Expert: Roger J.M. Warrington - 7/26/2006

Question
Dear Mr. Warrington,
  I drive a 1990 Camaro RS with a V8. I took the car to my mechanic to have the dimmer/brightlight switch fixed and then cruise control has not worked since then. Everything else on the lever (wipers,turn signals etc) work perfectly. The mechanic wanted $400 to fix it. I drive a lot and use the cruise control constantly. I would like to fix the problem myself if possible because I do not have the resources to pay for an expensive repair. How do I go about doing this?
   In addition, my tachometer has been stuck all the way to the right (passed the redline)for quite some time. It used to work alright and then it would stay near the redline and now it is just stuck there. I believe that when I start the car it goes back down briefly then returns to that position. Do you know how i can fix the problem myself? I tried to access the dashboard but could not figure out how to get through.
   I am good with my hands but do not know the car terminolgy, so if you could ellaborate I would appreciate it. Thank you for your time and good day.

Sincerely,
Ross H

Answer
Ross ;
HI , well first off I would have taken it right back to the guy that broke it.
Have you looked to see if the fuse is blown..
and as far as the tach , if the needle is all the way over I think that its broken and you should look for a new one. as far as the dash. if you go to the library, the tech books should tell you step by step to remove the dash. but it is a bit of work.