My third gen ('00 Cavalier) has an instrument panel cluster problem I think.
This morning the back light behind the odometer LCD does not work and I cannot see the mileage display except in very bright light. The IP is operating correctly in every other way.
I have the GM maintenance manual and no reference is made to repairing the LCD back light, at least that I can find.
Has anyone had this problem? Did you have to remove the IP Cluster for repair?
There is an IP repair shop in Virgina that I have used in the past for other cars that I could send the unit to if needed.
Thanks!
its a common problem. it'll come back on later. sometimes smacking the dash helps
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
No kidding?
I was ready to pull the IP cluster!!!!!!!!
yea the cavalier clusters are @!#$ty smacking them makes them work sometimes, I just bought a sunfire cluster so i would not have that problem its a direct swap just plug it in. also mileage is not stored in the cluster so yo can swap clusters.
I bought mine from this guy
cluster and it was new and i got it really fast. like 2 days
the smacking for me doesn't work anymore, so i just wait it out. sometimes its an hour, sometimes its a couple days.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
You guys are talking about a smack that will fix the LCD back light on the odometer?
That EBAY link is great, Is he kidding a new cluster for only $30? What a steal.
Also, my sons Cavi has the standard panel (speedo, temp and fuel). Can we just plug in one of the units with a Tachometer and it will work?
Thanks.
No, he isn't kidding. I bought one of those from him about a month ago, looked new to me, works fine, arrived in about 3 days.
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2000 Cavalier Coupe, 138k miles, 2.2 Auto, Silver (alive)
1999 Cavalier Sedan, 237k miles, 2.2 Auto, White (dead)
If you can find a cluster from someone with "high mileage" that would be the best, cuz you can get it for the lowest cost in most cases. But then again, most people selling them don't understand that the mileage isnt saved in your cluster, it's saved in the BCM. So, no matter what cluster you put in your car the mileage will be correct.
Well...I whacked the dashboard and the light went back on. This is the easiest fix I've had in a long time. I hope it lasts.
Is the light behind the odometer an LED?
i have the same problem....but sadly smacking it didnt help
my odometer light has been for months. oh, 04 sunfire, btw. i have smacked the @!#$ out of it so many times and nothing.
the light b/h the odometer is a light bulb, in order to take the 00+ apart though, you have to unsolder all the gauges, carefully pop out the 4 pins on each, since you cannot pop the needles without breaking the motors. there are i think 5 regular illumination bulbs and the one for the odometer on the cavi's, haven't needed to open my sunfire cluster yet... and the telltale bulbs are all LED except for the high beam indicator (i think due to the blue tint, not bright enough?) problem is, you have to find the little bulbs, unsolder the old ones out and then solder the new ones in.... unless you are looking for a project and are good at soldering, its probably a lot easier to just ebay or take a trip to the boneyard for a new one (although you might run into the same issue, got a 3 gauge and only the left bulb b/h the speedo worked). ill try to get pics of it up in a few minutes, since i just fixed a cluster with a bad fuel gauge (33k and busted?!)
Hellraiser and Lil Lightning
here they are....
image of light bulb behind odometer, the bulbs for illumination are the same, probably a 7382 judging by the info on the sylvania site
the little pins that you must unsolder and cannot break taking apart or putting together the cluster.....
you can do leds on here, you have to find them with resistors built in to them(12v ready) or make them yourself.... for testing purposes the first 2 pins on the top left are the illumination pins.....
thats all i can offer...
later
Hellraiser and Lil Lightning
Mine still works OK from the smack I gave it months ago. But, your tips will be helpful to others...the pics don't show up btw.
yea i smack the odometer too and it kicks on.
yeah this would be the first time i even attempted to do pics...... an easy way aside from hosting from a site?
Hellraiser and Lil Lightning
upload them to your profile account?
and ive also had this problem. only it was with (2) yes 2, different 00+ sunfire clusters. gay
little bulb behind odo, pushing in the 2 tabs and very carefully bending it forward....
pins on the gauges that must be unsoldered, not bent, yada, i found out that these are very fun to line up for reassembly if they get bent...
Hellraiser and Lil Lightning
yay it worked....
Hellraiser and Lil Lightning
Hi Everyone. I just registered here as I just purchased a '98 Sunfire convertible. I hope to get many miles out of her. This thread is of great interest to me due to the fact that the odometer light is out in my car as well. I've done the 'smack the dash' thing and nothing. My question to everyone is this: How do I take apart the dash to I can get to the bulb to replace it? Kinda dumb to have to use a flashlight to read the number of miles I have, so any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
I've only had the car less than a week, so I don't know what quirks she'll have...I'm sure there will be many if it's anything like my '86 Sunbird I had!
I look forward to hearing back.
95-99 has bulbs... 194's I beleive. The 00-05 is the problem, you can't easily take the cluster apart. The smack sometimes works, but not forever... once the bulb dies, it's done.
