Massive F4 tornado strikes near by, our prayers go out to the community

Please pray for our neighbors in Joplin, we’ve got personal friends and family that has lost homes and survived very near misses in last night’s 6 mile long, 3/4 mile wide F4 tornado that ripped the town in half. Unfortunately at this time at least 90 people are confirmed dead and thousands injured – it will be years before Joplin recovers from the physical damage and the memory will likely never fade for those who live there.

Our prayers go out to the family members of those 90 souls and to the injured and those who’ve lost everything.

Our phones may be down or intermittent for the next day or so due to the near by tornado strike last night in Joplin, MO about 25 minutes from our office. We’ve lost power and are replying to emails remotely but we don’t expect any disruption in cluster repairs or UPS shipments, we’re hoping power is restored by the end of the day.

Canada – Need cluster repair in Canada? No Problem!

I’d like to say a big Thank You to all my Canadian customers and let everyone up in the Great White North know that we are happy to work with you to get your cluster repaired.

The process is slightly different in that you will need to package your cluster up and mail it to me and cover that cost on your end.  Most of my Canadian friends are using Canada Post for that and delivery times are reasonable at around a week.  I’ll cover the cost of the return shipment via USPS.  The amount you pay me is the same as for US customers and you can order using the regular order page here:  http://drspeedometer.com/how-to-buy

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call me anytime at 1-800-405-1056.

Thanks!
Fred
Dr.Speedometer

Digital Display Dim, Dark or Dead?

Has your digital display gone out, started to flicker or is it impossible to see during the day?  Well, after speaking with many GM drivers over the phone we determined it’s a growing problem and we set out to get to the bottom of the issue.  We’re now offering digital display repair service in addition to our standard gauge repair work. If you have a 99-06 GM with a dim, dark, flickering or intermittent odometer display or PRNDL display you are eligible for this service.

This is commonly seen in Silverado and Sierra PRNDL and odometer displays but is also possible in all other GM clusters from 99-06.  This issue is most usually characterized by a dim, dark, flickering, intermittent or faded appearance to the electronic display.  If you are experiencing any of these issues and want to get them resolved please contact us at the number below.  This service will be included into our regular rebuild cost and will not be an extra charge.

Contact us if you have any questions at 1-800-405-1056

Got an ’05 Mustang with speedometer problems?

1-4-2011
We’re proud to formally announce that we are now repairing 2005 Ford Mustang instrument clusters. If you are experiencing problems with your gauges including sticking, dying, ratcheting motion of the needle(s) or your needle(s) are pegged out at maximum reading or beyond or are stuck at their lowest position and won’t respond we can rebuild them and restore their original motion. We can service both 4 gauge and 6 gauge clusters and perform a full rebuild of all gauges within the cluster as standard service (rather than just rebuilding the gauges that are dead at the time). This service is covered by both our 12 month money back guarantee and our Lifetime Rebuild Guarantee. See this page for details.

For ordering information please visit – 2005 Mustang Speedometer Problems

Additionally, we are offering our popular DIY guide to instrument cluster repair specifically for 2005 Mustangs.  This guide covers all necessary steps to performing your own repair, what parts are needed and where to purchase them and more.  Visit Mustang Cluster Repair DIY Guide for ordering information.

Just Launched: Facebook Group for Trailblazer owner’s with faulty instrument clusters (+Rainier, Envoy & Ascender)

Due to the significant amount of Trailblazer, Envoy, Ascender and Rainier owners we speak with we’re now announcing our new Facebook Group Page for Trailblazer owners who have gauge failure in their 03-06 Trailblazer, Envoy, Ascender and Rainier instrument clusters.  Visit the Group page here Trailblazer Facebook Group Page and join the group to stay up to date on current issues, problems, fixes and upgrades and to chat with other Trailblazer owners.  Stay tuned there as we’ll be releasing new articles of interest to Trailblazer owners there in the next few weeks and will be offering special pricing to Group members soon.

Trailblazer Facebook Group Page

Two Weird Reasons Why Silverado and Sierra Fuel Gauges Stop Working

If you are the owner of a 2003-2006 Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra and your fuel gauge has quit working you’re not alone.  There have been dozens upon dozens of reports of fuel gauges that stopped working on these models in the last few years.  This causes vehicle owners a lot of unnecessary stress and more than a few instances of drivers being stranded along the side of the road after running out of fuel.  Here’s the two most common reasons for this problem.

