Gauge questions

[deputy184]

Hi. I originally posted this in the 2007 forum and I was told to post it here. I have purchased a 1999 Tahoe LS with the police package with 128,400 miles on it. It has the vortec 350 in it I assume. I live here in North Louisiana and it was purchased from a small village. The Chief of Police is 76 years old and it was driven by him. I bought it off a local used car lot for $3500. I called the Chief and he said it ran fine. It really does run good. There are no check engine lights on and it is in very good condition. The only problem I have is with the tachometer and the speedometer gauges.Sometimes when I start it up, the speedo and tach won't work. If I immediately turn it of and restart it, it starts working again. Sometimes it takes up to 2 times of restarting for it to register and start working. Does anyone know what the problem is and how do I fix it?. Second, My oil pressure gauge when I start it up it registers about 40 or more but after awhile during idle and stops it drop to 25 if I am reading it correctly. Should I be worried? It doesnt go below that and it doesnt miss or rattle. It actually runs quiet and smooth. As I said in my first post, This is a cool forum. I should learn alot here. P.S. What does it take to change my grill out from the plain black grill with the 2 halogen light system to the chrome grille the usual tahoes have and the bright euro light systems.
Thanks a lot, any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Mike97]

Hi. I originally posted this in the 2007 forum and I was told to post it here. I have purchased a 1999 Tahoe LS with the police package with 128,400 miles on it. It has the vortec 350 in it I assume. I live here in North Louisiana and it was purchased from a small village. The Chief of Police is 76 years old and it was driven by him. I bought it off a local used car lot for $3500. I called the Chief and he said it ran fine. It really does run good. There are no check engine lights on and it is in very good condition. The only problem I have is with the tachometer and the speedometer gauges.Sometimes when I start it up, the speedo and tach won't work. If I immediately turn it of and restart it, it starts working again. Sometimes it takes up to 2 times of restarting for it to register and start working. Does anyone know what the problem is and how do I fix it?. Second, My oil pressure gauge when I start it up it registers about 40 or more but after awhile during idle and stops it drop to 25 if I am reading it correctly. Should I be worried? It doesnt go below that and it doesnt miss or rattle. It actually runs quiet and smooth. As I said in my first post, This is a cool forum. I should learn alot here. P.S. What does it take to change my grill out from the plain black grill with the 2 halogen light system to the chrome grille the usual tahoes have and the bright euro light systems.
Thanks a lot, any advice would be appreciated.

Well, first things first. Welcome to the forum. We have a pretty good community here, I think you'll like it. Be sure to post up some pics of your Tahoe. Sounds like you got a good deal on it.

I don't have an answer for your gauge question. I haven't had to work on any kind of electrical problems on my Tahoe.

It's normal for your oil pressure to drop a little after the engine warms up, especially at idle. 25 psi seems a little low, but my 94 k1500 drops down to about 20 psi at idle when the engine is hot. It's done that since the day I bought it 3 years ago. A mechanic buddy of mine told me that small block Chevys can idle as low as 10 psi with no problems. Although that would make me very nervous if mine dropped that low. Now, having said that, just to be safe you might want to ask your local mechanic. My Tahoe has 129k miles on it, and never drops below 40 psi.

You can upgrade the grille, but you need all the parts. L and R composite headlight housings with bulbs, L and R lower grille lights (turn signals), L and R marker lights. You may also need a harness adaptor for the bulbs. I was going to check into this for a co-worker but he changed his mind about converting over. Good luck with your new Tahoe.

 

[mygreen98]

sound like a bad connection to the back of the gauge cluster assembly. you also may want to try and jiggle the key back and forth after you start the truck maybe ignition switch problem. post your findings, good luck !

 

[8bud]

I have this exact same problem with the speedo/tach in my 1999 police tahoe. Hopefully someone has dealt with this issue and can post a fix for us.

 

[deputy184]

I think my problem is in the ignition switch. All I did was get a new ignition key cut and I havent had any more problems yet. Let me know if it works for you.

 

[OuR97HoE]

thanks for posting this we have had the same problem im gonna try getting a new key made and i hope that helps! ill post my findings!