Hi All,

I have a 1997 Ram 3500 Diesel Dually, which has been very reliable until now. I parked it a couple weeks ago, it was running fine. Today I start it, and see that the Instrument Cluster is only partially functioning. The fuel level and the oil pressure work, but the tachometer, speedometer, voltmeter, and coolant temp gauges do nothing.

The alternator is putting out, and both batteries have 12+ volts when isolated from the system. All the fuses check out, and I did a continuity check on each. I have a service manual for the truck, but it does not address this particular problem, and while I gather I may have to pull the dashboard apart, I am hoping that since it came up so fast, and the truck has been reliable and maintained, that it is something simple and relatively easy to check out and fix. Whereas pulling the instrument cluster apart could generate more problems unnecessarily.

Any thoughts or suggestions where I may want to check into first? The truck is pretty much unaltered from the factory. It was a complete surprise to see this lack of function on the instruments, and being more than one, it almost seems like it could be a connector coming apart.

But where? What should I look for? The service manual, while thick, does not really address this issue. I see no connectors seperated, but have not yet really gotten into the tight areas. I figure I should find out the most likely probabilities first.

I sure would appreciate any ideas, and will check into anything that could be the cause, and keep you posted of the results.

Thanks!

 

Number one option is to sharply smack the dashboard above the instrument cluster and see if the gauges start working again or if they flicker to life for even a moment. If they flicker then either you have a loosed connector on the back of the cluster. If they come back to life it is probably the same thing but atleast they are working againl. You could pull the cluster. It is not hard at all to get out. clean the contacts and reassemble that is if they flicker or come back on. Other wise you are probably looking at replacing the cluster.

 

Fast reply! Thanks.

I will give your technique a try later today. Hopefully something loose is what the prob is. I dont know what could have killed the cluster without the truck being used. No jump starts or anything. But I was suspecting
loose. Just not sure about how to test it. Never would have thought of giving the dash a bonk! Maybe strangle the truck if I could, eh? :-)

Will let you know the results.

Kelly

 

Well you wouldn't quite find that technique in any repair manual but it has worked wonders for me over the years.lol. All it does is vibrate the cluster and if the contacts are close it should atleast make them flicker for a second. If I remember correctly there is a few threads on here about the plugs coming loose on the back of the cluster. With your truck being a diesel and constantly vibrating everything I would imagine it is even more susceptable to having the plugs come loose. Let us know what you find out.

 

be careful smacking it, these dodge dashboards aren't very strong. my old thunderbirds speedometer needle used to bounce around and get stuck past the max reading and when that happened i had to smack the dash to get it to un-stick. but the t-bird has a metal dash.

 

Well, I gave it a couple of bonks with a rubber hammer, and....nothing. Oh well, it was a good idea to give it a try. Now I get to see about the joys of removing the cluster. A loose connection sure is the main suspect.

Will keep you posted what I find. Just under 200k miles on the truck, so something could have jiggled loose by now.

 

Hey, i just got a 1994 B350 Van. I am having the same problem with a different cluster. No check engine light at startup, partially disabled thermometer, a slight flutter from the fuel gauge, and only the right blinker indicator works, despite the blinkers themselves working perfectly.

I was wondering, fully aware that this is over 5 years old, if you solved your problem.

I am searching for a replacement instrument panel, but it would be nice to know if you solved it through a different remedy while I dig to find one.

The removal didnt work for me, but I will try it again with a more thorough inspection, I just am not sure the connection is the problem.

Thanks!

 

If the cluster is the only part that isn't working properly, then its highly likely that it is indeed the problem. Either the connection, or internally.

 

WTF!?!? seriously? great theory, worst suggestion ever! It isn't worth busting the dashboard that might as well be made of glass. I can't say it was limited to Gen2 trucks, but reportedly they have the most garbage plastic dashboards out of all Dodge products.

^^^^^^^^
my point exactly---it ain't No D100 Dash

I will not point out what is wrong with this----I am just totally stupefied by the fact that "I broke my dash all to hell" was not included!

 

It turned out that my issue was multiple bulbs needed to be replaced. They were not visibly burned up so i thought they were functioning properly, but that wasn't the case.

Once I replaced all the bulbs, all the instrument lights started working again.