Cheverolet Silverado Instrument Cluster Fix 

HeyThanks. I am a 65 year old gramma and with your instructions i was able to fix my 2003 Avalanches, instrument cluster problem that was going to cost $680. I'm not sure why you put it on you tube. but i love ya for it, kiddo!

I just pulled my panel and inspected the socket. Everything looked fine but I decided to re-solder anyway. Some fingernail polish remover - acetone - took care of the coating. I applied it, let it evaporate, and brushed with a nylon brush. The coating turned to a white powder and brushed away and did not interfere with the soldering iron. The intermittent problem is now solved. Thanks!

If you use a magnifying glass sometimes you can find a conical fracture around some of the pins. This was the case on my 88 Honda Civic. You could only see it with a magnifying glass and it was quite clear on 2 of the pins. They were on a relay coil which heated up. The coil itself was fastened to the board so when the leads expanded, the only thing that could give was the solder. 5 minutes and it was fixed.... Years of headaches gone. 2 shops said they couldn't fix it because they couldn't repeat the problem. RU-vid to the rescue! Thanks for the great video.

Good job with the explanations. I've done repairs like this for decades and what you showed was really the way it goes.

I can give you a few hints on soldering and removal of the film. I worked for 2 years at Model electronics where I fixed radios and speedos. 1 Get a thinner tip on the iron. 2 get thinner solder 3 buy some resin remover 4 NEVER USE A METAL BRUSH. 5 Keep up the great job!!!!!

Brian. I posted on your other, related video, how I was having an issue with an instrument cluster that had malfunctioning gauges and glitchy speedometer. I lived with that for several months but this past weekend, on a -15 / -18 below zero morning, the cluster died completely. Your two videos are sheer brilliance. It took me half of President's Day, but I was able to replace all the stepper motors AND repair the connector pins. I WAS terrible with soldering and really was apprehensive about tackling this job, but even your tips on soldering helped a LOT. The first motor took me 20 minutes to de-solder and repair. The next, maybe 6 or 7 minutes. The subsequent ones.......less than five. Thank you VERY much. You saved me a lot of money and helped me learn a valuable skill. Take care and keep up the great work.

You saved me a pile of money. Guy I bought the Tahoe from had put in servos and gave up. Sold it to me for half of true value. Spent an hour removing the cluster/ heating those pins and refreshing solder/ re-installing and BAM! Plus one and thanks for this valuable resource.

Thank You Brian, I have had this exact problem with my 2003 chevy, I went to the local chevy dealer, and they said 300.00 just to take a look at it, of course I passed on that, so for about 6 months I did nothing about it. I found and watched your video and was able to fix my cluster in about 10 minutes!!! Now I want to work in the local chevy service center, 300.00 bucks for ten minutes of work, I'm in lol,,,,,,, aganin thanks alot. Robb

You need a flux pen. Trust me. Apply some flux from a flux pen and it will re-flow the solder as if it was brand new. The flux together with the heat from the solder iron also cleans your contact surfaces and gets the solder to stick properly.

Great vids, I just changed 6 stepper motors on my '03 silverado, now I have to order 8 bulbs for the cluster A BIG THANKS for a great vid.

Brian, I replaced my stepper motors in my 2003 GMC Envoy instrument panel and bought a solder sucker from radio shack and replaced the old solder with new it was the balls worked excellent!

Thank you I would never thought of looking at that part particularly I'm learning all about Electronics all by myself thank you very helpful

Thx again Brian. Once again you've helped me tackle another one-off the list. Old faithful is back to normal and glowing PRND123. Nice to see the mileage again too (194,xxx)

thanks Bryan. Your videos are well done. Honest, informative and cover all the bases. Keep up the great work!

Thanks Brian! Bro, you saved me $800. Dealer didn't even know what to do/wished to rip me off. Your a Tahoe-Saver buddy.

I’ve just bought a 2002 GMC 2500 HD, with the LB7 Duramax, this last week. It runs really well but the dash cluster is a wreck, it looks like a Christmas tree sometimes then resets itself randomly. I’ve checked codes and it only showed ABS related data. The water pump crapped out two days into checking it out. Lol Your channel was a great help in figuring that out, anyways I’m back now with the dash cluster issues. Once again thank you so very much for putting out these videos man this is so cool and the information is most helpful your way of explaining things this is on works very well thank you sir

Thank you for your video. It saved me much time and much money. All I needed was a soldering iron and some time. Anybody can do this fix due to your taking the time to make this video

Thanks Brian! Very helpful. I'm a little nervous, this will be my first "learning solder" project. But like you said, "it can get worse, it's already not workin'. Thx again!! Great channel!

