FJ40 instrument cluster removal (1 Viewer)

[bj40green]

Put the cluster face down. You'll see 5 little tabs around the edge. Fold them carefully a bit back / lift them up with a tiny screw driver or whatever you want to use. You don't have to fold them all the way up.
Now you can remove the front from the cluster.
For more info on Clusters, Gauges & Odo meters: -► https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/clusters-gauges-odo-meters.544543/

TIP: disconnect your battery first before you remove the cluster!
If the cluster slips out, the Ammeter terminals will do some nice firework against the dash.

Are those LED lights polarized? Turn one of them 180º.

Rudi

 

[David888]

New to group. 1974 FJ40 Chevy 307 conversion. Fuel gauge not working; permanently on empty. Sending unit ok by ohmmeter testing, both at tank and between "hot" post on back of gauge and ground. Circuit continuity confirmed. Several "used" gauges tried w/o success; all apparently good since they move with 6 volt battery across gauge on workbench. Temp and oil gauges not connected due to Chevy conversion years ago, but fuel gauge just stopped working.
No apparent circuit between battery (positive) and either of the two posts on the back of the gauge that don't connect to the sending unit. How does the gauge get its power?
Have spent way too many nights on this project. Help.

D.M. Hess; Bakersfield, CA

 

[Cleg]

Be sure to disconnect the battery before pulling out the cluster.

 

[David888]

Well past that stage. Thanks.

D.M.Hess

 

[bj40green]

Did you check the HEATER fuse?

Pin 3 = 12V Blue/Red
Pin 1 = Ground White/Black

On the back of the fuel gauge is a lip that needs to touch the metal (ground) from the cluster housing for proper functioning.

Rudi

 

[David888]

Yup. The heater fuse. Never use the heater and nobody mentioned that I had no backup lights; no other gauges in the cluster to go out at the same time as the fuel gauge. Solved that problem. Thanks so much. Hope I can help someone else as much in the future.

New problem though. Definite short circuit on the fuse; with Toyota's "weird" grounding, that's going to be a real challenge, for another afternoon (or two).

Again Rudi, thanks very much.

D.M.Hess
Dark green 74 FJ40. No top but most everything else.

 

[DTSkyCop]

Thank you Rudi for the link to gauges, clusters, and odometers. I remembered seeing that in the old mud forum but forgot where it was I saw it. Getting use to this all. I am not sure if the LED's are polarized...? Is there an easy way to tell..?? I will reverse one from the other and see if that makes them work. All the other LED's look great and work fine.

One last question for the group... Does anyone know what type of bulb is in the headlight switch..? I know the little bugger is too small for my aging eyes to see the numbers and writing on it. It is the last bulb I need to replace with LED besides the two internal cluster bulbs which I have I think. Any Help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Racer65]

Yes, LEDs are polarized. Flip it around if it doesn't light up. Don't put the cluster fully back in until you're sure everything lights up!

 

[Racer65]

Not sure why CCOT sells these bulbs that are not LED:
http://coolfj40.stores.yahoo.net/daclbu.html

 

[Island Hopper]

Headlight switch bulb
BA7
Quantity: 1
Product: BA7s LED bulb $ 0.89 (each)
Options: White +0.60 or any other color you like

From this thread from Trollhole.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/light-bulbs-for-land-cruisers.69423/

 

[David888]

Yup. The heater fuse. Never use the heater and nobody mentioned that I had no backup lights; no other gauges in the cluster to go out at the same time as the fuel gauge. Solved that problem. Thanks so much. Hope I can help someone else as much in the future.

New problem though. Definite short circuit on the fuse; with Toyota's "weird" grounding, that's going to be a real challenge, for another afternoon (or two).

Again Rudi, thanks very much.

D.M.Hess
Dark green 74 FJ40. No top but most everything else.

Update: worn wire on the backup light switch coming out of the transmission. Fixed and everything works (for now, knock on wood). Again, thanks for the help.

D.M. Hess

 

[Racer65]

To those of you who put in LED bulbs, are you still able to vary the lighting brightness?

 

[Racer65]

OK, I just finished replacing the bulbs in the instrument cluster. I'm pretty sure I did it the "right way". If I had to do this job again I can do it in 10 minutes.

The only "trick" involves how you unhook the speedometer cable. You need to reach in from below the dash. There is some access space just to the left of the steering column, where you can reach behind the dash. When you find the speedo cable, you press down on the center white tab and pull the cable away from the cluster. After the cable is undone, the cluster comes out easily.

Putting everything back in is the reverse of the process. You first put the cluster back in, then reach in from below again to find the speedo cable, and press it back in.

 

[lostmarbles]

....... When you find the speedo cable, you press down on the center white tab and pull the cable away from the cluster. After the cable is undone, the cluster comes out easily.
....

I had done a labelled pic of that too but I forgot to include it in my last post:

A pic is worth a thousand words .... as they say

 

[planyourday]

Cutting the shields works like a charm. I can finally see how slow I am going at night! Thanks.

 

[NovemberNoLast]

Cutting the shields works like a charm. I can finally see how slow I am going at night! Thanks.

Did you cut the shields that are around the bulbs themselves or the shields above the lower gauges (amp, fuel, oil, temp)?

 

[CT40]

Sort of hijacking this old thread ... taking out the instrument cluster for the first time. I got it mostly out (img-252) and the wiring is a mess. I got the black cluster plug and the speedo plug disconnected, and then came to the ammeter wiring connector (img-254). Before touching anything I popped into mud and found this thread. Didn't even think I could start sparking if I touched any of the leads to the dash or anything.

I have an old (Columbian) battery that is on my short list for replacement, but I've been hesitant to do so because the wiring is a taped together pile of spaghetti (img-124). I also included a close up of the negative connectors on the battery (img-157). So now my first questions are -- how do I disconnect everything from the battery safely, should I start on the negative side or positive side, and what else should I be careful of?

And longer term - I've heard of things like the painless wiring harnesses for old jeeps - has anyone used something like this for their cruiser and is it worth the time to do a complete overhaul of this mess of wiring or just re-wire it with new clean wires as I run into dead stuff? I've built computers for decades, have done some soldering many years past (hand-crafting circuit boards), but pure electrical is a bit new. Happy to learn and put in the time to do it right (even if not to period) but want to know if it makes sense from ppl that have already gone through this.

For reference, I've got a "1976" SA import thats really a mix of a 76 frame, what I understand from others is likely a 79-ish tub, potentially a late '75 2f, and a hodgepodge of other stuff that I'll slowly be winnowing through. Taking apart the instrument cluster because the bulbs are dead, the odomoter needs to be torn down and cleaned because it only ticks the tenths, the speedo cable just bounces, fuel gauge is at best off by 1/8 tank ...

 

[SteveH]

I would pull the neg. battery cable, then the positive, and remove the battery for now so that there's zero chance of shorting while you're poking around. Then remove any excess wiring for goofy add-on things (anything not factory - radios, lights, horns). Assume that all taped connections have corroded, twisted wires underneath. Go slowly and take pix, in case connections fall apart and you can't tell that the POs green wire was connected to a red wire. Of course, you will need a '76-ish wiring diagram.

At some point, you will have to decide how hacked up the original harness is, and whether it's worth saving. My '65 FJ45 had no wiring at all (chopped out), so I bought an inexpensive aftermarket harness and rewired the entire truck. The harness and fuse panel were vastly cheaper than 'Painless'. When finished, the electrical system worked perfectly. All wires had labels right on each wire itself, which was pretty cool, but all the turn signal stuff was GM-centric, so I had to re-wire a bit to make it work with a Toyota.