All the gauges bounce from completely off to part way up

Tiny
TEEFERS
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 DODGE RAM
  • 5.9L
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 129,000 MILES
My truck 1500 has an electrical problem I think. Starts and runs okay, but all the gauges bounce from completely off to part way up. The bounce together. The odometer flashes as well. The beeper beeps and the airbag light stays on until you buckle the seat-belt. The the airbag light goes out, and the beeping stops. The beeping used to only start after leaving park if the seat-belt wasn’t hooked.
Took to AutoZone and they said that it probably was the gauge cluster. But didn’t check for any codes.
Wednesday, December 19th, 2018 AT 10:32 AM

4 Replies

Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
Good afternoon.

The first thing I would do is check the charging system. you should have 14 to 14.5 engine running. then switch the scale to AC volts and see if there is any voltage.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

If all this is good, then check the connector at the back of the cluster for any corrosion or damaged terminals. if all that is good, then yes, you have a bad cluster.

Roy
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, December 19th, 2018 AT 10:39 AM
Tiny
TEEFERS
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Forgot to mention, this started with a bad battery. Truck hadn’t been run for a while so wouldn’t turn over, where I park it no room to get another car close to jump so I pulled the battery and put it on a charger overnight (1.5amp maintenance charger). It didn’t charge so took to AutoZone and they said it was bad and replaced(under warranty).
When I put new battery in is when this started.
Will check the charging system as suggested if more than that will need to take it into shop.
Thanks for the advice.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, December 19th, 2018 AT 11:58 AM
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
You are welcome.

Keep us updated.

Always glad to help.

Roy
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, December 19th, 2018 AT 12:18 PM
Tiny
ZANDRA DANIEL
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
So, anything come of this? I'm having the exact problem. It's also not been run a while and the battery was drained. I needed to move it out of someone's place so I bought a new battery to do so. It starts right up, but my gauges bounce. It also does die after a minute or so, and now I'm thinking the alternator is bad. But what could be the gauges bouncing?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Monday, July 3rd, 2023 AT 11:13 PM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Sponsored links