This video is for gen 2 w126 clusters. I replaced same failed small gear on my gen 1 and it is an absolute PITA even to take the clear plastic cover off. way more gears involved and not to mention the small gear has a brass sleeve on the shaft that I had to dremmel away. everything you see for sale as replacement plastic gears are for gen 2 (1986 - 1991).
Thanks! Sounds painful. Btw the smallest gear also has this brass sleeve. Here is a trick: Use a vice grip plier on this sleeve and clamp down tight. Then release. It will come off much easier without grinding on it or the shaft
Thanks for walk-through on the Odometer repairs. You would be shocked how many folks have a defunct unit these days. Most of the 124 & 126 chassis' I went to purchase had defective odometers. Shame some monkey shines made the mistake of lubing the gears. Have a very good Sunday my friend. Happy Holidays as well.
Hi Ralph! You're lucky you did not have to take the face off the speedometer and other gauges to get at it. My cluster has digital odometer and diagnostic screen which plugs into the mother board. The ambient temp screen is glued on and so is the clock and gear setting screen. I have taken it apart to try to put a new odometer/diagnostic screen on which did not make it any easier to read. In order to get at it you have to pull all the needles off. They have no notching of any kind so getting them in the exact right spot when replacing them is a bit of a challenge. I need to replace the temp and clock screens because they are completely blank but like I said they glue in and you need a special tool for that. I don't know if I'll ever try it. Anyway, I have the needles set as close as I can back on it but just not quite. You have to put it together, plug it in and see where they end up but you cannot ever be sure they are right. I have a digital speedometer as well as the dial so that one is not much of a worry. It's the temp and gas gauge and tach that are a problem. I have also tried led lights on this one, about 18 or 20, and they did not want to work on them plus the different kinds I ended up with are all poorly made Chinese junk and the contacts break on them very easily. I've completely given up on it.
@@straybenzes haha Ralph. You mentioned putting leds in your cluster. Like I said the ones I got on ebay are junk. Where can I get good ones that actually work?
Thx for the great vid! I have the small gear in there broken but it’s stuck and won’t come out. It’s seized on the little silver gear pole. Any advice?
Yes, that one is the toughest part of this repair. I have great luck removing that ring/gear by using a pair of vise grip pliers and tightening it around that ring once really tight. You may have to do that once or twice before the ring loses its tension and you can pull it of the shaft easier. Good luck!
@@kalfoogaltmimi5043 Well. The gear tooth count depends on your car model. Here is a helpful site that let's you choose which set you need by car model. It also provides you with the gear tooth count. www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/PELMBTOGS12612.htm?pn=PEL-MBTOGS126-12&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw3NyxBhBmEiwAyofDYR2msg6tuqO7INeFvtvmgm9NwqDoEeptcnxL1wp0jNXjkuRyZ6JHdBoCT1UQAvD_BwE#0
Hello Ralph. I bought a used cluster for my 87 300d and the mew cluster has 30ll80 miles my original is 163230. Is it possible to make the new odometer have correct miles. Thank you. ROBERT
That is indeed possible. I have done this while replacing the old plastic drive gears. So you have to remove the intermediate gears that the video talks about replacing. You can then turn the mileage gear shaft. It does take a while to make major adjustments. Good luck!
I appreciate that some will be able to do this but for me, and my luck breaking 35 year plastics, I'll be send the whole unit out to a professional service for $200.
The smallest gear has a brass ring embedded in it. Best method to get that off is using vice grips and squeezing that gear/ ring in one spot. Do that hard enough so that it deforms the brass ring. It should then slide off relatively easily using your fingers or with a set of pliers. Good luck.
Hello friend?! HELP!! I have a 89 300SE with 160 mph speedo. The end of the shaft has 2 brass gears and the broken original is dark emerald green in color. The “replacement”gear does not fit over or into the shaft nor the dual brass gears on the shaft. Any thoughts??
