sent off the refurbished cluster today so they can look at it again, but I suspect it's the circuit board on the cluster that's going bad.
 
Tim B said:
I’m in the same boat as you all. Any update?
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No change yet. I sent mine back to Tanin and I have no ide how long it'll take to get back to me.

If that doesn't work I'm going to look for a new one from Toyota.
 
I'm going to go ahead and chalk this up as solved for me. Tanin sent me back my cluster a second time, this time after replacing all the stepper motors with brand new units from a different distributer. I've had it installed for a little over a week and it has been flawless.
Really hoping it stays that way, but I'll update this post if it stops working again.
 
imperium said:
I'm going to go ahead and chalk this up as solved for me. Tanin sent me back my cluster a second time, this time after replacing all the stepper motors with brand new units from a different distributer. I've had it installed for a little over a week and it has been flawless.
Really hoping it stays that way, but I'll update this post if it stops working again.
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Awesome thanks for the update!
 
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