Took my 99 Ram to a shop for a different repair. While it was there I told them about my speedometer and tachometer intermittently not working. They said the instrument cluster needs to be replaced.

I hate to order the cluster off of ebay and it not work. Does anyone know how I can check to verify that is the problem?

How hard is it to replace the cluster? What about the mileage? Is that in a computer somewhere or would replacing it change the mileage?

 

Not hard to replace at all. Remove dash bezel, remove screws holding cluster in place, gently pull cluster out. It actually plugs in like a wall socket.

 

I believe mileage is stored in a chip on the cluster, don't know if it is reprogrammable or not..... (my guess is, the dealer *might* be able to...... but, would probably need sent out.

Do ALL the gauges quit working, or just the speedo/tach?

 

Thanks for the info.

HeyYou - Only the speedometer and tachometer intermittently do not work.

Is something like this possible on a regular Ram 1500?

 

Yes. I think you just hold the trip reset button in, when you turn on the ignition? It's a cluster test.

 

I tried it and everything looked OK except my tachometer. It didn't move. But the speedometer worked on my way home today. As I said, it's intermittent.

I'm just not sure enough to throw down $ on a new cluster.

Is it illegal to just buy a new cluster with different mileage and use that? My 99 only has about 89k so I'd say it was pretty low. I'd hate to get one that had alot more miles. Not that I'll sell it any time soon.