toochowed

I am brand new here, and glad to find this site with all the wealth of knowledge on here!

I got myself tonight a 1991 Vette with 130,000 miles for $3200. I felt it was a really nice deal, and the car seems to be excellent! As expected for $3200, it is not perfect, but the problems seem to be something I can work with. The engine and tranny are in excellent shape.

The first issue, which I started reading about and seems to be common, is the dash cluster. The seller told me it comes on and off, was off for me the whole ride home. It is just a glowing square. This sucks because I would like to know how much gas I have and how fast I am going. What can I check on this? He says it turns on when he slams the hood shut sometimes. Bad wiring?

Secondly, the tach seems grossly inaccurate. It was showing a redline at every stop light I took off from, not a chance. Do these issues run hand in hand?

Thirdly, one of the lights wont flip up. A plastic portion is broken (I can take a pic in morning and post). Where is a good place to get that new housing?

Fourth, the fuse for the blinkers will blow out every couple of days per the seller. So I have no signals. The front ones will turn on if I blink manually, but the back ones to do not. Any ideas here?

Did I get a decent deal? It drives awesome and I am beyond thrilled to have this much car for such a low price. Goes well with my 500sl Mercedes!

Thanks guys for any insights!

MaxDaemon

Welcome!

I'm new here myself so don't have a lot of technical knowledge to share. It sounds to me like you got a screaming deal though, since those problems sound like issues that can be taken care of for a few hundred bucks at most. It could be something as simple as a bad ground.

In trying to find issues, the easiest really is to start with a Google search. A lot of the time, they wind up pointing you back HERE!

For instance, my search of "91 corvette digital dash blank" comes back with a first hit of

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...t-cluster.html

which seems to have a lot of relevant information.

Best of luck, and welcome to the family!

Mishawaka

I'm new here also but it looks and sounds like a good deal. A Vette of that year, condition and miles go for about 5 or 6 grand around here. Sounds like relatively small problems. The dash cluster is probably a bad connection, just a matter of finding it. I've seen the flasher go bad and blow fuses, bulbs or could be just a bare wire or even the bulb socket. I used to repair a lot of auto electrical problems for a living and usually the cost is all in the labor.

ricasso

Well done on your new car, she look's great! my advice would be to buy, if you haven't already, the correct FSM for your car, it will probably be the best and most useful thing you will ever purchase for your car..

hcbph

Nice looking Vette. The suggestion of getting a FSM is a good one.
I expect you'll find the dash issue is a bad connection or faulty ground.
Hang in there, you have a good starting point.

1993C4LT1

Good looking car

Larrye

Welcome to the forum and the Corvette madness!!! Might post your issues over in tech if you haven't already. Lots of great info and fellow owners on this sight always willing to help.

charliet615

http://www.batee.com/ Try this website for dash repairs. Hope this helps. Charlie

sahhas

nice vette! good price!!! good luck!!!

csthews

Nice car and congrats. But you do realize that by posting a picture on the OP, you robbed us of the opportunity to post the "this post is useless without pics" emoticon. The headlight issue may be due to the broken part, or it may be the result of worn headlight bushings. Lots of posts here on that. You can buy new housings from places like ecklers, but you might be better off getting used from places such as vette2vette.

playsdixie

welcome.....and agree with the others...you need a gm factory manual....and a few other things....pressure guage/timing light/meter...with that and the expertise here, you can't go wrong....I would post one issue at a time and alway be specific with your year...also agree that there is lots of help also on the tech/performance side....have fun....looks like a good buy.....but they still take lots of maint/upkeep...got to like to turn a wrench.....

Hary Gahtoe

Welcome and congrats on your C4 purchase

If you own a MB SL, a C4 is a breath of fresh air and straightforward.

This forum and other online sources are a wealth of knowledge. Having digital help from owners who have hands on repair procedure tips are an invaluable enhancement solely on a repair manuals.
Diagnosing what causes the true problem behind the symptoms is where the forum excels, and not having the problems return

Good Luck

BadUmp

Curious? Does the previous owner say whether the car had any recent accident repair work done on it ... ?

If so, then this might be an indicator as to why some issues are present and where to find the answer. (jat)

ghoastrider1

welcome to the forum. If I remember correctly, the ground for the dash is near/above the oil filter. I see great advice has been given so far. great buy on the Vette. BTW, craig lsit is a great place for finding parts. Seen them under vet, vette, corvette, you get the idea.

shawn 84&92

Great looking car! You got a good deal, enjoy it and welcome to the family.
Shawn

toochowed

Thanks for all the positive comments! So far so good! The car needs some minor things done to it, but I already like it alot. Not knowing where I am gas wise is not fun, but if there is any car I would drive like that it is this one. Will be sending in the dash to get repaired!

toochowed

Was able to get the LCD to turn on today, nice!

MaxDaemon

Yea, I wouldn't be so quick to send it in for rebuild before trying some troubleshooting. You'd hate to get it back and find out that it wasn't the problem ..

toochowed

well the only thing I did to get it to turn on was to hit the dashboard above it with my fist.

MaxDaemon

Aye - which makes it sound like a loose ground or a corroded plug more than an actual electronic defect.

You'll have to take the dash apart to get the digital out - probably check all the connections while you're at it. It's not a bad idea anyhow with cars as old as ours are.