jeffescortlx hello Jeff I need your help if you can help me if not I understand, I’ve been trying to find a bench tester to test out the gas gauge as you did on the video, I was thinking of the autel ms906 but I just wanted to know what bench tester do you recommend. Please let me know

@@josesiyo1549 I made my own with a ECU and potenimeters.

@@jeffescortlx hi I need help with my 2001 gmc savana van I called 2 repair shops don't want to help. gauges don't work are the gas shakes bad. oil pressure bounces around. Temp and volts seems speed seems ok check gauge light is on had a mechanic drop the tank ok their and oil pressure checked out he said he think its in cluster any help with it thanks Joe

Have you ever done a cluster from a 98 Chevy Silverado? My fuel gauge is twitchy and I'm wondering if it's my sending unit or the air core. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

@@Draco5185 twichey or rapid movement is from a dried up air core motor. Wide swings to empty is a failing sending unit.

Grease would be the right lube to use, I just haven't found a way to get it in. Heavy oil seems to do the trick. Keeps the needle from flopping around.

@@jeffescortlx what weight of oil do you use?

@@benjaminfisher8681 more details here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qs5mgJOorLm8p6s.html

Yep! I have to break this news to a lot of people with fuel gauge issues in the 99-02. But they must have corrected the sending unit issues in the 03-up, I hardly ever hear of those needed replacement.

For anyone asking in the future, this should work. Super Lube Silicone Oil 5000 cSt Part #56504

LOL remind of UXWBill kitchen table repairs but he actually does decent job doing home repairs

I don't remember the value off the top of my head because it's probably been 8 years since I've set it up. But it's a little over 50% sensor range.

99-02 clusters use air core motors, they don't have gears. They can't make noise.

Correct. It should be closer to a grease, but the motors can't be disassembled and reassembled.

You will definitely need to repin the connector, as I had to do just that to work with the 99-02 cluster.

Yes the needles need to be put back in the correct location, these do not have a physical stop location to start from, it's a electrical location.

The oil I'm using is nothing special. I'd actually recommend going heavier than what I use. Use the thickest oil you can suck up into a syringe.

You want to use the heaviest oil you can push through a syurange. I'm using a heavy gear oil, I don't remember the weight off the top of my head. The soldering T tip is a hakko T-12/15 tip. You can purchase a genuine one directly from the hakko website.

Correct. With the 99-02 The oil pressure gauge will not do a full sweep or a zero reset like the 03 and newer.

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o6lhgseovLiqpIU.html

@@jeffescortlx so, I re-soldered all the joints on the board where the connector attaches.. and can't believe it... after more that a few months, actually, of flickering and cleaning grounds, and running new grounds... not knowing what speed I was going... it finally works... the joints didn't look bad, but I redid them anyway... and wow like new... thanks a lot... really makes driving the truck enjoyable again.

The syringe is something I picked up from Amazon about 10 years ago so I don't remember the details. The oil I use is just the heaviest gear oil I could find at Walmart.

Flux

Home made bench top module.

@@jeffescortlx thank you Sir. I didn’t know if a signal generator would work, or if you needed something special.

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jL6PZryks7Paln0.html

This video will be a better fit for you: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iKmYjKarnbLZh40.htmlsi=zPkzWZ2OSPNaERBj

Are you applying power?

@@jeffescortlx No power. But I re-installed cluster after my message to you and the gauges are all in the wrong places and RPM still doing nothing. I will re-arrange needles and try again. RPM must be a different problem.. something before the cluster. Anyway, thanks again for your help! Much appreciated!!

Find the heaviest gear lube that can get sucked through a syringe.

@@jeffescortlx Thanks bro!!

Does this cover the "flutter" I've seen in my 98 Silverado fuel guage?

@@malibuz16 it takes care of rapid needle movment.

Where did you get the syringe?

If it's only the fuel gauge acting up like that it's probably a problem at the sending unit.

You'll either need to send it to someone with a programmer or buy a programmer. Fixed until broken channel shows you how to edit the hex code if you want to tackle it yourself.

@@jeffescortlx Right on man!

@@jeffescortlx even if the fuel gauge seems to be reading correctly but is vibrating quickly in place?

This video here has more information: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qs5mgJOorLm8p6s.html

If the lube is already full, I wont add more. If you check your dip stick and it reads full, would you add more oil?

zx8401ztv hey I was going to change my cluster lights to LED so that my cluster is brighter do you have any recommendations on bulbs ? I have this same cluster he is working on👍

Not for this year specifically no.