Thanks for the video..helped me narrow down issues with loss of power to the cluster. Used the pin out diagram and touched up pins A12/B12 grounds and 12v pins B11/ B9. Zero'd up the gauges before putting it back and seems to be working now. 👍👍

Brian! Your vids helped me swap my clutch on my subaru! Love seeing your channel have a vid topic.

great info, dude! I had this same problem on a chevy wiper motor c-board. when I saw this, I thought "why didn't I think of this"! this can save viewers hundreds of thousands of $.

Thanks man I did everything in a half an hour. And my dash is on working like new I didn't have none of those problems you had .Thanks again

Great narration and use of proper terms. Seems like some times the more you get in it and mess with it, the more problems pop up. If I do this I think I would de-solder first then clean start over. Old and dirty solder like any other types of welds can be tricky as it gets re-worked and being so small and bad eyes don't help. I had lots of issues like this doing real fine exotic TIG welding on light gauge material that had to be 100%, even under x-ray.

Thanks to your video I was able to get my instrument panel working again, thank you

I’ve watched 5 videos and everyone had a different issue. Guess I’ll execute one at a time. Great show my friend

Easy to see why the dealer would just replace the part rather than spending time. But for those of us who pay for everything and do our own work, this is gold.

Hey just a heads up and a thank you. You inadvertently mentioned the resistors for the PRND123 readout next to one of the stepper motors. We had fixed the others and had no idea there were more. They had cold joints we fixed them and all is good. With your help we fixed 2 instrument clusters. Thank you

This whole time I was picturing you a waaaay different person.lol Loved the VID!!! Thank you

this fix works. I have a1999 silverado and now it works great

What a great fix for us DIY-er's! Thanks for your help!

problem fixed because of your video.. had a few issues untill i pulled up this vid... thank you so much...

Was able to watch your video to fix a gear shift indicator light. Thanks a million.

Thanks Brian! My cluster gauges were wagging, every one of them from min to max. I touched up the solder joints of the male connector on pcb that the wiring harness plugs into, cleaned with contact cleaner and put it back together. No more wagging!!!

Brian I think I found my problem with my Cluster. After almost ripping my hair out, I came across your video. I had a leak from one of my heater core connectors going to the top of the block on my 03 suburban. I thought it was a bad ground that was oily and wet from the leak. But after watching your video it seems like that would be my issue. I don't have soldering skills but seems to be an easy fix. THANK YOU

Thanks for the video. Been living without gauges, most notably the gas gauge for a years. Fixed and ready to go!

Awesome video Brian . Great job at repairing it. I wish I was as good as you at fixing things

Great info,when I got my truck cluster apart I could not see anything wrong when I put it back together it worked perfectly 3 weeks now no problems if it happens again will consider soldering

Hahaha dude!! You're hilarious!! Sub'd Edit: that out of bounds footage....with that camera lens it was deceiving how far you actually traversed. But when you turned back to watch your friend (A.K.A. possible food source if shit goes south) catch up to you, that truly put both the distance traveled and the grade into proper perspective.

2:36 put me in laughter 😂

Same problem. All Gauges stopped working. Fuses were all normal. I watched this video. It was so easy to fix. All it took was a little solider. That fixed it.

Thank you so much! I just did this to my 2003 yukon. I just cleaned the back with acetone then brushed it and sprayed it with electrical cleaner fluid from walmart and it works beautifully! My PRNDL is still out but thats ok. My next step was to call the dealership and fork it up, but thanks to you its working again!!

Brian, just want to tell you thanks!!! This worked on my '04 Suburban. Dash suddenly went dead, no lights, nothing. Followed your lead, and voila! Works perfectly again. Much appreciated!

Clicked for the instrument cluster, subscribed for the skiing.

Thanks. I pulled the instrument panel off. Then tapped on the very top of the cluster where the plug is and everything came back on. I will do your trick later when it goes out again. for now its working fine again.