Yeah, depending on where you got the replacement gear(s) they tend to either fit correctly or need some additional rework. Do you have a set of vernier calipers to measure shaft and the hole in the gear so you know how far off the gear is?
Ralph, Can you offer tips on trouble shooting my engine gauge cluster? my coolant temp and fuel gauges are completely pegged to the top and i believe this is because my custer has been shorted previously. How do I rectify this? I cant get the gauges apart due to the bar that runs over the vacuum gauge.
@@dametrostrika If the oil pressure gauge is working as it should then both other gauges are getting positive voltage to the cluster. Since they move and are pegged that would sustain that. At max resistance / infinity these fully peg. That seems to indicate that either the sensors are bad (highly unlikely) or there is a loose / no contact situation. The latter can come in form of the plug in the back having issues, the ground connection in the cluster being faulty, or there is a wire break somewhere. I would check what voltage you are getting with one of your probe tips connected to +2 and the other on the blue/ black wire (fuel sensor) and the green wire (coolant temp). You should be able to measure some voltage. If there is none then it is a wire break or the sensor are indeed kaputt.
@@straybenzes I know this unit had a burnt ground. I had to clean up the ground all the way across the other two gauges. I cannot remove the gauges from the board without breaking the trip reset function. There is bar that does not allow the gauges to come off the board and it seems to be permanently affixed. So I should start with trying to solder a new ground from the 16 pin connector to the ground that connects to the speedometere/odometer?
@@dametrostrika There is a common ground that I believe is what you are referring to and that one is coming from pin location 3. Each gauge then has a separate "ground" connection 1 and 2 that connects them to their respective sensors. Check those as well. Good luck.
Yes that little gear has a brass sleeve that is hard to pull off the shaft. The new gear is made from a different plastic and it fits on the shaft without a sleeve. It has an interference fit to the shaft.
I'm having a issue with my tachometer and speedometer. I have the same Guage cluster as in the video. I have checked all the wires for the tachometer and everything ohms out. I have 12v on the pink and black wires and the sensor wire i get milivolt of around 6 and as I rev the engine it will go up to 10-12 millivolts. I took the cluster apart and could not find anything obvious. I put a extra ground off of the ground strap that jumps the speedometer in the back of the cluster. That did not help. Do you have any ideas on where else to look for the tachometer? Is that millivolts reading what i should be seeing for the tachometer?The speedometer what reading should I see on that pin you were talking about? Would it be a millivolts reading as I'm driving?
@@straybenzes the car is 1991 350sd. Both Guages and the mileage counter do not work. The clock does work tho. I am also trying to figure out a parasitic draw the car has. The last couple days it has gotten worse and now will kill the battery over night. I checked the amp draw through the negative terminal on the battery and get a reading of 3.8 amps. If I unplug fuse 2 the app draw goes away. The weird thing is it goes away slowly it like ticks down. Fuse two has the diagnosis port, radio, hazards, front roof light, visor lights on it. The radio is stock and I have pulled it out and unplugged it and no drop of the apps. I have also unplugged the amps behind the rear seat and no drop. In the truck of the car I think there was some other radio thing on the passenger side and it is not there anymore. I have taken the sun visors down and I can't find any wires going into them. I have also taken the front roof light which I assume is the reading/dome light in the front down and unplugged all that and no drop. I have also unplugged the EDS computer on the passenger floor kick panel and that does not cause it to drop. I have taken out the glove box and the instrument cluster and looked over as much of the wiring as I could see and nothing looks chewed or anything like that. I did see some seeds or chewed up nuts from some rodent behind the instrument cluster. Another thing when I plug in fuse two the H relay clicks and energizes. I am not sure if this parasitic draw and the Guage not working are linked. I bought the little LED diagnosis tester from ebay to see if that would help and as soon as I plug it into the EDS port the light turns right on. In the book that came with it that says there is some short in that circuit having power full time. I am having a hell of a time with this electrical stuff. I am not sure if you would have any tips? I appreciate any help Thanks
@@nickfrumusa7705 There is a lot to unpack here. As far as the two main gauges not working that could be related to both getting power through fuse 6. At the back of the cluster look for the black-pink wires and measure if you have voltage there with the ignition on. Fuse 2 also handles the power seats. Have you unplugged them or the seat controls in the door panels? The plug sits right in front of the seat on the floor under a carpeted cover. Unfortunately, the LED diagnostic thing only works correctly if you do not have any other false positive connection. Sometimes cob webs can set off a false alarm. The usual power amp robber is the power antenna, but that one is connected to fuse 15. It takes patience and grit to flush these issues out. Good luck.
