Car Dashboard

What is a car dashboard?

A car dashboard is an instrument panel (IP) present between the driver and passengers. For the first time, this word was used in 1847. Before this, the word dashboard was used for the protective board made of leather or wood to secure a horse carriage driver. The primary purpose of that board was only to protect the passengers and driver from mud attached to the horse’s hoofs.

What does the car dashboard do?

The purpose of this panel is to act as an indicator. On average, ten instruments are fixed on this panel, indicating the warning signs, like fuel consumption, engine speed, battery charge system. Battery charging system provides electrical energy to all electrical appliances fixed. The Control panel communicates with the driver through these instruments. It consists of two main parts, instrumentation and control lamps.

Can you replace it yourself?

The car’s dashboard is the central part. You can replace it by yourself if you have complete information. But it’s very cost-effective. The owner would expect to have a range between 2100- 2300$. It includes the price of both parts and labour.

Things to know and remember when replacing the part:

Following key points should be kept in mind while replacing the parts:

• Switch off the battery before starting the repair.
• Remove all the instruments from IP.
• Remove the dashboard carefully not to break any component.
• Remove the VIN tag from the old one and paste it on the new one.
• Follow all the steps in the reverse direction to fix the new IP in its place.

Complimentary parts of a Dashboard:

The dashboard is the area of the automobile that contains all of the controls for the automobile. Following are different dashboard parts with their functioning.

One among these is the steering wheel. The steering wheel includes bushings, ball joints, CV joints, central links, sleeves, sway bar links. Another one is an odometer which includes a drive shaft, a drive gear, a driven gear, a dial, and a pointer. The driveshaft is connected to the engine and transmits power to the drive gear.

Rate of change of velocity of a moving object is measured with a speedometer. The speedometer is connected through a drive cable to the transmission. The needle, which is fixed on the speed cup, displays reading.

 

Another primary component is the tachometer. A tachometer is a tool that is used for measuring the speed of an engine in RPM. Tachometer gauges may include either analogue or digital displays.

Temperature gauge is a dial used to measure the temperature of the coolant of a vehicle’s engine. It indicates normal or overshooting temperature levels.

Fuel gauge is another component that indicates the fuel level inside the fuel tank. In a sensing system, it measures the voltage around a variable resistor, which is further used to determine the fuel level.t Turn indicators are also included in-car dashboards.

Gearshift position indicator in-car dashboards get main attention as it displays which gear has to be engaged so that the fuel consumption will be minimum.

Seatbelt warning light indicates that seatbelt is closed properly. It gets activated in case of improper or not use of seatbelts at a speed level of 15mph. The parking brake warning light gets activated when the emergency brake is engaged. Hence, it must be released before driving. Engine-malfunction warning light indicates a loose gas cap or knocking in the engine.

Identifying issues or symptoms of failure

Knocking noise that comes from inside of the Hood of your car body and increment or decrement in speed is an indication of failure of your engine bearing. Stop your car immediately before any major disorder. An auto shop should be scheduled when you will notice more than average smoke expelling out from the vehicle’s exhaust pipe.

Black smoke represents too much fuel consumption, while white smoke is a sign of coolant in the combustion chamber (low fuel consumption). Make sure engine coolant (antifreeze) is specific for your automobile.

Check engine Light immediately if it is activated. It is a sign of a minor problem so that you may resolve it at the beginning; otherwise, it may cause an irreversible disorder. Decreased performance efficiency is an indication to warm up your vehicle. If it is hard to stop your vehicle at the red light, it indicates a fuel delivery problem.

Troubleshooting the frequently occurring problems

There are some of the most important indications that we have to consider while driving. These are the following:

The engine warning light looks like a water duct. It lit up when you need to exchange oxygen tank or spark plug sensors and maybe due to the offensive efficiency of the automobile’s catalytic converter. Some of the issues which the driver, if not considered, may cause severe disorders. The Tire pressure light is activated only when at least one of the tires has too low pressure to drive safely.

Engine temperature warning light is activated when the engine is too hot. It may cause serious if driving continuous. The best way is to stop your vehicle and let it cool down. The battery alert light is just like the head of the robot. It indicates that it is our level in your car has been decreased. Hence it is preferred to check your battery immediately.

Another indicator that seems like genie’s lamp is the oil warning light sensor. This sensor/ indicator indicates low oil pressure. These warning lights of the automobile may vary from model to model. While the normal oil pressure range is between 25-65 PSI. In most engines, 5W30 or 5W40 oil is used.

Normal lifetime

The normal lifetime of a car dashboard is about ten years. But it may exceed 15 years for a good quality vehicle. The dashboard is usually made from plastic and can be replaced with a new one.

Other parts to replace or fix when replacing the instrument panel

The costs of having a quality dashboard are that you will have to purchase a new dashboard for your car if your current dashboard is cracked or broken. The other cost is that you will have to purchase new parts to fix the dashboard.

When replacing the instrument panel, it is important to replace the screws, bolts, and fasteners as well as the wiring harnesses.

How to make sure you purchase the right part for your exact car

To confirm that you selected the right path for ordering the part of the car, you can visit autoparts-24.com. At this site, you can provide your vehicle’s number plate and then select the required part of the car. After selection, you can pay through a credit card or PayPal, but a bank transfer is not accepted.

After placing the order, the shipment will be released to the submitted location. The shipment is free for the provided list of countries, but if your country is not present in the provided list, you can also get an offer of free shipment. You can also get a return facility if you did not receive the right order as you need. In this case, you have to make an account on our site, and then we shall process it and contact you for recovery.

Final Thoughts

The dashboard of your car is significant for your safety. You should purchase a quality dashboard for your car. If you keep your dashboard clean, it will stay in good condition for a long time. Different instruments are arranged on the instrument panel, which notifies the driver about the car’s condition through a warning light. Check engine light from time to time.