1995 Tacoma Clock and Dash lights prob

have a 1995 Tacoma that I just love! about a year ago, the clock started going on/off intermittenly. I can thump it, and it will come back on, showing the correct time. Also, the lamp behind the temperature control, and fan settings is out. How difficult would it be to replace these? Not great at DIY, but given the right instruction, I can probably do it. Thanks for any advice!

 

Haha mine does the same thing, Just give the clock a good WAP and it comes back..idk what the prob is though. My heater control bulbs are out as well haha

bump for answers

 

Mine are out to on my 96

 

Mine does the same thing. The first thing I did to the truck after buying it, was replace the stock head unit with an aftermarket one. I noticed it after that, but it could be a lingering problem from before I bought it (and therefor not related to the head unit replace).

Both the clock and first two heater knob backlights just go out sporadically. A few knocks on or around them and they come back on. The clock doesn't lose the time, so it must still be getting power.

Does anyone have experience fixing this? Sound like a loose wire or ground issue? Or just a faulty clock or wire harness?

 

Good point on it not loosing time,not a ground for the power for the clock or it would loose time.

Must be something to do with the illumination or the actual clock digital part? Im not even sure how to get to it lol

 

Yeah, the part I find odd is that the lights that illuminate the left half of the A/C and heater panel also go out.

If it was just the clock, I would think that it's a manufacturing error for the clock, ie. a weak internal connection of the bulb, that reconnects when you tap on the clock.

But it's more than just the clock. Maybe the clock lighting and the A/C panel lighting share something, that is now loose. Or maybe a UFO is flying around these parts.

At one point, I've also seen the clock go dim and one of the digits disappear. So, its not always just an on/off thing, though it is usually.

 

Mine seems to just be the clock, but then again I dont drive at night too often..

 

My left AC knob light isn't working either... It used to go out occasionally and I would give it a good knock and it'd come back on. I'm guessing the wiring might be a little loose or something. Gonna have to take it off and take a look I guess... :|

 

My clock gets dim sometimes n I thump it n it comes back normal

 

That happens to my clock also. Going to replace the clock with something eventually. Switches hooked up to something or whatever.
Clock is kinda useless now a days.

 

Hey guys, new member here!
I was having issues with my clock as well - the only time it would come on was right when I started the truck in extremely cold weather, and even then it would only work momentarily.
I'm pretty handy with electronics, so I decided to open it up to see what the problem was.

The way the 4 contacts connect to the circuit is via 4 springs that press against solder pads on the circuit board. Upon inspection, it seemed like the issue was simply that the springs were not pressing against these connections firmly enough.


I did two things to remedy this. One, bend one end of the spring out slightly to compensate for the lack of tension.
The bent end will be inserted down on top of the metal contacts that mate with the connector in the dash.
Two, flow a little more solder onto the solder pads to slightly raise the contact points. Make sure that you do not fill in the holes, though, as the metal pins are designed to go through these holes.

After re-installation, the clock powered up and stayed on. A lesson in electronics design: never rely on springs to make connections
I would imagine this would solve most peoples' problems, so if you have a little soldering experience this is a really quick fix. Hope this helps!

 

Also, here's a guide to removing the clock from the dash panel.

http://autoclockrepair.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/tacoma_clock_repair_fix_removal.3870909.pdf

 

My clock works during the winter but does not during the summer ☺