Hi all,

I have a 2002 Dodge Caravan, just over 184K miles. I have an intermittent problem in that my guages start going crazy for no apparent reason. The gas and mph hands going up and down, top to bottom - may stop in a few seconds or if I turn the auto off, then back on, then normally this will stop the chaos. Other than that the auto seems to run fine.

Has anyone experienced, have a solution, or troubleshooting procedure?

Thanks so much for any advice!
nancy

 

Any problem with the odometer and prndl? And is it just those 2 gauges.

 

The odometer is not digital. Today I noticed both those two gauges and I think the temperature gauge...all three fluctuating up and down. And I thought I noticed the light behind the P R D D1 D2 panel fade and then get brighter. It happens so fast and for such a short time that it's hard to catch everything. But the van seems to run smoothly throughout...

Thanks for your reply and any advice!

 

Tach or no tach. It has happened before and I could be wrong but as far as I know all clusters have a digital odometer but some have a digital prndl and some are mechanical based on weather you have a tach or not.

 

You are right...the odometer is digital. And I have not noticed any problems with the odometer. No tach. Thank you!

 

Does this happen right after you start the van or while you are driving or just whenever it feels like it.

 

The last time, earlier this week, it was just after I started driving. I had probably only gone about a block. Other times, this has happened just driving along. I can't determine a when or why...

Thanks,
nancy

 

Next time you have some time, put the cluster into self test by holding down the trip odometer button for about 5 seconds with the key off and then turning the key forward one click while still holding the button. the odometer will show the software level (Sof 3.2 or something) then it will run the cluster through some checks, see if the needle movement is what you see. If there are any codes it will show them in the odometer (100.1, 200.2, etc). Let me know if there are any codes.

 

Tizzy 1 - You have helped me before and it is much appreciated. We are going through a similar situation. 2001 Dodge Caravan Sport with 72K miles. The brake light came on and stayed on (original cluster). Took it to an independent shop and they said it was a diode out. They checked with Chrysler and were told diode could not be replaced, would have to be the whole cluster. We are now on our third replacement cluster from Chrylser. The gauges and sometimes the tach needle do what has been described here. Sometimes on startup and other times after driving 30 minutes to an hour. Chrysler dealer said they had to look at it before the replaced the third cluster. they kept it 2 days and could not find anything so blamed it on the BCM. The independent shop borrowed a BCM from a dismantling yard and installed it last Tuesday. My wife drives only short distances so I drove it for an hour solid on Friday and nothing went awry. Today she drove less than 30 minutes and the gas needle went to E, the digital odometer could not be read and the warning lights for doors open all came on. This is with the borrowed BCM. The only thing that was wrong with the original cluster was the diode issue with the brake light. I ran the self test you described and the following appeared in sequence one after the other -- 100.1, 100.2, 100.3, 100.5, 100.6. The needles seemed to stage in an orderly manner and so did the warning lights. The 3 replacement clusters are driving us and our independent shop crazy -- and the Dodge/Chrysler Dealer has not been able to solve it either.
Any ideas would be more than appreciated.

 

This is the part of my job that drives me insane. Trying to find intermittent electrical problems. All of the codes you list are for loss of communication with other modules. The reason your cluster goes crazy is because the bus or communication network is going down. How long does it stay broken when it acts up? If it is for more than a couple of seconds then we have a chance.