Hi Folks,

Got this intermitant problem that just surfaced.

Just got this van on the road, (a $400 CL find) and it's been starting and running great.
Yesterday it rained, and later in the day I lost all dash gauges.
First the Temp, then Tach, next speed and fuel, odometers blacked out, and then the ABS light came on. Cruse when out too.

This morning, all are back and working fine.
I'm sure it's a wiring issue, probobly a bad ground.
Anyone suffer from this? What did you find?
Where to look first?

I looked over the wiring diagram and it looks like the PCM and BCM are interconnected with the gauge cluster.
I'm guessing the ground for the PCM needs cleaning.

Thanks for any help,
EZ1

 

Problem could be a loose connection on the back of the cluster.

 

Thanks MT, I'll check that they are secure.

Working on it today, I noticed the protective cap for the lower plug on the PCM is missing.
I now suspect the PCM has been changed or at the very least removed at some point in it's life.
I found the PCM mounting screws were not that tight.

I'll be checking the salvage yards for the PCM plug protective cap.

It's been running so well, I was shocked when the gauges when out.
That's why I think the rain had something to do with it.

Thanks again MT,
PinCup

PS. How's your bowling?

 

This is a "Famous" issue for the Caravan - It is caused by a loose power wire at the center rear of the instrument cluster.

You can take the dash apart and re-solder the wire bracket - (what the power wire plugs into)

or.....

You can just "smack" the top of your dashboard. Whack it good! It should come back to life... I did this once a week in a 1998 for the 2 years that I owned it and never cracked the dashboard.

Try it - You'll see it work and say something like "who woulda thunk such an stupid fix?" Well... I cannot take credit for it, I read it somewhere on another forum when trying to figure the problem out and when I tried it, that's "sorta" what I said