Hey sorry if this is already here somewhere I was having trouble finding anything out. I just recently bought my first ever C4 and everything works awesome save the instrument cluster. My car has cruise, do I have to use a cluster from a cruise car or will a non cruise one work fine? Of course I know then the cruise wouldn't work but that's whatever to me.

 

Welcome to the forum

What year??
Are you saying that the instrument cluster is not functioning??
Can you give us a more detailed description on exactly what the problem is?

Help will be along for you here.

 

Its an 87 Auto. The only thing that works on the cluster in the trip meter but nothing is illuminated. I thought about going with a aftermarket cluster but don't really want to mess with getting the speedometer working which seems to be a common problem with the intellitronix cluster. So I am just trying to get some feedback on what to. I am not comfortable attempting to repair my old cluster myself. Add in I kind of live in the middle of no where and no shop around me will touch it either.

 

You should explore this website (https://batee.com/pages/84-89-cluster-service) for information on how to remove your cluster. You can then send it to Batee's for repair. He has an excellent reputation on this site having provided services to many, including me.

 

I have my cluster removed already. I have seen a ton of people recommend him in youtube videos and even watched alot of his. Thanks for the advice all the same though!
My original question still remains however. Can I use a non-cruise cluster in my cruise car without messing anything else up? I dont care if I have cruise or not. Reason this is important is there is a junk yard near me with a decent amount of those that have been tested and work properly. I would pick one of those up locally if everything else is the same.

 

You could call or email Batee and ask them.
Where are you located?

 

It seems to me that there's four fuses that control the display. It may be worth taking the time and checking fuses. Look for LCD fuse (5amp), CLSTR fuse (5 amp), TAIL fuse (10 amp), and INST fuse (3 amp). The INST is the one that provides the lighting function. It may be behind the instrument switches with the signal flasher unit, if you can't find it in the regular fuse block. The fact that the odometer is still working is a good thing. It seems that your problem may only be the lights. If it's not a fuse, your problem may be the light bulbs themselves. If they are bad, you should order the LED kit from Batee, and this solves the overheating problems forever.

Also, one problem with the display is that the negative terminal in the connection strip between the two boards can overheat and lose connection (mostly thanks to the light bulbs mentioned above). If you have the cluster out, it WILL be worth opening it up, and looking at the pins. The negative one is the first one on the strip. If it's overheating, it will be obviously black. I repaired mine by soldering a wire on each board at the pin solder joints, and then crimping a male and female insulated spade connector which will bypass the original terminal strip. Any electronic repair shop could do this for you cheaply.

There's no connection from the display for anything to do with cruise control, so the answer to your question is YES.

 

Thanks a lot Live! I hadn't seen anyone mention checking the fuses. I do have one black pin on the white block in the cluster maybe I should look deeper into attempting that fix myself. Information on that should be easier to find now that I have what you said. The more direction definitely helps. Gotta admit I am a newbie when it comes to tracking down problems. Im good parts changer but thats about it. Theres a whole world I have to learn about these cars.
*Slight edit, it may be worth noting that both my turn signal indicators are staying lit.

 

With both of your turn signal indicators on you certainly have an electrical issue. I would sort that out first before dealing with the cluster.
When my car did the signal indicators on thing like yours the connector on the steering column was loose. The connector half way down the column.

 

There is circuitry in the cluster for the cruise control.

I dont think you can swap clusters year to year as there are differences in the panels, the power circuitry, and the odometer for 89. But as mentioned, email Batee as he is the know it all on clusters and hvac for our cars.

 

Thanks for your help guys! I ended up just getting a new cluster. Plugged it in and worked like a champ. Still no tach but that's a whole other issue to deal with. Turns out my problem was a burned plug between the boards. As well as just bad polarizing film.

 

I wouldn't chuck it out, they can be repaired or sold for parts.