instrument cluster not working
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 7
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instrument cluster not working
got into my 03 coupe this morning and no instruments at all. car starts fine, drives fine, shifts fine. no speedometer, rpm, oil pressure, volts, fuel guage. when you turn on ignition without starting only seat belt and engine light come on....no abs, airbag, traction control, or alternator. none of the menus work for the car....fuel, trip, etc... HUD only displaying two dashes "--" any advice? thanks....benji
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,812
Likes: 2,029
From: eastern NC
A friend has a 2004 convertible in which the cluster would go dead at times if he hit a bump. Hit another bump just right and everything would come back on. The car would run fine regardless, but just lose all instrumentation and post no codes.
It turned out that the dealer had experienced a cluster fire on the car when working on it and replaced the cluster and spliced in a new harness. They had used crimp connectors when they spliced it in and not soldered them.
When I removed the cluster and saw what they had done, I realized I could wiggle the connectors and make the cluster die. I soldered each of the connections and added heat shrink and the problem has never occurred again.
If the car starts and runs fine when the cluster goes dead, I would suspect a loose connection in the main connector to the cluster.
Also, regardless of how new the battery is, check the voltage. It should be 13 volts or slightly higher. Normally however a weak battery will result in some codes being set.
Good luck... GUSTO
It turned out that the dealer had experienced a cluster fire on the car when working on it and replaced the cluster and spliced in a new harness. They had used crimp connectors when they spliced it in and not soldered them.
When I removed the cluster and saw what they had done, I realized I could wiggle the connectors and make the cluster die. I soldered each of the connections and added heat shrink and the problem has never occurred again.
If the car starts and runs fine when the cluster goes dead, I would suspect a loose connection in the main connector to the cluster.
Also, regardless of how new the battery is, check the voltage. It should be 13 volts or slightly higher. Normally however a weak battery will result in some codes being set.
Good luck... GUSTO
