Nissan 1984 300 ZX. Dash gauges - Digital
Asked by GGR Aug 04, 2008 at 03:59 AM about the 1984 Nissan 300ZX
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Okay. Have quite a number of items on the dash gauges that don't work. WHat DOES work all the time is the Tach. Speedo works when it wants to. When it's not - it reads 0. Fuel gauge doesn't work at all, neither does tripometer (a or b), nor the distance to empty. Temp gauge works fine. OIl pressure doesn't work, and voltmeter goes up and down. On the middle of the dash, the air and defrost switches work, along with the temp up/down, but the display for all these is not lit up at all. And the clock is stuck on 2:00 and can't seem to be reset. First thing i was going to attempt was just get a new speed sensor and replace that. Ideas?
13 Answers
littlehorn answered 15 years ago
You could try the speed sensor, however, it sounds as though one or more of your digital gauges has fried, so a new cluster might be a safe bet.
It also might just be a short that caused the others to malfunction. You just have to find the source and fix that and go from there.
Safe bet, your digital dash power supply is shot, had the same problem in my 86 zx!!
Thanks. Where do i find this power supply on the dash - do i need to remove the dash to get to this part? This sounds like a good place to start, as driving home last nite, the only remaining pieces that worked (the tach and the 3 bar gauges to the right) all quit as well. So now, none of the gauges on the dash on working....what should I start taking apart to best investigate this whole thing?
Thanks - same question as below - where do i find this cluster? Removing the dash board??
Add this site to your favorites... it will make your life a hell of allot easier. Also includes troubleshooting the digital dash and repairs. http://www.xenonz31.com/issues.html . The climate control not lighting up is most likely just blown bulbs. Xenon also takes you through how to open the climate control up and replace them. It may be listed under the modifacations section under how to change the lighting collor on your dash and climate control. The clock, sounds like a seperate issue all together. A replacement can usually be picked up pretty cheap at a junkyard. a couple bucks at the most. My digi in my 86 did the exact same thing as yours is doing. I nearly wasted allot of money on replacing the power supply and this site was a last ditch effort. I did as the walkthrough showed and she has been working great ever since! Good luck.
Thanks!!! This is an excellent site, just took a quick look before heading to work. Will print these off and start takng a look. Thanks again, much appreciated! Gerry.
No problem... you might want to consider joining a couple forums as well. ZCar.com has some pretty knowledgeable people on it.
migration_tommcmanis... answered 11 years ago
plastic panel under steering wheel three screws secure it to dash,use caution lowering panel as floor lighting is in it and can break bulb or fixture,w panel removed look up and slightly right there is a small silver box secured w a Phillips screw screwed into dash support the other is a ten mm nut screwed to the console small plastic duct will need removed to facilitate removal,drop box down using care not to pull wiring,push clip in and remove at same time. NOTE: use care w the plastic connectors they can be very brittle. upon removal there is green protestant on some of the pins this is normal.
migration_tommcmanis... answered 11 years ago
I replaced the head it self for one hindered from a gent on eBay who repairs them 100.00 was a small price to avoid the uncertainty of ps or Speedo head. Forgive the spelling my phone thinks its smarter than me.
1984 300 ZX.87,000 MILES Bought 2 of these supply and nothing has a any one Thanks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTgzWRCQc4A&ab_channel=TOPTIERTACTICALv1.0
