Hi guys. I was driving on the highway and my oil pressure, fuel level, and coolant temp gauges all flatlined for about 5 seconds, then went back to normal. The battery gauge didn't move. My A/C stopped blowing cold air. I pulled off to the side and opened the hood (with it still running) and everything seemed OK (belt, etc) but AC compressor wouldn't engage. I restarted truck and then the AC was working again.

What would cause this blackout of gauges and compressor?

 

Your battery terminal connections might be loose... or you may have a bad battery.... other possibility is a bad ground somewhere...

Hard to tell without being there to take a look.

You can pull the C-Codes to see if the truck is noticing an electrical failure somewhere... Check out the link in my signature for instructions on how to get the codes.

 

No code for the "trip reset + key on" method. The other method I only got a P0524 (low oil), which makes sense because the day before, my oil level was too low (it made the gauge flatline) so I topped it off, and the gauge went back to normal.

But the other gauge + AC problems happened AFTER I fixed that, so I think the two are not related??

 

I highly doubt they are related.... something funny is going on there... keep an eye on it... if it happens again, I'd start checking grounds and connectors at the TIPM...

 

Thanks for the help. I had to look up TIPM and it's not really descriptive... is it like the ECU? Or did you mean check the fuses?

 

Totally integrated power module. Under the hood. Basically fuse box.

 

^ Basically.... except there are some "electronic" fuses that you won't be able to see or access physically... the TIPM is basically the brain for your truck's electrical system.

 

Ok, thanks guys. I guess I'll replace a few old wires and clean up any grounding spots to make sure everything has a good connection.