Greetings ladies and gents,
I have a 2004 Dakota, 4.7, 4x4.

About a month ago i removed the Speedo/Gauge cluster to replaced the back lights. I replaced the lights (with LEDs) and re in stalled the cluster without any issues. About a day later when I hit a larger "bump" the whole cluster started acting up. At first all my idiot lights lit up. Then the actual gauges bottomed out. All this happened while i was driving. I was on a 2 hour trip and during the trip the Cluster would randomly work again and stop with the idiot lights coming on and off randomly..... Usually it would go one way or another when i would hit bumps or if i was starting from a stop at a stop light etc.
That night i took the Gauge cluster out to "re seat" it in case i hadn't put it back in all the way. Afterwards the Gauge cluster worked fine without any issues..until yesterday. I hit a larger bump again and now its doing the same thing. Every now and then when the gauges fluctuate i'll get a "no bus" message where the Odometer reading is, but then i can hit another "bump" and then everything works fine....till the next big bump or shake of the truck

My question for you guys. Do you think its just a bad Speedo/Gauge cluster? or is it something else? I read another post mentioning the CTM. Could it be that? I'm leaning towards the Speedo/Cluster simply because i never had any issues until i had removed it for the lights. Please advise

I can get a new Speedo/Gauge on ebay for $50-ish bucks.
2nd question. If i buy a used Cluster will my milelage reflect the actual truck mileage or is it based on whatever that odometer read the original truck?

Let me know if you need any other info...
Thanks in advance.

Bryan

 

It's unlikely to be the CTM. All the gauges are on the PCI bus and most of the data comes from the PCM.

Check the connections. You could have damaged something changing out to the led's.

The mileage will reflect that of the new cluster BUT it is also stored in the PCM.

 

thanks Dan...preciate the info. I'll just get a new cluster and deal with the wrong mileage displayed.

 

Ok,
So I"ve replaced the Speedo/Cluster. Same issues. No fix
I've just replaced the PCM, Same issues (just as bad if not worse). No fix.

Im at a loss Folks. Any idea what my problem could be? The truck isnt worth taking it to a shop to spend hundreds of dollars just to figure out what the problem is.

Any info/advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

Bryan

 

If the problem occurs/fixes itself when you go over a big bump then I'd be checking the connections at the cluster itself very carefully.

 

Hey Dan,

I think the whole "bump" issue was just a coincidence. Now the gauges and lights are just totally erratic with no rhyme or reason. I just hit a huge pot whole yesterday and nothing happened/changed.

I"m not sure if you've taken one of these speedo/clusters out... It doesn't look like it would be easy or even possible to replace the connectors. Not to mention how would i even go about ordering just the connector and then splicing it all back up.....i dont think there is room enough back there to be possible. Honestly it didn't really look like there was anything wrong with the connections the last time I did....all the prongs seemed tight/firm etc.

If you have any hints/advice I'm all ears.

Break: if there inst any way for me to get this "fixed" is there a way or a fuse i can pull to at least turn off the "ding" that im constantly getting every time a new light goes on/off?

Thanks again for the info.

B

 

I'm not saying "replace" but check. Are the pins all seated and tight? Is anything preventing them from seating fully?

The "ding" is a feature of the CTM. Not sure on an '04 but it can't be disabled on earlier years.

 

Sorry....i just assumed that if they are bad...I'd have to replace them. Not sure how to "fix" them.

Thanks for the help/info Dan.