Instrument cluster

The gauges are no longer the common sense mechanical assemblies we used to see. They are "stepper" motors run by computer circuitry. I have read a lot about GM having problems with these motors. You will find a lot of sources for new ones if you do an internet search.

It is unusual to have so many fail at the same time. If one failed first, then another one months later, failed motors are the best suspect. If they all failed at the same time, it is more likely there is some other cause. There is a five or ten-amp fuse for the gauges, but that circuit also runs some of the warning lights which you observed are working. Check the gauges fuse anyway. If it is okay, I would suspect a problem on the instrument cluster itself.

Welcome to my world. I am not going to bore you with all of GM's tricks they pulled to prevent me from repairing their radios, and that prevent owners from installing aftermarket replacements. I have to collect their old radios for a source for replacement parts.

Ford is even worse when it comes to making replacement parts available for their vehicles. At most, you are guaranteed you can get a new part from the dealer for only three years. They want to sell new cars. That is the business they are in. There is no advantage to keeping older cars on the road.

Popular parts are supplied by aftermarket manufacturers. Those include things like fenders, shock absorbers, and sensors. I even found a source for output IC's for older GM radios, but only after GM stopped producing them. Chrysler IC's are generic, and used to cost around $4.00. GM was very proud of theirs. They charged $45.00. The aftermarket replacements cost half as much and work perfectly. This goes back about ten years ago when we were still repairing a lot of the high-failure 1990's radios. The problem with an aftermarket supplier producing parts for an instrument cluster, first is licensing from GM, then is the limited chance at selling them. The shops that do these repairs typically buy thousands of replacement IC's, but once their supply is used up, they have to stop repairing the clusters that need that part. No supplier is going to spend the money on the equipment and time needed to produce a part when there might only be a need of a few hundred per year.

You might try contacting United Radio in Syracuse, NY. That was one of GM's two authorized repair centers. I was never able to find GM radio parts or service manuals through them, but they did repair products that were shipped in. They might require you to send the cluster in through a dealer, but it does not hurt to ask.

Also consider looking at Advanced Auto Electronics in Virginia. I had a digital cluster from an 1988 Chrysler LeBaron a few years ago that I could not figure out. United Radio said they had just stopped working on them for lack of parts, but these guys fixed it, and shipped it back in less than a week, with a charge considerably lower than their estimate.

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Best, Ken

Sounds good!