Thank you very much for your explanation. I fixed my cluster according to your explanation.

Thank you bro. we got it to work thanks to you. exactly like you said.

Fantastic Video, especially the skiing at the end!

I also love whenever you said oh there's our prndl it just had to warm up

you da man! you made my little project a bit more pleasurable .. thanks man! your funny as hell...

Hey Brian, thanks for this video. I own a 2003 GMC Sierra with the exact same problem. It started years ago with the speedometer intermittently moving up to 120 mph. I had the "instrument panel" replaced under warranty and everything worked for a few years. Now there is no PRND2L indicator and occasionally the instruments are inoperative until things heat up. It seems that for the price of this item they should build a better product. Thanks again for the info.

have 250k + one with 330k miles on all my GMs these years. Except for minor issues original motor trans. This is a common problem plagues many.Also had one dash cause parasitic draw on battery causing it to go dead in two days. Nice video thanks for helping others keep their ole Chevy going. Ps World record for miles on original car is the Volvo with 3million and a Chevy Silverado with 1.7 million. Motors not rebuilt nor transmission.

thank you so much for this. I am going to try this when I get home. save myself 200 bucks I am hoping

The PRNDL on my wife's 03 Impala works intermittently. So thanks for that easy fix! Also took me forever to figure out what was killing my battery on my 01 Astro Van. Seems if I leave the dome override switch on, it keeps the BCM alive for some reason. I'm just going to put a switch on the dome light, so I can turn it off, when I want.

thanks a lot man! I've had a dim PRNDL for some time and never knew how to go about fixing it. you saved me some cash. much appreciated and keep up the kickass vids.

Hey buddy thank you I just fixed my cluster in my 03 Silverado with your help on how to do it it is fixed my cluster doll shows 195 on the miles more than what I thought but oh well thanks again

Great video! I sure wish I'd seen this before I spent the big bux replacing my cluster!

This worked for me and saved me some money thanks for the help

Dude! Great video! i'm a gonna try this out, you give me confidence Dude! Thanx so much.

Thanks for this Video, I’m going to try this on my 04’ it would work sometimes, with the exception of the Gear Position, 1st step, get some good quality Solder and a clean wire brush :-)👍

this is 1 of the best if not the best video out there . congratulations it really shows that were not perfect & how to correct things in real life & no editing or bullshit great video . i have seen another video of yours for shorts & really liked that 1 too you deserve a 1000,000,000. hits wish you luck

Small advice: do not try to connect the cluster back in the car, without the back cover. High chance of touching something metallic (ground) and short a component. When reflowing solder connections, use flux and a small quantity of fresh solder. Clean afterwards with ethanol or isopropanol and an old toothbrush. While you are there, you might as well replace the bulbs with LEDs (you need much more experience with electronics, though).

Great video I'm going to try that this weekend and I have the same problem speedometer works rpms work the other gauges and light don't work so you help me out I look forward to more of your videos

Thank you. I pulled her out and gave her hell on the solder. Fixed it all up

The indicator in park is probably an issue with a weak shifter spring. It's a tiny spring. My spring is now broken completely. My console was going all haywire on me one day. I'm guessing I will be doing this one day. Great job and good video.

Great video… 60-70% isopropyl alcohol is good for cleaning circuit boards. Also a little bit of flux on the pins before you try to re-flow the joint will make things a lot easier and produce a better joint.

I died laughing at the "130mph in my garage... AAAHHH!" thing. How high were you? Lol

This video was really helpful. Thank you very much!!!!!

hey brian, great vid. i was surprised that u didn't pull the fuse out for the airbag. u got guts lol.

I took my cluster out & FEDX ed it to Circuit Board Medics, as I don't do soldering anymore. Glad this guy can do his own dash.

grate job you did grate tanks you took time and explain very clear ......

great bass line. Perseverance wins the day.

PRND321 has 7 resistor on other side of board. That's the common source of the dim or dead display. My vid shows were they are and you'll see how bright it gets back to once you reflow them. People think it's the pins because the heat warps the board enough to make contact again. They are surface mount 1206 resistors, lead free solder cracks on them

My instrument gauges stopped working again on my 2004 Silverado. They went out before but started working again while driving down the road. I read somewhere that it could be the ignition switch so when I turn the ignition on I wiggled the key some and all the dash gauges started working again. Will probably replace the ignition switch which is a $20-$35 parts but so far everything is still good.