Fuel level sensor

Deep in your fuel tank lies your fuel pump and fuel sending unit, bathing in fuel and quietly doing their job, until they don’t.  It appears that on the Silverado and Sierra the fuel level sensor which is part of this assembly is prone to failure.  When the fuel level sensor goes out the instrument cluster no longer has any way to show you how much fuel you have.  When this happens you’re left guessing how many miles you have left on your tank of fuel and using your trip meter as a guide while your fuel level gauge bounces around from empty to 1/2 to 1/4 to full and back again.  If this is your vehicles problem have it diagnosed by a local mechanic and repaired as soon as possible.

Fuel level gauge

The second and possibly more common reason for a Chevy Silverado fuel gauge or Sierra fuel gauge to quit working is a faulty instrument cluster.  A common problem among GM vehicles built from 2003-2006, various gauges in the instrument cluster will fail often affecting higher mileage vehicles.  This problem is caused by defective drive motors used on the circuit board of the instrument cluster itself and has been linked to over 30 different GM models and is sometimes covered under warranty but only if your vehicle has 70k miles or less.

How Do I Tell Which Problem I Have?

If your fuel gauge has quit working and another gauge in your instrument cluster has stopped working as well then you should have your instrument cluster fully rebuilt.  If only your fuel level gauge has stopped or is reading erratically then it would be best to have the problem diagnosed by a local mechanic first to determine if it’s a fuel level sensor issue.

Who Can I Contact For Instrument Cluster Repair?

Contact Fred at Dr.Speedometer -www.DrSpeedometer.com or call toll free 1-800-405-1056

Chevy Trailblazer Fuel Gauge Quit Working? Top 2 Reasons Why…

If you are the owner of a 2003-2006 Chevy Trailblazer and your fuel gauge has quit working you’re not alone.  There have been dozens upon dozens of reports of fuel gauges that have stopped working on this model in the last few years.  This causes vehicle owners a lot of unnecessary stress and more than a few instances of drivers being stranded along the side of the road after running out of fuel.  Here are the two most common reasons for this problem.

Fuel level sensor

Deep in your fuel tank lies your fuel pump and fuel sending unit, bathing in fuel and quietly doing their job, until they don’t.  It appears that on the Trailblazer the fuel level sensor which is part of this assembly is prone to failure.  When the fuel level sensor goes out the instrument cluster no longer has any way to show you how much fuel you have.  When this happens you’re left guessing how many miles you have left on your tank of fuel and using your trip meter as a guide.  If this is your vehicles problem have it diagnosed by a local mechanic and repaired as soon as possible.

Fuel level gauge

The second and possibly more common reason for a Chevy Trailblazer fuel gauge to quit working is a faulty instrument cluster.  A common problem among GM vehicles built from 2003-2006, various gauges in the instrument cluster will fail often affecting higher mileage vehicles.  This problem is caused by defective drive motors used on the circuit board of the instrument cluster itself and has been linked to over 30 different GM models and is sometimes covered under warranty but only if your vehicle has 70k miles or less.

How Do I Tell Which Problem I Have?

If your fuel gauge has quit working and another gauge in your instrument cluster has stopped working as well then you should have your instrument cluster fully rebuilt.  If only your fuel level gauge has stopped then it would be best to have the problem diagnosed by a local mechanic first to determine if it’s a fuel level sensor issue.

Who Can I Contact For Instrument Cluster Repair?

Contact Fred at Dr.Speedometer -www.DrSpeedometer.com or call toll free 1-800-405-1056

Changing your truck’s tire size? Here’s how it will affect your speedometer…

Thinking of changing the tires out on your Silverado or Yukon for some over sized off-road tires or maybe switching to some 20′s or bigger on  your Trailblazer or Suburban?  Something to consider is how it will affect your speedometer reading, read this great article to understand what affect  your change in wheel/tire size will have on your instrument cluster.