What year describing is what happens when the cluster can't see the serial bus data.

Anytime a needle is pulled it has to be set correctly going back on.

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qbFdY62eytW2ioE.html

Fractured solder joints. Probably.

Sounds like loss of serial bus comunication to me.

Might have some wiring issues.

After unplugging the fuel pump module, it read 5 volt and stuck at 3 o'clock. With the fuel pump module plugged back, it read 2.15 volt and stuck at 2:45 position.

Depending on what year the chassis is, information from the ECM to the instrument cluster is data bus. So voltage reading wouldn't really be a reliable indication of few level. But typically the problem ends up being the wiring between the sending unit and the ECM. But again this is all year dependent.

Check my channel page, in my latest video I'm giving away a couple

This one here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pJOKmrKQprW4noU.html

No. The position of the needle/motor has no effect on what the message center says. Sine both the needle and message center agree you have low pressure, the cluster is seeing a low pressure signal.

Thank you for your advice 👍

Check out "TheGalacticWest" comment below, this question has already been answered.

I had a break in uploading for a while, so I can't blame KZfaq this time. I try to find the heaviest oil that can still get sucked through a syringe, the oil I'm using now is a little too light. I wish the motor could be taken apart, re-greased and reassembled, but rewinding the motor doesn't sound like fun : )

@@jeffescortlx You're right, I have tried to unwind an aircore that had a broken spindle. I can attest to there being what seems to be a googleplex winds in each coil. At least there seems to be, I gave up unwinding it and chucked it in the bin. So RE-winding it would be darn near beyond the patience of any ordinary mortal. Thanks for the reply, the syringe trick is was a "WOW" moment for this old dog. :o)

@@ellesmerewildwood4858 I did take one all the way apart one time, not much in it, just a disc and some dried up grease. I'm glad my video was helpful and thanks for your insight, it's nice to converse with other tech's familiar with cluster work.

The water it's self isn't biggest issue. But it becomes a problem if it's wet and power still applied, that's when the corrosion starts.

@@jeffescortlx My understand is that the vehicle was running when this occurred. My thoughts are that since this happened the water allowed current to flow where it was not supposed to. Personally my opinion is that cluster is toast.

@@williamjones4483 chances are the best option is to find a replacement.

@@jeffescortlx That's what I am thinking. It would cost too much to attempt repair of this cluster. Thanks for the info.

The sending unit isn't wired directly to the cluster. It first goes to the ECU, then from there through the serial bus.

Power up the cluster without signal inputs.

Probably a bad solder joint in the cluster if hitting the dashboard has an effect.

@@jeffescortlx I saw in one or your videos about a ground problem A8. I did another ground like you showed in the video and so far it's working

Amazon or eBay sell them by the 10 packs for cheap. The ones used to fill vapes are supposably good for oils.

Sounds like previous cluster repair attempts were made? Do you know the history of the car?

@@jeffescortlx I know roughly the past 3 years. Prior to the recent events, the oil gauge was bouncy, but generally read the right values. The recent events were a bit longer, so I was sparing some of the details. I had recently taken the car into a transmission shop to get the case repaired. They removed, did a partial disassembly, and reinstalled the trans. When I picked up the car, the oil gauge was bouncing off the column and was 50 psi with the key off. I had only driven a mile when I noticed this. I immediately took it back and pointed out the new problem. They said it was just incidental that the oil pressure switch went out when they worked on it (I have some doubts on that) and I would have to pay them to repair it. I drove it home with the intention of repairing it. I had driven it a total of 20 miles and noticed I was also now losing engine oil. The oil pressure switch had somehow been split completely in half and was blowing oil everywhere. I have replaced the switch and the engine is not leaking, but the gauge is behaving the way previously described. I was concerned that maybe the fact that the needle was bouncing off the column may have knocked it out of zero. I am concerned about it actually being accurate, but that would mean that I have 120ish psi when the ignition is on and the engine not running and 50 psi when the ignition is off which would make no sense. Thank you for looking at my long winded reply. It has not been easy dealing with the local mechanics or working on this car.

The raw LED is a 5mm 3v led.

Diploma in general eletronics, over 20 years experience. Interest in electrics my whole life. Been soldering since since grade school.

I use rubbing alcohol to clean the flux off.