@@nickfrumusa7705 I just realized that fuse 2 also supplies power to the antenna. I would unplug that one right at the antenna in the truck. They are infamous for causing amp draw as moisture from a leaky antenna seal will get into the control box on top.
@@straybenzes thanks so much for spending the time replying to my messages. I have checked the black and pink wire on the tachometer and I get 12 volts with the key on there. I will check the speedometer for the 12 volts this weekend. I have not unplugged the power seats yet so I will give that a try. Thanks for letting me know the location of that plug. I did unplug the power antenna before and that did not do anything. I will check for 12 volts at the speedometer and then unplug the power seats and see if that helps. Again I really appreciate you taking your time to reply to me
O plástico envelheceu e tornou-se muito frágil. Além disso, alguém pulverizou alguma forma de lubrificante nas engrenagens e o plástico não levou bem a isso. Espero que isto responda à sua pergunta. Obrigado e boa sorte.
I replaced my odo gears a few years back but the odometer stopped working again. Its frustrating because I can hear the motor working and none of the new gears are broken so I am at a loss.
Is the needle indicating your speed or is that one also inop? If it is not working I would make sure that the impulse wire from the transmission is indeed sending out the impulse signal. Good luck!
@@benzlover55 I would check two things on what you have. First check if the smallest gear is tightly fitted to the drive shaft. The other two gears are freely moving on their shafts, but the little one must be firmly attached to its shaft. Second, I would remove the two bigger gears and then you should be able to rotate the gears below them. When you do that the mileage counters should rotate also. Good luck!
@@levcohen1347 You can do that, but I do not recommend it. It messes with the fit on the shaft and concentricity. It is better to remove the ring from the old gear. Giving that ring a good pinch with vice grips will loosen the fit and the ring comes off easier. good luck.
Thanks for the video. Had I found it a few hours ago, I would have it much easier to remove the instrument cluster of my W126. Like your channel!
Thanks. Glad you like it. All the best!
This video is for gen 2 w126 clusters. I replaced same failed small gear on my gen 1 and it is an absolute PITA even to take the clear plastic cover off. way more gears involved and not to mention the small gear has a brass sleeve on the shaft that I had to dremmel away. everything you see for sale as replacement plastic gears are for gen 2 (1986 - 1991).
Thanks! Sounds painful. Btw the smallest gear also has this brass sleeve. Here is a trick: Use a vice grip plier on this sleeve and clamp down tight. Then release. It will come off much easier without grinding on it or the shaft
i ended up needing to use a dremel too and it worked like a charm. thanks for the tip!
@@mallenmueller-dombois2349 Nice!
Thanks for walk-through on the Odometer repairs. You would be shocked how many folks have a defunct unit these days. Most of the 124 & 126 chassis' I went to purchase had defective odometers. Shame some monkey shines made the mistake of lubing the gears. Have a very good Sunday my friend. Happy Holidays as well.
Thanks and Happy Holidays to you as well.
That waxy stuff on the gears were on mine too. They say to put grease on the big black gear
Well, I did not put anything on these. The friction is so low that I seriously doubt that lubrication is needed. Good luck to you.
Thanks Man! Appreciate your time.
Always!
Hi Ralph! You're lucky you did not have to take the face off the speedometer and other gauges to get at it.
