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Gm Cluster

Tiny
ANGELA GALLACHER
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER
  • 4.2L
  • 6 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 201,000 MILES
Hello!

About a week and a half ago after changing my oil, my GM cluster abruptly started malfunctioning. The oil pressure, gas, battery, and temperature gauges all go dead, the cluster light, service 4WD, battery symbol, ABS, (seat belt flashes for a while then disappears), and airbag lights go on. The RPM's and speedometer work, but the gear indicator doesn't show whether I'm in drive or reverse when changing direction. Any insight would be awesome.
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Monday, October 21st, 2019 AT 8:52 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,963 POSTS
Welcome back to 2CarPros. The common reason for this is bad solder joints on the circuit board in the cluster. They crack because of the lead free solder used on them. The repair is to remove the cluster and re-flow the solder joints. If you would like to see how the repairs are done go to YouTube and look for jeffescortlx. He has a bunch of videos about cluster repairs.
To get the cluster out you disconnect the negative battery cable. Then remove the closeout panel under the steering column. Then the knee bolster trim panel. Now remove the screws that secure the dash trim panel. Now you can move the panel far enough to get to the screws that hold the instrument cluster and removing it by removing the screws and the electrical connectors. If you know how to solder and have the correct tools the repair isn't hard, but it is very easy to damage the board so be careful.
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Friday, October 25th, 2019 AT 1:21 AM
Tiny
ANGELA GALLACHER
  • MEMBER
  • 17 POSTS
Hello!

I took my car in and had the cluster inspected by a mechanic. They said they didn't see any cracked solder. I had them solder the two rows of joints closest to the plug for good measure since a YouTube video showed the exact same problem and that was his solution. They humored me, soldered the two rows of joints and re calibrated the cluster. Two weeks later the problem is back. Is there something else I can check or does it need to be refurbished? I was quoted $200.00+ just for that. I've seen after market clusters online for about $30.00 to $50.00 but I don't know how long they last.
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Friday, February 14th, 2020 AT 7:35 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,963 POSTS
The most common areas are not the connector pins but the resister chips that come loose on one end. They will visually look fine be will be cracked free. If you want to see the common issues take a look at jeffescortlx on YouTube. He shows the resisters in question if you wanted to try refurbishing it yourself. I've never used any of the aftermarket ones, I send them to a local company to get a warrantied rebuild most of the time. I've rebuilt a few as well. The fact that it worked for a while after it was taken out shows that it's a bad solder joint, the movement made it work a while.
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Friday, February 14th, 2020 AT 8:26 AM
Tiny
ANGELA GALLACHER
  • MEMBER
  • 17 POSTS
Just an update, having no electronics experience or people I know who can help with soldering, I took the cluster to a GM cluster refurbisher. They said the soldering job the previous guys had done was very poor and the solder was still cracked. So they just redid the whole thing $240.00. It pinched, but the problem is over.
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Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 AT 10:02 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,963 POSTS
Yeah I sort of suspected as much. Thank you for replying back about the fix and cost. That's about what it runs for the local place to rebuild them. Thank you for using 2CarPros.
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Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 AT 10:29 AM
Tiny
ANGELA GALLACHER
  • MEMBER
  • 17 POSTS
Hello!

It's been two years and the problem is back after the full refurbishment. This time, all the lights go on and gauges go flat as previously described, but after driving a while the lights turn off, gauges return to normal, but the security light stays on. Is there any longer-term solutions or do I have to refurbish it every two years? Do you have any advice?
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Friday, June 24th, 2022 AT 6:14 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,963 POSTS
Welcome back. Sorry to hear you are having issues again. If the security light is staying on I would probably start with a scan tool to see if there is a communication issue or a security problem. That issue sort of reminds me of a fault between the power regulator and the com chip on the circuit board. It's not a bad solder joint but a damaged copper trace on the board. However, it can be difficult to find the break, so the normal repair is a jumper around it. It's not something that you would look for until it fails though.
I would do the testing first and go from there.
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Friday, June 24th, 2022 AT 9:44 PM

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