Brain is just awesome and has a great channel

Thank you a bunch. I suppose its cluster month. I have an 04 silverado with many of the same problems and I have a 95 ford van with only 55k with a blown PSOM in the cluster.

Good video, Brian! Thanks!

Pretty good video, as far as your went. However, the stepper motors are a well known problem on that vintage of truck, especially 04 05 tahoe Yukon Escalade Sierra Silverado.... You could take that case apart, put painters tape on the face of the cluster, mark where all your needles are, and then gently pull the needles off with a fork. Then, you can take the cluster apart. On the other side of the green PC board, there will be white circular stepper motors. The speedo one often goes bad, as mine did. The motors can be had for $10 apiece on Ebay. There are sellers on EBay, who, if you just pull out the cluster, and sent it to them, will replace ALL the stepper motors, and send you your cluster back, for around $200, which, for most people without soldering skills, is probably the right option. The truck CAN be driven without the cluster. Obviously, you will have no gauges, so use extreme caution, but it will start & run completely fine, and the mileage is kept in the ECM, so that's no problem either. The Dealer wanted over $1000 to do mine. To the commenter who was wondering about the oil sending unit, it could very well be a bad stepper motor also. The stepper motors on the back are ALL THE SAME, so if you really want to isolate your trouble, swap one for another, put it back together, and see if the trouble "moves" with the motor.... Or just replace them all.... That was a good video Brian, I am just saying, there was more to the story than you showed.....

HI brainsmobil, my 2005 Yukon , the light on the gear selector. do not iluminate, you think that replacing the stepper motors may fix it? thank u , excellent all yours videos,

The cluster on my 2004 Silverado has been going in and out for several weeks now. Just recently, if I would hit the top of the dash over the cluster with my fist, it would come back on, but now even that is not working. I suspect I have the same problem you had. Thanks for the video.

For the Park indication, you need to adjust the transmission shift cable at the park/neutral switch at the transmission, just slightly out of whack. That should fix it.

Thanks man. I’m gonna check them joints now

I wish I would have watched this video before I followed the advice of the other video. I'm going to re-pull mine and see if this is the issue. 3rd time is the charm 🤞

Oh and snow I wish I could send you some. I live in the catskills NY and we got more snow than I remember in the last 25 years. We have 3 feet right now and snow drifts over 26 feet. Plus it has been colder to - 21f with wind chill -41 f . It sucks being disabled can not enjoy the snow and it makes it a lot harder to get around .

Great video man thanks for sharing. I'm about to tear mine down

Great video very informative. I have a 2005 Trailblazer with similar problems. Is my dash similar insofar as accessing the cluster? Plus, after the first broad-brush-solder-'em-all approach didn't work, - is there a schematic where you could have determined which pin(s) was the culprit and work it individually rather than more broad brush soldering?

Very valuable video! Thank you.

Thanks for your time in showing how to repair the 03 dash cluster. How did you get the coating off to be able to solder?

Nicely done. Thanks

Thanks, love your videos

This was perfect. Worked first time.

Thanks Man!, big help. I had no PRND321 lights or odometer, went out all of a sudden. Depended on the digital range cause dial gas gauge hadn't worked since I bought the truck. You Rock! Thank you.

just watched your vid, thanks for posting it. i have similar year model truck same problem, but while testing it fixed itself, should it reaccure I know where to start.

Great video sir , my tac and my oil pressure gauge has went out on my 05 Chevy avalanche, I am going to show this video to my friend to c can he do this.

Brian, those Gm's are notorious for the little stepper motor for the guages to go bad. You can get them on Ebay for about $5 each and solder new ones on. Look up X27.168 on Ebay. Cheers.

I love your humor.

Great video. Killer music.

Well done video! Thanks.

Before taking all of this apart and doing the soldering, try an EASY fix! Check the cigarette lighter on the right side. I just used a USB adapter with a light to see it didn't work. Picked up a 15A fuse at OReilly's and 10 minutes later, with the fuse replaced for the cigarette lighter, the gauge panel worked again!

Hey Brother killer video! I admire your intelligence . Thank you for passing your knowledge on to us. What grade Sauter do you suggest to use?

Awesome thank you for the video this help big time keep up the great videos👍👍