Lexus mileage change
I have this 2004 Lexus LS430, which I determined to have a faulty fuel gauge. I ordered a new cluster from the dealer, only to get a call 5 days later telling me that they can't get it, and used is my only option. A user on iatn was trying to get me a used cluster that he was going to test, then program the mileage, but that fell through.
My question is, if I purchase a used cluster, can I reprogram the mileage myself either through J2534, or purchasing a tool for that purpose?
Or, are the stepper motors replaceable like GM, and if so, what's the part number?
If anybody is curious why I condemned the fuel gauge, it's because it reads either full, or empty, no in between. When I command it empty with a scanner, it goes to empty, and the light comes on. When I command it to half, the gauge stays still, but the light turns off. When I command it to full, it goes to full. When I command it to half, it stays at full. When I command it to empty, it goes back to empty, and turns on the light. Voltages are correct at both sending units, and match the data stream.
I don't think Lexus clusters are easy to modify mileage yourself without a programmer (i.e. cannot do via OBD), but there are places like these guys that can do it for a reasonable fee. odo-pro.com/digital-mileag…
The easiest and cheapest way to do this is going to be to disassemble both the original and used cluster, unsolder the EEPROM chip that houses the mileage on the original, and replace the chip on the donor with the original. If you had EEPROM software and a good chip reader clip, you could possibly read the chip dump in circuit, edit the data to the correct mileage, and then re-write the chip.