Cluster/Dash Electrical Issue

rehack · Post by **rehack** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 10:33 pm

Hey guys,

Went out to warm the car up for my wife and none of the gauges are working. Nothing from speedo/tach/temp/gas all on zero. No Display from the Odometer either.

I told her to let me know if anything changes, but I went out this evening and it was still dead. Also noticed that none of the interior lights (minus the dome and stereo) are working either. So the Gauge cluster and HVAC are all dark.

Simply a Fuse or a Relay? What do you think? I did a quick check of all the fuses this morning and they all looked okay, but I was in a hurry and might have overlooked one.

Anyone else had this happen? I am hoping it's something easy.

red2k2rt · Post by **red2k2rt** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:55 am

did you check all the fuses including the ones under the hood?

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 11:33 am

Grounds behind the radio also.... Or anywhere else hidden away under the dash.

rehack · Post by **rehack** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 5:24 pm

I did check both, red2k2rt. But like I said, I was rushed, so I will admit that I'm not infallible. I'll check them all again. I have a multimeter, but have never tested one of the black relays, will have to look up how to do that.

I'll check the grounds, OD. I'll just have to keep looking. I would understand if the cluster died all of a sudden, I mean, the car is 11 years old and something things go bad. But for all the dash lights and everything? Chances are a fuse, or ground, or relay, or thingamabob got burned out, or broken, or disconnected. I'll just have to find it.

Thanks for your help so far.

Post by **occasional demons** » Thu Dec 12, 2013 8:11 am

Test the fuses with a test light. There is a small slot on the ends that the test light probe will contact.

So just touch the ends going down through the fuse box and PDC, checking both sides of the fuse for power. Note certain fuses, like the headlights will not be powered until switched on.

The gauges, and lights may also be two separate issues.

rehack · Post by **rehack** » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:38 pm

occasional demons wrote:Test the fuses with a test light. There is a small slot on the ends that the test light probe will contact.

Got my tester out, tested every single fuse in the car. All good. Went back to start the car, everything is good again. One of the fuses must have wiggled out. In testing, I firmly seated each one, and it must have corrected it.

So for now, the problem is resolved. Thanks for bearing some of the stress with me.

rehack · Post by **rehack** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 4:46 pm

Happened to me again today. Drove to the bank, let the car idle when I went up to the ATM. When I sat back in the car, all the lights were dark, none of the gauges were on.

Will go back through with the tester and check all the fuses again.