Speedometer Accuracy

No speedometer can be 100 percent accurate. In fact, most manufacturers build speedometers so they fall within a fairly narrow tolerance range, no more than 1 percent to 5 percent too slow or too fast. As long as a car is maintained at factory specs, its speedometer should continue to register vehicle speed within this range. But, if a car is modified, its speedometer may need to be recalibrated.

Changing tire size is one of the most common things car owners do that can affect speedometer accuracy. That’s because larger tires cover more ground in one complete revolution. Consider the example below.

Your car comes with factory-installed tires that are 21.8 inches in diameter. That means the circumference of each tire is 68.5 inches. Now let’s say you want to replace the stock tires with new tires that are 24.6 inches in diameter. Each new tire has a circumference of 77.3 inches, which means it travels almost 10 inches farther with each complete revolution. This has a tremendous affect on your speedometer, which will now indicate a speed that is too slow by almost 13 percent. When your speedometer reads 60 miles per hour, your car will actually be traveling 67.7 miles per hour!

Speedometer Calibration

All speedometers must be calibrated to make sure the torque created by the magnetic field accurately reflects the speed of the car. This calibration must take into account several factors, including the ratios of the gears in the drive cable, the final drive ratio in the differential and the diameter of the tires. All of these factors affect the overall speed of the vehicle. Take tire size, for example. When an axle makes one complete turn, the tire it’s connected to makes one complete revolution. But a tire with a larger diameter will travel farther than a wheel with a smaller diameter. That’s because the distance a tire covers in one revolution is equal to its circumference. So a tire with a diameter of 20 inches will cover about 62.8 inches of ground in one revolution. A tire with a diameter of 30 inches will cover more ground — about 94.2 inches.

Calibration adjusts for these variances and is done by the manufacturer, which sets up the speedometer gear to correspond with the factory-installed ring and pinion ratio and tire size. A car owner may have to recalibrate his speedometer if he makes changes that make his vehicle fall out of factory specifications (see the sidebar below). Recalibrating a speedometer can be done by manipulating the hairspring, the permanent magnet or both. Generally, the strength of the magnetic field is the easiest variable to change. This requires a powerful electromagnet, which can be used to adjust the strength of the permanent magnet in the speedometer until the needle matches the input from the rotating drive cable.

Harris, William.  “How Speedometers Work”  10 July 2007.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/speedometer.htm>   09 September 2010.

If you are in need of instrument cluster repair for any GM vehicle made between 2003 and 2006 contact Dr.Speedometer at http;//drspeedometer.com

DrSpeedometer.com Goes Mobile For 1 Billion Users

As of today DrSpeedometer.com is officially “Mobile Ready”, what does that mean?  It means that if you are one of the millions of smart phone users who like to visit websites on their phone (number of smart phone users are expected to exceed 1 billion worldwide by 2014) you can now get a much easier to use version of the site, optimized for your phone.  While checking the site’s analytics I noticed we are getting quite a few mobile visitors and I wanted to make sure their experience on the site was as good as possible.  After checking around for the best option I came across this WordPress plugin that makes it pretty easy to convert a WP site to a mobile ready site.

To check out the mobile version of the site click the small text link at the bottom of any page in the left corner. Enjoy!

Chevy Silverado Instrument Clusters, Why They Quit Working

Chevy makes a great truck, no doubt about that.  Where I’m from they’re easily the most common truck on the road and to see them with way over 100k miles is common place, in fact my own Z71 has over 185k and is still in excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition.  But, there’s one area where Chevy really dropped the ball, well, to be honest it wasn’t their fault.

As you probably know by now Chevy Silverado’s, Trailblazer’s, Tahoe’s, Suburban’s, Yukon’s and more have a chronic speedometer failure problem – but why?  Well, the supplier they used for their instrument cluster stepper motors simply produced an inferior product that fails over time in the vast majority of applications, it wasn’t exactly Chevy’s fault, they didn’t make the motors they used in the speedometers.  But, if you have a higher mileage (over 70k) GM they aren’t going to do anything about it at the dealer if you go in and complain that your instrument cluster quit working either.  So that’s where I come in, I replace the defective parts (and the ones that haven’t gone out yet but will) with new redesigned, improved parts which I stand for as long as you own the vehicle!  Call toll free at 1-800-405-1056 to speak with me or visit the site at Silverado Instrument Cluster Repair