04 Tahoe gauges and dic not working

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Rain

TYF Newbie
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Posts
2
Reaction score
0
New to forum here and owner of an 04 Tahoe with 230k miles. The gauge cluster is partially not working.

The gauges and DIC are not responding. The only thing that works is the turn signal and check engine light when vehicle turn on.

Any idea? I taken the cluster out and wiggle the harness a bunch of times and had a couple of response with full function but untill I place if back, it goes dead.
 

NathanJax

Vacation Nathan
Staff member
Administrator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 9, 2009
Posts
49,124
Reaction score
943,577,131
Location
Jax, Fl
Cluster went bad... Either get it rebuilt or buy a used one
 

M1Gunner

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2015
Posts
1,078
Reaction score
1,233
Location
Gainesville, Fl
New to forum here and owner of an 04 Tahoe with 230k miles. The gauge cluster is partially not working.

The gauges and DIC are not responding. The only thing that works is the turn signal and check engine light when vehicle turn on.

Any idea? I taken the cluster out and wiggle the harness a bunch of times and had a couple of response with full function but untill I place if back, it goes dead.

Sometimes pushing/tapping the center of the top of the cluster will give it a quick breath.

Pull the cluster, verify each terminal in the cluster's harness connector is properly secured. Spread some die electric grease in the terminals and resecure. Make sure the cluster stays powered before setting it back in its place. If it goes out once it's set back in the dash then you still have a bad connection.

Try rerouting the harness so that the pressure is relieved.
 
OP
OP
R

Rain

TYF Newbie
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Posts
2
Reaction score
0
I tried everything. Cleaning the terminals and pins. Pushing the connector in slowly etc.

It's works randomly when I reconnect but when I move the cluster it just goes dead again.
 

rockola1971

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2016
Posts
2,396
Reaction score
3,020
Location
Indiana (formerly IL)
What did you clean the terminals with? Did you clean the socket on the cluster AND the plug from the vehicle dash? Did you do the wiggle test on the ground wires in the harness?
There are some common failure points in solder connections on the circuit board of the cluster. (You have to take the cluster face and rear off to inspect). Its easy enough to reflow the solder connections. Use a low wattage soldering iron. Not a gun ! Let me see if I can find you a reference on the net...
Check this vid out and give it a try.
 
Last edited:

mals

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2016
Posts
332
Reaction score
362
Location
Western Mass
I tried everything. Cleaning the terminals and pins. Pushing the connector in slowly etc.

It's works randomly when I reconnect but when I move the cluster it just goes dead again.
It sounds like it might be the surface mount resistors that are on the board above the speedo stepper motor.

If you are handy and comfortable with a soldering iron I can dig up the youtube video that I used before repairing mine. If not, sending it out to one of the repair services should be able to do it for you.
 

rashonline

TYF Newbie
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Posts
5
Reaction score
1
Location
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Hello, I had a same problem with my Yukon 2004.

The problem started intermittently and then became permanent within a month. The whole Instrument Panel (IP) dead...no gauges, no warnings, no cruise control lights... Just backlights ON, turn signals and check engine light working.

No matter how much I tapped on the dashboard, bang on the panel viewing glass, press the reset knob... it continued to be dead...I checked all the fuses and all were OK. I checked the Ignition switch by gently shaking it while the car was ON, Nothing worked... I was reading the solutions on the internet and some IP rebuild sites mentioned about this exact problem and they offered to fix it by sending them the IP and they will fix the problem by re-buiding the Instrument Panel. This gave me a strong clue that it has to be the fault within the IP....
Finally, I solved it for me. Here's what I did:
1. Took out the Instrument Panel. remember and note down the orientation of the plug... Disassemble the IP. There're a lot of videos on youtube on how to do it. I took care of the needle positions... as mentioned in the videos!
2. Just took the Circuit Board (see image) and hook it up back in the harness plug. NOTE that with only bare circuit board in my hand and connection pins bare without any slot for plug, the plug might connect both order (Up & down). so i made sure that I plugged it in the proper way, for me the grey part of the harness plug stayed on TOP.
3. With ignition in "ON" (I actually started the car) I gently pressed the circuit board components (mainly rectangle resistors with numbers like 511, 240...etc..) with a non metallic object (I used the eraser side of a pencil). Within seconds I found the culprit resistor. (The panel came to life briefly by pressing the resistors 210..see small red circle in the pics) These resistors get pretty warm during operation and over time the solder develops cracks and hence intermittent loss of continuity which becomes permanent over time. In my case they were the 2 resistors marked 210 (see picture with red circles).
4. I Re-soldered the two ends of these resistors with a soldering iron with a good quality soldering iron with a pointed head and good quality solder. I have limited experience of the soldering process. My soldering didn't look clean (Sucks...Yukk!!) like original but it did the job. All you need is continuity to the Printed Circuit Board (PCB). I took care not to overheat the resisters or circuit board by soldering iron.
5. I also re-soldered few other resistors as mentioned on various other websites. (see picture with red circles)
6. Finally I took the bare circuit board to the car and connected the harness plug. Turned the ignition ON...nothing happened...still dead... then i started the car and the whole circuit board came to life like a charm!!! (see pic)
7. I Reassembled the whole IP and put it back in the car... Fairly easy process! The IP works like a new born baby. The only thing is the speedometer needle that shows 2-3 kms less than actual speed when checked on google maps! I will readjust it by opening it again and readjusting the needle position over the next weekend. Even the PRND321 and the DIC messages are brighter now! I think something to do with re-soldering the other resisters made the connection conductivity better!
*******
So that's all friends! the above is a narrative of what I did to solve my dead IP problem. The above is to give you a better understanding of the problem.
Disclaimer: the above is only an explanation of my car problem as I "saw" it and as I "solved" it. It may NOT work for you...your IP can be entirely different from that of mine...You might develop some other problem while you solve this problem. You might destroy your IP while re-soldering or completely brick your IP......I am not compelling you to try this...I am just narrating my experience!!
You people are mature and know what you are doing!20210408_205309_01.jpg Picture_20211009011016_01.jpg 20210408_205309_01.jpg 20210408_205309_01.jpg Picture_20211009011016_01.jpg Picture_20211009011039_1.jpg Picture_20211109011130.jpg 20210408_205309_01.jpg Picture_20211009011016_01.jpg Picture_20211009011039_1.jpg Picture_20211109011130.jpg
 
Last edited:
Top