Drove my recently purchased 96 Stratus tonight, first time in the dark and noticed I have a dash problem.

A few days after getting the car, the tachometer was acting up. Upon start up the tach does not work at first, but usually after five or ten minutes dirving it works just fine.

Tonight, I realised the dash display lights are not working either. Also the gear change lights did not work at first, but then like the tachometer the gear change lights came on.

Does this sound like a harness or soldering problem? Don`t really like the sound of taking out the dash display, but if I have to......

 

it sounds like it could be a little deeper than maybe the harness connection.
I would start with taking the cluster out, disconnecting the harnesses, and hooking everything back up afterwards to rule out a loose connection. You may need to trace the wires back down into the dash to look for shorts, etc. It might not be too far out to look at your local junkyard to see if they have a cluster you can swap out.

There is also a cluster self test for 1st gen (95-00) Strats.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-stratus/169176-odometer-reading.html

This will help you determine if the circuitry in the cluster is gone, or a connection. (ie: tach moves in test, but not when the car turns on, it's between the cluster and the sending unit)

 

Just out of curiosity, I had some code issues which resulted in a "check engine" light last week. I took it to a local garage who cleared the light and found several codes were warning of high voltage or something like that (can`t remember exact as the tec report is in the car). They suspect the alternator may need replacing. If so, could that be cause this dash problem?

What are these clusters like to remove?

Thanks.

 

It depends on WHAT had the high voltage... it could mean a sensor sending 5v when it's expecting in the 1v range, or the alternator sending 20v (which would mean it needs replaced).

The cluster should come out by removing the bezel from around it. It is clipped in on my car. This may not be the same for the 96, but it should be. Once the bezel is removed, there are a couple screws. With those removed, the cluster should just be able to pull out. It may be tight, and it may vary how much extra wire, so you may have to reach behind it to unclip the harness to pull it all the way out.

 

Are you sure you didn't get a flood damaged car ??? All these electrical gremlins might come back to corrosion from flood damage

 

I`m thinking something may have loosened up.

When I bought the car, the seller took out his stereo and left the harness and plugs hanging out of the console. I`m wondering whether he may have loosened up a plug or broken a wire.

I put my own stereo in yesterday, I found the harness/wiring was short so it was getting pulled around a lot. Since I put my own stereo in, now the gear shift light on the dash has stopped working.

I guess I`ll have to pop the cluster out and have a look.

 

I'd check the illumination wire in the stereo harness you might have grounded it /and /or popped the fuse ...

 

Well I found out it was a problem with the radio. The illumination fuse had blown so I replaced it, but as soon as I turned on the headlights I heard the fuse pop. Just for fun I pulled out the radio and unplugged the harness, replaced the fuse and tried the lights again, this time everything lit up and no popped fuse!!!

It seems the radio is not grounded properly. If I reconnect the stereo harness while the stereo is hanging out of the console/cage, everything is just great, but if I plugin the antenna or push the stereo back into the console/cage the fuse pops and I have no dash lights again.