So im sure i have to send it out 2 rammy for service but i was wondering if anyone else had this problem. when i got my car back my cluster lights wouldn't come on when ever i turned the head lights on. even the milage display would disapear. anybody have any other experience i checked the fuse ( at least i think it was the right one) any one got any pointers ? or had this prob before ? i did a search but my search skillz are not on par.

 

back from Banzai??

would look at the roller that dims the lights. they are set to a certain dim when the accessories are on, but if you have them cranked all the way down or up, when you flick the lights on it switches to that setting. correct?

 

well that was the first thing that i check and i don't think it was banzai i had the cluster out when i was working on the car so im sure it was something i did.

 

and that still doesn't explain why the mileage display disappears

 

the mileage display is part of the dimmer? isn't it?

 

There is a diode on the back of your cluster behind the flex board. It says ODO ILL. It's possible that diode is bad. If not there could be a bad capacitor on the speedometer PCB.

The ODO ILL is not the main illumination source for the odometer. It is only the source that is controlled by the dimmer switch, which is only activated when you turn on your parking or head lights. I believe when you turn the parking or head lights on, the main power source for the odometer backlight turns off and the new source comes from the dimmer switch.

 

We didn't remove or go near the gauge cluster, so we had no reason to check if it was working correctly.

Carsey, try removing it and double checking all the connections.

 

I wasn't trying to imply you broke anything! ha, but.... im scheduling my appointment with you SOON! cant wait

 

it's def something i did Chris that i know i took off all cluster the other day and everything was connected so it must of been something i have done when i took the cluster off back in April of last year i checked all the fuse and they look good. i just don't know what i could of done to make it go out all i did was take it off and put it back in.

 

im gonna take it off again and check this out

 

not to hijack man, but... im having a problem where the right side of the cluster wont stay in place. it kind of pops out, right by the cigarette lighter... pisses me off.. lol, but good luck man. let me know.

 

You're missing the big screw here: (I'm missing one of the smaller ones)

 

hmm, it seems to be some sort of clip. i push it in and it kind of sticks and then it pops put..

 

its all good man.

im gonna take the cluster off and take some pics maybe u guys can help locate the prob or see something im not seeing ?

 

My symptom : Turn parking or headlights on, odometer and backlight goes dark. This pointed to the dimmer switch. Luckily, I had a spare to test with.

I took the old dimmer switch apart and noticed one of the traces burned up severely (likely when the short occurred). The pcb had burnt up and disconnected from the solder. This is a relatively simple piece of electronics with one transistor. I will add a photo later. The roller mechanism looks to be immaculate as well as the rest of the board besides the one burnt trace.

The reason I expected something to be burnt up is because there was a short in the illumination wire. I removed the nonworking BOSE stereo and that removed the short. I didn't know where and the dimmer was the last place I looked. I missed night driving and my cluster looks gorgeous!

Now to put the Joint box back and all the other interior pieces..

 

hey dude i have a extra cluster laying around if you want to try it out..