My cluster has digital odometer and diagnostic screen which plugs into the mother board. The ambient temp screen is glued on and so is the clock and gear setting screen. I have taken it apart to try to put a new odometer/diagnostic screen on which did not make it any easier to read.
In order to get at it you have to pull all the needles off. They have no notching of any kind so getting them in the exact right spot when replacing them is a bit of a challenge.
I need to replace the temp and clock screens because they are completely blank but like I said they glue in and you need a special tool for that.
I don't know if I'll ever try it. Anyway, I have the needles set as close as I can back on it but just not quite. You have to put it together, plug it in and see where they end up but you cannot ever be sure they are right. I have a digital speedometer as well as the dial so that one is not much of a worry. It's the temp and gas gauge and tach that are a problem.
I have also tried led lights on this one, about 18 or 20, and they did not want to work on them plus the different kinds I ended up with are all poorly made Chinese junk and the contacts break on them very easily.
I've completely given up on it.
Holy smokes, Werner. This sounds like a raging dumpster fire. Hoping you will have better luck shortly.
@@straybenzes haha Ralph.
You mentioned putting leds in your cluster. Like I said the ones I got on ebay are junk.
Where can I get good ones that actually work?
Thx for the great vid! I have the small gear in there broken but it’s stuck and won’t come out. It’s seized on the little silver gear pole. Any advice?
Yes, that one is the toughest part of this repair. I have great luck removing that ring/gear by using a pair of vise grip pliers and tightening it around that ring once really tight. You may have to do that once or twice before the ring loses its tension and you can pull it of the shaft easier. Good luck!
@@straybenzes got it!!! Thx again
@@pspy66 Nice!
Great tip. Thanks Ralph !
Thanks!
Hello my friend
Are the sizes of the two circles exactly the same size?
Which two circles do you men?
@@straybenzes My beloved, the two large circles, how many teeth are in each circle, and is there a difference between them?🙂🙂
@@kalfoogaltmimi5043 Well. The gear tooth count depends on your car model. Here is a helpful site that let's you choose which set you need by car model. It also provides you with the gear tooth count. www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/PELMBTOGS12612.htm?pn=PEL-MBTOGS126-12&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw3NyxBhBmEiwAyofDYR2msg6tuqO7INeFvtvmgm9NwqDoEeptcnxL1wp0jNXjkuRyZ6JHdBoCT1UQAvD_BwE#0
I have a gen 1, there is a soldered relay in the way of the cover
You should still be able to take the gears off regardless. It makes it more difficult though.
@@straybenzes yeh I managed to work it loose but was tricky. Ordered a new set of cogs for £9
good luck! @@hamshank29
Always good tips man
Thanks. Glad you like it.
Hello Ralph. I bought a used cluster for my 87 300d and the mew cluster has
30ll80 miles my original is 163230. Is it possible to make the new odometer have correct miles. Thank you. ROBERT
That is indeed possible. I have done this while replacing the old plastic drive gears. So you have to remove the intermediate gears that the video talks about replacing. You can then turn the mileage gear shaft. It does take a while to make major adjustments. Good luck!
Thanks for the post!
Thank you!
I appreciate that some will be able to do this but for me, and my luck breaking 35 year plastics, I'll be send the whole unit out to a professional service for $200.
How did it turn out?
I can't get the small gear off. All the others slide off, but the small one is pressed on or something.
The smallest gear has a brass ring embedded in it. Best method to get that off is using vice grips and squeezing that gear/ ring in one spot. Do that hard enough so that it deforms the brass ring. It should then slide off relatively easily using your fingers or with a set of pliers. Good luck.
@@straybenzes the gear is broken off. What's left has small ridges on it. Is that what I squeeze?
I would send a picture, but it doesn't to be an option.
@@Cpcsof1 Yes, that is it. Good luck.
@@Cpcsof1 Yes, that is it.
