burnt smell and then instrument lights flicker, then completely out -02 q45

[squadone619]

I was driving my 02 q45 and all of a sudden smelt a burnt smell coming from the dash. then the instrument lights flicker for a while and go completetly black. the cluster inself still works - rpm still works, gas gauge,etc. I have not messed the any wiring, so the car is completely stock, no aftermarket stereo. I know this isn;t a common problem but if anyone has experienced this or know what I should do... thanks in advance guys!

[qship96]

flourescent tube burned out-must remove dash to replace it.

[squadone619]

wow, removal of dash! I guess i have to take it in to the shop.

[marksport]

flourescent tube burned out-must remove dash to replace it.

Wouldn't you just need to pull out the instrument cluster?

[Infinitiguy19]

All cars have there problems, 1990-1993 Chain guides, 1994-1994 HVAC door, 1997-2001 coil packs, 2002-2006 Q45 well a s*** ton of problems so far. But not a single one that's common that I have seen.

And there was another topic on this.

[Q45man1]

Inverter issue. Overdriving the current caused some failures. Received calls from Lexus repair shops with same burnout tubes. Unfortunately I don't have the exact replacement tubes but close.

We have redesigned these inverters (and ballasts for headlight) beefing up the output. Big "Stan" holds the market for these.

[longlivetitus]

Hi there Squadone619!

The exact thing happen to me about 6 months ago, and here are your choices:

1. Buy a new gauge cluster from infiniti parts usa for about $800 (not including labor hours)2. Look for a used unit online for a couple hundred bucks and install it yourself.

Your gauge cluster is toast and cannot be saved. The electrical smell that came from your unit is fried. I spent about 2 month looking to see if I could have my original unit fixed but nothing came through. I ended up finding a couple used gauge cluster on ebay and installed it myself. The first unit I got on ebay did not work, and the second unit I found worked perfectly. The odometer only had about 3K more miles than my original.

It's not tough to do, it will take a while the first time though. The first time I tried to do it went fine until I got to the 3 adapters in the rear, took forever to un-latch them. Now I can get the gauge cluster out in under 5 minutes.

If you do decide to find a used gauge cluster online, make sure you get the 2002 year, any other year will not work properly--trust me. If you have any other questions feel free to post questions.

Good luck!Longlivetitus

[squadone619]

I think a local junkyard has a cluster, so that might just save me. but the car it came out of had the adaptive cruise control. I remember seeing the cluster and it had the distance meter on the cluster itself, where as mines did not since it has standard cruise. Do you knw if this will work? thanks again, you guys are life savers!

[longlivetitus]

You will want to stay with the exact model year without the adaptive cruise meter for your Q. I found out the hard way that swapping out different year gauge clusters, with and without the standard options will effect the gauge performance. For example, an '05 Q45 gauge works fine on my '02 Q45 Sport, but the TDC and SLIP lights will remain on.

I would keep searching for the right cluster.

[squadone619]

its going to be pretty hard to find the right model, but I'll keep on looking. is there any way to replace the flourescent bulb on the cluster itself? I looked at the FSM and it shows how to take apart the cluster but not sure if the bulb itself is avail thru infiniti.

hope this problem is an isolated problem but maybe not... another design flaw for the 02 model..

[Infinitiguy19]

Only "Bulbs" I found:

Description------Part number

Inverter-Assy: 24871-AR000-

Socket and Bulb: 24860-40F01-

[marksport]

its going to be pretty hard to find the right model, but I'll keep on looking. is there any way to replace the flourescent bulb on the cluster itself? I looked at the FSM and it shows how to take apart the cluster but not sure if the bulb itself is avail thru infiniti.

hope this problem is an isolated problem but maybe not... another design flaw for the 02 model..

have you tried car-part.com ?

[squadone619]

i've never tried em, I'll check it out and see if they have any.. thanks markspot!