started-up my 85 and the dash did not light up. it came on about a minute later. took it to work while driving down highway everything lit up on the dash just like it does when you turn key to start car. fuel gage bars went to top. reserve fuel light came on . happened for a second then went back to normal. dash has been okay since. thanks for your thoughts on problem

 

Pull it out and clean the connection plug from the dash to the car.

 

It is a common problem. Have you tried a search? How handy are you with a soldering iron?

 

Grounds, grounds, grounds. Sooner or later we ALL get to deal with this problem.

Check the harness connector at the cluster (means taking the dash apart..). From there the cluster itself comes apart to look at the pin connector between the two circuit boards. This is where Most of the ground problems live.

It's really not Hard to fix it, just sort of a pain - and scary the first time in. Once you see how it goes together it's a piece of cake..

 

thanks ron85 I will pull dash and check connections. Live in westfield not to far from huntington. can't believe you drive vette in the winters we have . thanks again

 

Sheez - I didn't even notice where you were From. Howdy, neighbor!

If you need a hand with the dash dissection (or anything else with the car, for that matter) just drop me a line - remer@hughes.net Advice or a helping hand, either way..

There isn't much on Mine that I haven't had apart, probably more than once. It's a Big City car - bought new in Springfield, and been in the area it's whole life. I got it from a guy in Whately, eight and a half years ago now. And about 140K miles back down the road

As for driving it in the winter, that's Really not as big a deal as you think. Snow tires - Skinny snow tires - make a world of difference. It actually does go (and stop, and steer) pretty well in the snow. Ice - well that's a different deal, but I'm sure you know how That works.

One thing about the vette - it's an easy car to drive Sideways. Seriously. The seat of the pants feedback is Fast, the steering is quick, the seat holds you right There, etc. If you are going to be slipping around This is the right vehicle to be doing it in.

Check out my Corvette Photos for what the thing looks like in a storm. If nothing Else it's a neat photo op

The Real challenge for me with this car is the 3/4 mile of dirt Road I have to negotiate before I get to pavement. Mud season. When That happens the car generally lives in the garage for a week or so, waiting for the worst of the mud bog to dry up a bit. Just not enough ground clearance to work in 8-10 inches of muck..

I really do hate slogging the commute to Greenfield in the Truck though, not day after day. This is why the Car gets driven all year

 

Solder is most likely the culprit. They age and break apart over time which causes the connection to get weak resulting in flashing, going dark, and just in plain acting completly haywire!

 

I had the same problem on my 86. I cleaned plugs till I was blue in the face and had the same blanking out. When I dissassembled the unit and resoldered every joint, it suddenly worked fine. The solder joints looked fine before I started.

How To Fix


You may have sunburned LCDs which is a different problem.