Hello friend?! HELP!! I have a 89 300SE with 160 mph speedo. The end of the shaft has 2 brass gears and the broken original is dark emerald green in color. The “replacement”gear does not fit over or into the shaft nor the dual brass gears on the shaft. Any thoughts??
Yeah, depending on where you got the replacement gear(s) they tend to either fit correctly or need some additional rework. Do you have a set of vernier calipers to measure shaft and the hole in the gear so you know how far off the gear is?
Ralph, Can you offer tips on trouble shooting my engine gauge cluster? my coolant temp and fuel gauges are completely pegged to the top and i believe this is because my custer has been shorted previously. How do I rectify this? I cant get the gauges apart due to the bar that runs over the vacuum gauge.
Are they pegged permanently or just when the ignition is on?
@@straybenzes only while the ignition is on.
@@dametrostrika If the oil pressure gauge is working as it should then both other gauges are getting positive voltage to the cluster. Since they move and are pegged that would sustain that.
At max resistance / infinity these fully peg. That seems to indicate that either the sensors are bad (highly unlikely) or there is a loose / no contact situation. The latter can come in form of the plug in the back having issues, the ground connection in the cluster being faulty, or there is a wire break somewhere. I would check what voltage you are getting with one of your probe tips connected to +2 and the other on the blue/ black wire (fuel sensor) and the green wire (coolant temp). You should be able to measure some voltage. If there is none then it is a wire break or the sensor are indeed kaputt.
@@straybenzes I know this unit had a burnt ground. I had to clean up the ground all the way across the other two gauges. I cannot remove the gauges from the board without breaking the trip reset function. There is bar that does not allow the gauges to come off the board and it seems to be permanently affixed. So I should start with trying to solder a new ground from the 16 pin connector to the ground that connects to the speedometere/odometer?
@@dametrostrika There is a common ground that I believe is what you are referring to and that one is coming from pin location 3. Each gauge then has a separate "ground" connection 1 and 2 that connects them to their respective sensors. Check those as well. Good luck.
Did you change all three of them? Is that small gear has a brass fitting inside ( as original ) or just a plastic ? How it holds on a shaft?
Yes that little gear has a brass sleeve that is hard to pull off the shaft. The new gear is made from a different plastic and it fits on the shaft without a sleeve. It has an interference fit to the shaft.
I just got the gear for 25 from Pelican, plus freight, but what are you going to do
Yeah, that is a lot of money for these parts.
I'm having a issue with my tachometer and speedometer. I have the same Guage cluster as in the video. I have checked all the wires for the tachometer and everything ohms out. I have 12v on the pink and black wires and the sensor wire i get milivolt of around 6 and as I rev the engine it will go up to 10-12 millivolts. I took the cluster apart and could not find anything obvious. I put a extra ground off of the ground strap that jumps the speedometer in the back of the cluster. That did not help. Do you have any ideas on where else to look for the tachometer? Is that millivolts reading what i should be seeing for the tachometer?The speedometer what reading should I see on that pin you were talking about? Would it be a millivolts reading as I'm driving?
What is the model and year of your car? Neither gauge and the mileage counters work, correct?
@@straybenzes the car is 1991 350sd. Both Guages and the mileage counter do not work. The clock does work tho. I am also trying to figure out a parasitic draw the car has. The last couple days it has gotten worse and now will kill the battery over night. I checked the amp draw through the negative terminal on the battery and get a reading of 3.8 amps. If I unplug fuse 2 the app draw goes away. The weird thing is it goes away slowly it like ticks down. Fuse two has the diagnosis port, radio, hazards, front roof light, visor lights on it. The radio is stock and I have pulled it out and unplugged it and no drop of the apps. I have also unplugged the amps behind the rear seat and no drop. In the truck of the car I think there was some other radio thing on the passenger side and it is not there anymore. I have taken the sun visors down and I can't find any wires going into them. I have also taken the front roof light which I assume is the reading/dome light in the front down and unplugged all that and no drop. I have also unplugged the EDS computer on the passenger floor kick panel and that does not cause it to drop. I have taken out the glove box and the instrument cluster and looked over as much of the wiring as I could see and nothing looks chewed or anything like that. I did see some seeds or chewed up nuts from some rodent behind the instrument cluster. Another thing when I plug in fuse two the H relay clicks and energizes. I am not sure if this parasitic draw and the Guage not working are linked. I bought the little LED diagnosis tester from ebay to see if that would help and as soon as I plug it into the EDS port the light turns right on. In the book that came with it that says there is some short in that circuit having power full time. I am having a hell of a time with this electrical stuff. I am not sure if you would have any tips? I appreciate any help
Thanks
@@nickfrumusa7705 There is a lot to unpack here. As far as the two main gauges not working that could be related to both getting power through fuse 6. At the back of the cluster look for the black-pink wires and measure if you have voltage there with the ignition on.
