Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Needles Jumpin

I recently put overlays ono my guages.... realizing that they are very sensetive, i was very carefull when putting them on.... i had them on for about a week, then one cool morning they started jumping and sticking (speedo and tach only) On warmer days, they work fine, and they work well after the car warms up... but i can't figure out why then jump when it's cold or even humid....

Maybe they are pushed on too far?

Steve

The indiglo gauge overlays for the Contours are notorious for binding up, especially around the tach area. The only way to secure the faces is by using an adhesive. Most of the import overlays I have seen use stock screw locations around the needles, etc. to hold the faces down, but our Contours do not have such mounting locations. When I installed mine, I used a spray headliner adhesive on the back of the overlays, making sure to mask the holes on the opposite side so that the adhesive would get around the holes, but not make it to the front face. I then applied the overlays and let them sit. Superglue worked for awhile but the heat just got to it. One more piece of personal advice... peel off the old faces... I know people say not to, but if you are going to glue the faces down with any kind of glue worth it's salt, you won't have those stock faces intact if the overlays should need removed, so just peel them off and give yourself some more space. The headliner adhesive was still holding up when I traded the car in last week (that would make the indiglos about a year old). HTH.

We recently installed a set of indiglo gauges on a Mustang GT at the shop, and ran into this same problem. He came in three times complaining of gauges sticking, the guys removed them, lifted the needles, cut some material around the needle's bases, etc... nothing seemed to help.

Finally I took them out myself and determined that the gauges worked fine when the cluster was cool and laying down, but once installed upright in the dash, the faces fell forward. I applied some 3M foam tape to the back side of the black divider that sits over the gauges. I layered about three pieces in different spots around the gauges and didn't remove the backing from the tape so the faces wouldn't stick to the divider. This held the gauges against the back of the cluster so they didn't fall forward and interfere with the needles. It worked.

One thing though: these gauges were a one-piece unit, and I don't know if this will do you any good with a multi-piece kit. Anyway, food for thought...

i used an adhesive when installing them they lay completely flat..... and its only during certain times..... lol its like my car is really moody.....is it possible that the connection is bad>