Busted Tachometer Needle Light?

[KansasKid]

So the new Kizashi that I acquired recently as a peculiar defect, the tachometer needle doesn't illuminate when I turn on the exterior/interior lights. It still functions correctly while I'm driving, and all the other needles and gauges light up just fine. Just the tachometer needle doesn't want to light up.

Anyone hear of this happening or have any suggestions on what to do about it?

I don't do a lot of night driving, so it doesn't bother me too much, and it's a CVT so it's not super critical that I know what the engine revs are at all times. If it's going to take more effort than changing a fuse, I'm probably not going to mess with it. I'm pretty sure there's nothing I can do except replace the entire instrument cluster, at which point, I might as well just wait until something serious breaks on it.

[KansasKid]

Quick site search reveals that exactly one other person has complained about this issue on the forum. I wonder if that poster was the previous owner of my Kizashi...

[KuroNekko]

If it's just the tach needle light and nothing else wrong, it's likely just the LED emitter for that specific application that went bad. That's the good thing. The bad thing is that you literally need to take out the instrument panel, access the circuit board, remove the bad emitter, and solder in a replacement emitter to fix it. On the plus side, this process will allow you to customize the emitter to any color you choose. You can have a neon pink tach needle if you truly desire, assuming you can find the appropriate emitter.

[WRX]

Tacho and Speedo needle lights both failed!

[KansasKid]

Tacho and Speedo needle lights both failed!

The light in my instrument cluster ended up turning back on all on it's own, and I haven't had an issue with it recently. But I also haven't been doing a lot of driving after dark when it would be the most obvious, so maybe I just haven't noticed it.

Maybe keep an eye on it, and see if they come back on? You could also try playing with the light knob on the turn signal or the light intensity knob sticking out of the instrument cluster. See if that does anything?

[Wheelnuts]

Hi all,

My Kizashi also has IP trouble - first the tacho needle illumination stopped, and now all four needles remain in the 'parked' position. Is this a fuse job? The rest of the IP remains illuminated, and the trip computer also still works.

The other odd thing is that there are some 'worm-like' trails under the coating of the alloy wheels at the front. The rears were fine. Once the wheels were rotated, the same started happening to the other wheels which were now mounted at the front. The service centre blames it on dogs - a special breed that only pees on front wheels...

[KansasKid]

Try checking the fuses? Could it be a battery issue?

If the LCD screen still works, but the gauges don't, that seems awfully concerning. Like it might be the computer or the instrument cluster all together...

Last ditch effort option would be to just disconnect the battery, and push the brake pedal a few times to drain ALL the energy out of the system. Then plug the battery back in. Don't know if that's actually gonna help or anything. Just kinda grasping at straws at this point.

[KlutzNinja]

My ‘13 Kizashi has had an iffy tachometer needle light for as long as I can remember in my 2.5 years of ownership. Regardless of what lighting setting I’m at (DRLs, headlights, in between), there’s a chance it’ll be out. I’ll know if I’m in for an unlit tachometer needle if it flickers at startup. It’s more reliable in colder months for some reason. Just like how the faulty passenger airbag sensor used to mainly go off in hotter temps (before it was replaced via recall work).
Seeing that I have a CVT, I don’t really need to know the tachometer needle’s position at all times. And you can sort of see where it is at nighttime because there’s a needle of darkness against the white gauge markers lol.

I have no idea why the light is faulty; maybe it’s a fuse or the emitter like Kuro mentioned; I’m just glad it’s not the speedometer needle.
Sorry my post isn’t really any help, but at least you know you’re not the only one experiencing this.
I am curious if anyone experiences this on a climate/seasonal basis like I do, though. It’s still iffy for me because in SoCal it’s been pretty hot until just this week. Today was the coldest it’s been in my area in a while and the needle was blinking and then out, so I’ll keep an eye on it to see if it improves.