can someone help, I am lost on this. the gauges stopped working last night.

I have a 97 3.9L dakota, auto trans, 4x4
tilt-steering wheel, power locks, and windows just in case this helps

this is what happened. traffic was stopped, the truck was running in park with the air condish running, temp outside was about 100 F. I left the truck to get a better view of what was going on. was gone about 15 to 20 minutes. when I got back the truck was still running, the gauges were not working, low fuel light was on, airbag light was on, the odometer was flashing.

I shut the truck off, checked all fuses, all good, reseated the relays under the hood. started the truck, gauges still did not work, same lights were on and the odometer was still flashing. I came on home, searched the web then did this

disconnected the negative battery terminal,
reseated all relays and checked fuses again
unbolted the wire harness under dash left of the steering column and reseated it
reconnected the negative terminal after a little cleaning (it was 11 ish and i was working in the dark)
started the truck and with the same results as before.

on my way to work today started the trk and all gauges worked.
the airbag light was on. the low fuel was off.
1/2 miles later the airbag light went off.
22 miles later the gauges bombed out again and the OD was flashing

when I got to work found this thread

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...bag-light.html

and followed the steps in this post

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2218875-post43.html

THANKS CMCKENNA for the steps

cmckenna steps are in black
my results are in red
900
920
921
940
950
999
airbag light on
test stopped
had to push trip switch to continue

did this 3 times and got the same results each time
that went OK
from what I could tell every idiot light came on. maybe not oil light don't remember.
the wait-to-start light did not come on but i do NOT have a diesel engine.
the cruise light did come on (first time i seen that light, my cruse doesn't work either for some reason, that's another thread later)

all gauges went thru the range
no message, just dings from the fasten seat belt dinger
all the way home the gauges did not work and OD still was flashing. but the trk seemed to run OK

where do I go from here

thanks in advance and sorry for the long read

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...g-light-3.html

post 21 in the thread was the first to have the op run this test.just didnt copy n paste IT from the FSM.i use italics with all my copy n paste so theres no confusion with plagiarism.in the mean time.

 

Yes stands2p, you did tell the poster to do the sweep test.
cmckenna listed all the steps.
cbr900rr19 said he did it in the first post of that thread
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2203544-post1.html

but that still doesn't ME out.

 

from https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2212583-post23.html



stands2p,

I do not have access to a FSM. could you tell me what the 999 code is?

I was half asleep reading the other thread the other night and did NOT see YOUR post on the codes.
had 4hr sleep when making my last post.

if i insulted you i did not mean to. this is a public apology

KillerKilgore

edited: I did not know how to start the sweep test.
KillerKilgore

 

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILURE MESSAGE
Message Description Correction

110 A failure has been identified in the instrument
cluster CPU, RAM, or EEPROM.
1. Replace the faulty instrument cluster.

900 The PCI data bus is not operational. 1. Check the PCI data bus connection at the
instrument cluster.
2. Check the instrument cluster fuses.
3. Check the PCI data bus functionality using a
DRBIIIT scan tool. Refer to the appropriate
diagnostic information.

920 The instrument cluster is not receiving a
vehicle speed message from the PCM.
1. Check the PCM software level and reflash if
required.
2. Use a DRBIIIT scan tool to verify that the
vehicle speed message is being sent by the
PCM.

921 The instrument cluster is not receiving a
distance pulse message from the PCM.
1. Check the PCM software level and reflash if
required.
2. Use a DRBIIIT scan tool to verify that the
distance pulse message is being sent by the
PCM.

940 The instrument cluster is not receiving an
airbag lamp-on message from the ACM.
1. Check the PCI data bus connection at the
ACM.
2. Check the ACM fuse.

950 The instrument cluster is not receiving an ABS
lamp-on message from the CAB.
1. Check the PCI data bus connection at the
CAB.
2. Check the CAB fuse.

960 The instrument cluster is not receiving a
PRND21 message from the TCM.
1. Check the PCI data bus connection at the
TCM.
2. Check the TCM fuse.

999 An error has been discovered. 1. Record the failure message.
2. Depress the odometer/trip odometer switch
button to continue the Actuator Test.

 

HTH do i check all this ...... stuff.

 

frankly, it's kinda starting to sound to me, like your dash is just flat out failing. Usually, when anything involving "PCI data bus connection" comes up, especially with that many issues, it's not a pretty result.

 

OK, what else am i going to brake if i drive it like that for a month or 3 til i get a working set of gauge?

because, the trk seems to run fine. i have GPS to show speed and miles traveled. could use that to guess-t-mate fuel level.

thanks,

KillerKilgore

 

OK here what I know,

key off

multimeter set to ohms

negative side of multimeter to metal for steering column

have 1 ohm short on pin 4 to frame ground and pin 5 to frame ground of CAV Cluster C1

set meter to DC volts

have 12.20 volts from pin 6 to frame ground on CAV Cluster-C1

have 0 volts from pin 2 to frame ground on CAV cluster-C1

have 11.64 volts from pin 9 to pin 10 on CAV cluster-C1

KEY ON

have 12.19 volts from pin 2 to frame ground on CAV cluster-C1

have 12.20 volts from pin 9 to pin 10 on CAV cluster-C1


WHERE DO I GO from here?

 

thought i fixed it but didn't.

strange thing i noticed that i can work the key switch and the amp gauge will work at times and then not a times.

is there something dealing with the key switch that could cause this problem?