Cluster Not Working, Intermittent

[mizzouguy]

My 04 had a strange issue the other day, I got in and started it (at night) and the lights in the cluster came on but the prndl screen didn't come on, the dic didnt come on, and none of the gauges moved at all. Shut off the truck and restarted and same thing, took off down the road and they suddenly all started working again. Has happened once since but started working after about 10 seconds of starting the truck and letting it run. Any ideas? Something in the cluster bad?

 

[mals]

My 04 had a strange issue the other day, I got in and started it (at night) and the lights in the cluster came on but the prndl screen didn't come on, the dic didnt come on, and none of the gauges moved at all. Shut off the truck and restarted and same thing, took off down the road and they suddenly all started working again. Has happened once since but started working after about 10 seconds of starting the truck and letting it run. Any ideas? Something in the cluster bad?

It is most likely the surface mount resistors to the right of the speedo stepper motor. Hopefully it is just a simple fix of reflowing the solder at each end of the resistors.

This video walks you through the problem and which resistors are the ones:

 

[Project Denali]

I've been having some cluster issues myself... mine was causing a parasitic draw among other issues. I have done all I know to do to fix mine and I'm about to send it in because I don't know what else to do. Anyways, somebody referred me to a gauge cluster repair service and I talked to them yesterday. They told me a list of common problems with the clusters especially 2003-2006 that included intermittent power on and off. Like I said not the problem I was having but it's common and I believe there is a cluster of resistors near the right center of the motherboard that can just be resoldered to fix that.

 

[mizzouguy]

Thanks for the awesome replies guys. I'm not very good with a soldering iron so I'll probably send it off and get that tranny temp gauge I always wanted put in.

 

[troxclair88]

I have the same issue with the gear screen not lighting. I'm handy with a soldering iron so I'd like to give it a try. How do I get the cluster apart though?

 

[mals]

How do I get the cluster apart though?

Here is a pretty well shot how to:

I just used a plastic fork to pull the needles, no fancy tool required.

 

[troxclair88]

It is most likely the surface mount resistors to the right of the speedo stepper motor. Hopefully it is just a simple fix of reflowing the solder at each end of the resistors.

This video walks you through the problem and which resistors are the ones:

Thank you so much! I now have a shift display that I can see.