1999 silverado instument cluster solution

volfan · December 25, 2006

I HAVE 1999 SILVERADO WITH A BAD INSTRUMENT CLUSTER THE MILEAGE GOES OUT AND THEN COMES BACK ON A COUPLE OF HOURS OR DAYS LATER, CALLED GM AND WAS LED TO BELIEVE THEY MIGHT HELP ME WITH THE COST OF AT LEAST THE PARTS BUT AFTER TAKING MY TRUCK TO THE LOCAL"STEALER" FOR A DIAGNOSIS OF THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, WHICH GM SAID I WOULD HAVE TO DO BEFORE THEY WOULD CONSIDER HELPING ME AT ALL, THE "STEALER" ALSO SAID THE FLAKY FUEL GAUGE CHECKED OUT TO BE THE GAUGE ITSELF AND NOT THE SENDER?? I AM NOT REAL SURE IF THEY KNOW DONT HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN THIS SHOP BUT ANYWAY GM CALLS ME BACK AND TELL ME MY TRUCK IS WAY TO FAR OUT OF WARRANTY AND WAY TO MANY MILES(88000) AND ALSO CITED I HAD NOT HAD MUCH OF MY SERVICE WORK DONE AT A GM STEALER SO NOW I WIILL FIX MY OWN "I C" AND PROBABLY TRADE FOR ANEW TUNDRA SO WITH ALL THAT SAID WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO GET MY CLUSTER REPAIRED OR REPLACED WITH ANOTHER ONE??THE STEALES EST. WAS $235.00 FOR A CLUSTER EXCHANGE AND$96.00 IN LABOR YES $96.00 IN LABOR FOR A 15 MIN. JOB THANKS FOR ANYONES HELP!!!!

ShakinLM7 · December 25, 2006

Pick-N-Pull or ebay! I have problems with my fuel gauge to but never my milage

Rolandd · December 26, 2006

Call a local wrecking yard and find out what the interchange for that cluster is: how many different model trucks/SUVs and what years will work. Find yourself a cluster that has approximately the same milage and install it--you will probably pay $50-100 for the cluster itself. Make sure that the seller records the miles displayed on the receipt if you can (PnP and other self service yards will not do this). The installation is easy. Remove the trim from in front of the cluster, unscrew whatever screws are holding the cluster itself, pull the old one out and plug in the new one. Screw and replace everything back to where it was and do not panic if you have a few screws left over--that is a normal part of dash work. If you are unsure of how to do this, ask if you can see them remove the old one or find a self service yard and try to remove the cluster on one of their trucks so that if you break anything it will not be your issue.

volfan · December 26, 2006

will i be okay if the mileage is just close but not exact?as long asi keep a record of the cluster change?found some good prices on ebay for clusters,thanks for your input!!

Bish · December 26, 2006

If you've ever used a soldering iron, the fix is quite simple. I had the mileage start turning on and off. I would tap the cluster and it would come back on. I finally pulled the cluster. If you remove the back cover and another cover over the mileage gauge, you will likely see some brown spots on the circuit board where three large resisters reside. They commonly have cold solder joints that worsen over time. I re-soldered the connections and it hasn't happened again in 75K. PM me if you have questions. It was quite simple to fix.

I don't know about the sender problem so I can't help you there. I can tell you a cluster swap is a 5 minute swap as I put an Escalage gauge in my Tahoe.

If the dealer will tell you where they send theirs (most send them out), you can do much better on the price for repair or swap.

volfan · December 29, 2006

THANKS BISH I THINK I WILL TRY IT MYSELF BEFORE I GIVE SOMEONE ELSE ALOT OF MONEY, SOUNDS SIMPLE ENOUGH BUT I MAY SEND YOU AN E-MAIL FOR SOME GUIDANCE WHEN I START THE REPAIR ,BUT WOULD YOU BELIEVE ,KNOCK ON WOOD, THE MILEAGE HAS STAYED ON SINCE I STARTED THIS POST !!