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Dead Instrument Cluster Except Check Engine Light

Mike Gesme

By Mike Gesme
in Ask A GM Technician

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Mike Gesme New Member

Mike Gesme

Posted
Posted

I have a 2010 Silverado 1500. The instrument cluster is completely non-functional except for the check engine light.

 

The gauges do not work, nothing displays on the LCD, and no other lights illuminate. The check engine light will come on when the key is turned on, but as soon as the engine starts it too disappears.

 

Everything else seems to work - radio, A/C, etc. I checked the fuses that I figured could be related. disconnected and reconnected the battery. I banged on the dash in case of a loose connection, and even tried swapping out the cluster panel with another panel, and got the exact same behavior. 

 

Would anyone be willing to share any advice or guesses? Should I change the ignition switch? Look for a bad ground (not sure where to start with that).

 

 

20210630_161712.jpg

Jsdirt Senior Enthusiast

Jsdirt

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm fairly certain you just have dead gauges and indicators. 

 

Reason I think this is because just about every system runs through that cluster. Remove the cluster, and NOTHING in the vehicle will work. It won't even crank. Same happens when the unit completely fails. Seems yours has failed in only the display itself, which I've never seen before.

 

I'd want to look over everything for wiring damage and bent pins before doing anything. I'd get a good scan tool on there and see if anything isn't working elsewhere in the vehicle that you might not know about. Pretty sure a new cluster needs to be programmed to work as well.

 

What I would do is send that out to a repair shop. There's a guy on YouTube that rebuilds these for a living. He does anything and everything with clusters of all brands, as far as I know. I haven't been on there in a long time.

 

I had to dig to remember his channel name - just go into the "About" tab and you can contact Jeff directly for any repairs. Luckily I had an email saved from him from last year. He'll know exactly what is wrong, and what isn't. If the cluster is still good, he'll know that too, and that'll at least help you get on the correct path to a fix. Paying his labor and shipping would be well worth it. A complete rebuild is very reasonable vs. new, and you won't have to pay GM even more money for the programming data.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/jeffescortlx/videos

 

Edited by Jsdirt
Mike Gesme New Member

Mike Gesme

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Much appreciated, Jsdirt. I actually tried swapping out the cluster (the whole thing in the picture) and got the same behavior as my original (just check engine light, nothing else). The truck does start and run down the road just fine with no cluster plugged in. 

 

I've heard that a lot of things run through the ignition switch, so that's my next guess if I can't track down a faulty ground somewhere. Thanks for the suggestion about the pins too - I'll take a look at the harness.

Jsdirt Senior Enthusiast

Jsdirt

Posted
Posted

You're welcome. Yeah, the switch would definitely be suspect at this stage - they're known for living short lives in these trucks.

 

My '86 Grand Marquis has been hauling 2 lbs. of my wife's keys and trinkets for 18 years now - still original, and still working fine at 277k miles. They don't build anything that good anymore, unfortunately. 

 

Good luck and keep us posted. 

GMLS2 New Member

GMLS2

Posted
Posted
On 6/30/2021 at 11:07 PM, Jsdirt said:

I'm fairly certain you just have dead gauges and indicators. 

 

Reason I think this is because just about every system runs through that cluster. Remove the cluster, and NOTHING in the vehicle will work. It won't even crank. Same happens when the unit completely fails. Seems yours has failed in only the display itself, which I've never seen before.

 

I'd want to look over everything for wiring damage and bent pins before doing anything. I'd get a good scan tool on there and see if anything isn't working elsewhere in the vehicle that you might not know about. Pretty sure a new cluster needs to be programmed to work as well.

 

What I would do is send that out to a repair shop. There's a guy on YouTube that rebuilds these for a living. He does anything and everything with clusters of all brands, as far as I know. I haven't been on there in a long time.

 

I had to dig to remember his channel name - just go into the "About" tab and you can contact Jeff directly for any repairs. Luckily I had an email saved from him from last year. He'll know exactly what is wrong, and what isn't. If the cluster is still good, he'll know that too, and that'll at least help you get on the correct path to a fix. Paying his labor and shipping would be well worth it. A complete rebuild is very reasonable vs. new, and you won't have to pay GM even more money for the programming data.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/jeffescortlx/videos

 

 

On 6/30/2021 at 11:07 PM, Jsdirt said:

I'm fairly certain you just have dead gauges and indicators. 

 

Reason I think this is because just about every system runs through that cluster. Remove the cluster, and NOTHING in the vehicle will work. It won't even crank. Same happens when the unit completely fails. Seems yours has failed in only the display itself, which I've never seen before.

 

I'd want to look over everything for wiring damage and bent pins before doing anything. I'd get a good scan tool on there and see if anything isn't working elsewhere in the vehicle that you might not know about. Pretty sure a new cluster needs to be programmed to work as well.

 

What I would do is send that out to a repair shop. There's a guy on YouTube that rebuilds these for a living. He does anything and everything with clusters of all brands, as far as I know. I haven't been on there in a long time.

 

I had to dig to remember his channel name - just go into the "About" tab and you can contact Jeff directly for any repairs. Luckily I had an email saved from him from last year. He'll know exactly what is wrong, and what isn't. If the cluster is still good, he'll know that too, and that'll at least help you get on the correct path to a fix. Paying his labor and shipping would be well worth it. A complete rebuild is very reasonable vs. new, and you won't have to pay GM even more money for the programming data.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/jeffescortlx/videos

 

I actually removed my whole cluster and ordered new used one. My truck starts and drives fine with out it and my exterior lights work as well.

Jsdirt Senior Enthusiast

Jsdirt

Posted
Posted

In a pre-2007 truck, I believe they will start and run. The newer ones won't from what I hear - never tried it myself.

Mike Gesme New Member

Mike Gesme

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The issue turned out to be the IPC fuse (#43 under the hood in my 2010 Silverado).

 

The fuse was the first thing I checked, but I had only visually inspected it and it appeared intact, so I had moved on to the cluster, ignition switch, etc. After those failed to fix the problem, I tested the fuse and sure enough it failed. Swapped in another fuse, and the whole cluster came back to life. 

 

Feeling silly for losing so much time to an easy fix, but looking forward to how much time this lesson will save me next time I have electrical issues.

Jsdirt Senior Enthusiast

Jsdirt

Posted
Posted

Nice! Yeah, I normally tell people not to forget the basics ... but I forgot this time! 😆 

 

Glad you found it, & thanks for the follow up. :cheers:

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