DIY: Honda City 04-08 Instrument Cluster Opening and Cleaning

[RollOnBigMaMa]

Aoa dear fellow pakwheelers. Hope you people are fine.

Well, this is my first DIY I have posted over here.

The topic was discussed a lot in our Honda City Fan Club as "how to open the speedo of this city."

A fellow member, A_N_memon @ PW posted some pics in the fan club as how to open it so i tried doing it on my city as well. Mine is 2004 model.

My cluster needed cleaning and the three silver rings were very dirty. The space around the rings is a bit tricky and is not easy to clean. So, truck loads of dirt may be accumulated around them.

First, its about how to open the cluster:

The silver rings are fastened over the speedo by 4 clips which are stuck very hard. One needs a good force to remove them. But once u learn how to do it, its simple.

Just put ur fingers n the rings as shown in the picture, and Exert an equal, balanced force. keep ur hands under control as no one would want to break the rings...

The clips will come off with a click. Now u can remove the lower part easily.But remember to lower the steering column to its lowest cz only then will the rings come out.

make sure that the trip meter reset key is not damaged while pulling the rings off.





After I removed those rings, I washed them, sanded them a bit so that the surface becomes even and gave the them a repaint in silver colour.

yes the genuine colour is different but I've already repainted all of my panels with the same colour, therefore, they'll match with them.

Below are the Pictures:

















This is how the speedo looks after you remove the rings, the red coloured circles show the screws u need to remove now:





After these four screws come off, U can now remove the "lower" side of the "roof" above the speedo.

Once, removed, the speedo will now look like this, the circles again show the screws to be removed next:



Now, The other half of the "roof" can be taken off as well. You'll see two Grips, Blue and green. Pull them out (they may seem a little extra hard) and now the speedo can be simply taken out.

Here is the speedo out:





With the speedo out, you can easily remove the lens. It uses a few clips to stick.

While cleaning the cluster, be extra cautious with it as it is very very delicate and can be easily damaged. Try ur level best not to touch the needles.

I used STP SUN OF A GUN to clean the speedo and it worked awesome for me.

and I would strongly suggest not to open the speedometer's internal wirings as it is sealed. Once opened, it may become damaged and can cause serious issues. Only try to do it if u really now what u're doing.

I will post how to put back the "tricky screws" back in.
Some more pics after I put it back in are continued...

[RollOnBigMaMa]

This is how to put back the tricky screws. be very very careful as if u lose the screw, it can be really hard to get it back from inside the dash.

I scotch taped the screw to the screwdriver and then aimed it straight in...


Few pics after I put it back in:

The lighting has increased more than 50%...!

Will post day-time pics tomorrow, inshAllah.

[RollOnBigMaMa]

The same technique applies to the city steermatic 06-08 instrument cluster as well. The difference is only in the speedometer itself.

[smashhud]

Hmmmm... The lovely Optitron Speedometer of Steermatic is my favorite thing in the car... I am not sure I am gonna try this any time sooner though

[RollOnBigMaMa]

Hmmmm... The lovely Optitron Speedometer of Steermatic is my favorite thing in the car... I am not sure I am gonna try this any time sooner though

Yea... its lovely for sure. And bro ur car is only 43k driven. U don't need to do this. Ahmad bhai needs to do this badly and so do a few fellow idsi owners.

ur black jack is indeed a CLEAN steermatic. And i've heard that one can buy Steermatic style optitron meter for manual idsi easily. I am in search of that...

[smashhud]

Thanks for the appreciation Dear.. I do try to keep my ride as stock as possible.. and its 46K driven now ...In theory Steermatic's meter should fit any iDSI... Lets wait till you or anyone else practically does this

[coolsmart]

Good work although explained by A_N_memon but picts speaks louder.

[RollOnBigMaMa]

Good work although explained by A_N_memon but picts speaks louder.

haha... Thank you. actually the confusion was how to open. And a good way to reinstall the screws. Rest is pretty easy.

BTW, I was thinking the other day about you,Long time no see?

[ahmadbila]

Mama jee chaad gae hain aap im the next person whos gonna do this

(Putting link of this thread in Honda city fan club main post)

[RollOnBigMaMa]

Mama jee chaad gae hain aap im the next person whos gonna do this

(Putting link of this thread in Honda city fan club main post)

Sir G, Thank you...
And the bold face thing is an honour for me... I hope I see u doin it soon.

[hash4u]

thats a good DIY!
thanks for sharing

[RollOnBigMaMa]

thats a good DIY!
thanks for sharing

Thank you bro... Means alot.

[ahmadbila]

Sir G, Thank you...
And the bold face thing is an honour for me... I hope I see u doin it soon.

Already done sir jee

and as far as steermatic cluster is concerned, theoratically, YES, we shud be able to fit it into an idsi but u know, it has an indication of gears engaged "PNDRL" etc and also 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 if the manual mode is turned on... i wonder what can be done about that... but YES, it would be awesome if someone can find a manual transmission cluster that used to come in 1.5l abroad, thailand japan india etc...

[ahmadbila]

yar how exactly did u clean the dirt inside it? u used STP for shine but how did u actually wipe off the dust? specially around the delicate areas i.e. around the needles (did u move them?) and the dust that was actually sitting on the needles? im planning to use cotton buds to clean the delicate areas. what did u use? damp cloth? dry cloth? air pressure?

[ahmadbila]

and oh, so the tip to take off that rings thing is just a LOT of force, right? properly distributed... ???