Fuse 2 also handles the power seats. Have you unplugged them or the seat controls in the door panels? The plug sits right in front of the seat on the floor under a carpeted cover. Unfortunately, the LED diagnostic thing only works correctly if you do not have any other false positive connection. Sometimes cob webs can set off a false alarm. The usual power amp robber is the power antenna, but that one is connected to fuse 15. It takes patience and grit to flush these issues out. Good luck.
@@nickfrumusa7705 I just realized that fuse 2 also supplies power to the antenna. I would unplug that one right at the antenna in the truck. They are infamous for causing amp draw as moisture from a leaky antenna seal will get into the control box on top.
@@straybenzes thanks so much for spending the time replying to my messages. I have checked the black and pink wire on the tachometer and I get 12 volts with the key on there. I will check the speedometer for the 12 volts this weekend. I have not unplugged the power seats yet so I will give that a try. Thanks for letting me know the location of that plug. I did unplug the power antenna before and that did not do anything. I will check for 12 volts at the speedometer and then unplug the power seats and see if that helps. Again I really appreciate you taking your time to reply to me
Excelente vídeo. Mas você saberia dizer o porquê dessa degradação das engrenagens originais. Qual o erro no projeto ?
O plástico envelheceu e tornou-se muito frágil. Além disso, alguém pulverizou alguma forma de lubrificante nas engrenagens e o plástico não levou bem a isso. Espero que isto responda à sua pergunta. Obrigado e boa sorte.
Same for a w124?
Different gears but, yes. www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/PELMBMOD12413.htm?pn=PEL-MBMOD124-13
I replaced my odo gears a few years back but the odometer stopped working again. Its frustrating because I can hear the motor working and none of the new gears are broken so I am at a loss.
Is the needle indicating your speed or is that one also inop? If it is not working I would make sure that the impulse wire from the transmission is indeed sending out the impulse signal. Good luck!
@@straybenzes speed is still indicated no problem, just mileage is stuck again.
@@straybenzes Should I try and maybe replace the gears again? Could that help maybe?
@@benzlover55 I would check two things on what you have. First check if the smallest gear is tightly fitted to the drive shaft. The other two gears are freely moving on their shafts, but the little one must be firmly attached to its shaft.
Second, I would remove the two bigger gears and then you should be able to rotate the gears below them. When you do that the mileage counters should rotate also. Good luck!
Very good.
Thanks!
At 9:30 you totally skipped over the only part I needed to see. Removing the brass collar for the small gear🤦♂️🤦♂️
Sorry for that. That little ring appears to be quite the issue for a lot of folks.
@@straybenzesHow about small ⚙️ gear make bigger hole and pushed to the bronze shaft with glue ?
@@levcohen1347 You can do that, but I do not recommend it. It messes with the fit on the shaft and concentricity. It is better to remove the ring from the old gear. Giving that ring a good pinch with vice grips will loosen the fit and the ring comes off easier. good luck.
Where did you get your parts?
Did you see / try the links in the video description? That should work. Good luck
Thanks again .. mines not working now know what to look for.
Good luck!
mercedes
Yup.