[RollOnBigMaMa]

Already done sir jee

and as far as steermatic cluster is concerned, theoratically, YES, we shud be able to fit it into an idsi but u know, it has an indication of gears engaged "PNDRL" etc and also 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 if the manual mode is turned on... i wonder what can be done about that... but YES, it would be awesome if someone can find a manual transmission cluster that used to come in 1.5l abroad, thailand japan india etc...

Umm humm, I was talking about yu cleaning ur cluster...

and yeah, for the steermatic cluster, hmmm, well we can always put it practically as well IF the grips and wires are the same as idsi and I am pretty sure that they are cz paki people don't like much difference between two variants of the same car. The PRNDS lights will simply not light up in this case.

but I was wondering if may be some AWESOME electrician can hook up the 1234 lights to our manual gears .

Ahhh, would that I was an engineer!!!

and I have already began to search for a Manual tranny cluster on the internet. I bet we can get it shipped from abroad. See what I can do. When I come across one, I m gonna be ordering one for 1451 as well...

yar how exactly did u clean the dirt inside it? u used STP for shine but how did u actually wipe off the dust? specially around the delicate areas i.e. around the needles (did u move them?) and the dust that was actually sitting on the needles? im planning to use cotton buds to clean the delicate areas. what did u use? damp cloth? dry cloth? air pressure?

Hmmm. Well, actually, the inside of the cluster is somehow very sticky type of thing. Esp the dials. One uses a "not so good product" and he may end up in a very sticky situation.

Well, I used STP for the cleaning all over. Took a bit of tissue and wiped the dials gently with it. Used a cotton bud for the needles.

The needles are very very light and they move just by blowing air onto them. Tried my best to keep them stationary.

No cloth or cotton whatsoever cz I found that fibers stick to the dials very easily and they look YUCK in the light.

And finally before Putting the lens back, I used my mum's (very) fast hair dryer to move away any dust particles that fell into it. Whoalla. All done.

and oh, so the tip to take off that rings thing is just a LOT of force, right? properly distributed... ???

Yes the basic tip is that very thing. A lot of force but with a LOT LOT of care and precision. one mistake and "klick"

But the rings are not THAT delicate. They are pretty firm and good made.

[ahmadbila]

Umm humm, I was talking about yu cleaning ur cluster...

and yeah, for the steermatic cluster, hmmm, well we can always put it practically as well IF the grips and wires are the same as idsi and I am pretty sure that they are cz paki people don't like much difference between two variants of the same car. The PRNDS lights will simply not light up in this case.

but I was wondering if may be some AWESOME electrician can hook up the 1234 lights to our manual gears .

Ahhh, would that I was an engineer!!!

and I have already began to search for a Manual tranny cluster on the internet. I bet we can get it shipped from abroad. See what I can do. When I come across one, I m gonna be ordering one for 1451 as well...




Hmmm. Well, actually, the inside of the cluster is somehow very sticky type of thing. Esp the dials. One uses a "not so good product" and he may end up in a very sticky situation.

Well, I used STP for the cleaning all over. Took a bit of tissue and wiped the dials gently with it. Used a cotton bud for the needles.

The needles are very very light and they move just by blowing air onto them. Tried my best to keep them stationary.

No cloth or cotton whatsoever cz I found that fibers stick to the dials very easily and they look YUCK in the light.

And finally before Putting the lens back, I used my mum's (very) fast hair dryer to move away any dust particles that fell into it. Whoalla. All done.




Yes the basic tip is that very thing. A lot of force but with a LOT LOT of care and precision. one mistake and "klick"

But the rings are not THAT delicate. They are pretty firm and good made.

oh, i ll be doing it very soon yaaar... dont u worry
yeah sure man, i give u the "go ahead" for ordering one for 1451 too, then hopefully we wud have the ONLY idsis with steery tachos installed

hmmm... i see... so what u did was
1) wiped the dials with tissue paper
2) used STP for shine..

or was it in reverse order? im gonna get me an STP thingy too... never used it before... and yaaarr... dont scare me, "click" ho gae tou waat lag jaegi

[RollOnBigMaMa]

oh, i ll be doing it very soon yaaar... dont u worry
yeah sure man, i give u the "go ahead" for ordering one for 1451 too, then hopefully we wud have the ONLY idsis with steery tachos installed

hmmm... i see... so what u did was
1) wiped the dials with tissue paper
2) used STP for shine..

or was it in reverse order? im gonna get me an STP thingy too... never used it before... and yaaarr... dont scare me, "click" ho gae tou waat lag jaegi

InshAllah. Just pray that I find the proper tachos and then they install in our cars without much glitches.

And dun be scared. Nothing that scary... Maine b andha dhund zoar laga k rings to khaincha tha. Socha tootna hai to toot he jaye ga na.Edi keri gal aa? But manhoos ka patta toh chalay ga k khulta kaise hai.

Yes I did exactly the same. Infact, I dipped a small tissue in STP and wiped the dials with it again. As STP leaves stains if applied unevenly. Moreover, i didn't want any DUSTY HAVOC in it by using excess.

[RollOnBigMaMa]

Ahmad bhai, one more thing, About the central console respray.

I busted the little chrome strip in the handle of the tray. I pasted some masking tape and when I removed it, the strip, basically a sticker, Also came off. . I still have it with me. But anyways to restore it?

[RollOnBigMaMa]

Check these out... I bet i can find these, inshAllah.: