That Stupid Gauge Problem!

i own an 01 grand caravan and i have the famous gauge cluster problem....
lights flicker, guages go haywire...
i replaced the battery and the alternator b4 i came on here and searched and saw everyone has this problem

BUT T SEEMS LIKE NO ONE EVER FIXES IT!!

what should i do? this problem is annoying as hell and i gotta get rid of it

after see thign site i took the cluster out and blew it out....what else?

also tried pullin the IOD fuse, checked all the fuses. cleaned battery connections!

this is so frustrating......

it was doing it then the car wouldnt start due to a low battery so i just replaced both the battery and the alternator and it starts fine and the lights went away for like 2 days

help me

also tried pullin the IOD fuse, checked all the fuses. cleaned battery connections!

this is so frustrating......

it was doing it then the car wouldnt start due to a low battery so i just replaced both the battery and the alternator and it starts fine and the lights went away for like 2 days

help me
to run cluster test ,with ignition switch in off position depress trip odometer reset button. Continue to hold reset button untilk "SOF" and software version number appears .If a fault code is present it will show up in the display otherwise it will display "end" when test is complete.

where is the BCM in my 01 dodge grand caravan

I had a problem with my 98 GC where the gauges were dead and the ABS light came on. It happened once or twice a week. A good rap on the dash would bring it back to life. I had to install a cd player and decided to look at the cluster. On the cluster the gauges were connected with pins that are pushed through contacts on the board. I cleaned these pins and contacts with some TV tuner cleaner (found at Radio Shack) sprayed on a cloth. I worked the pins in and out of the contacts to remove any corrosion that may have been there. I pinched the contacts (as needed) to give better contact with the pins. I then touched up solder joints on the board and the cluster's main connecter. I think these solder joints were the cause of my problem. I did both things at the same time so I can't be sure. It has been over a month now and I have not seen the gauges go dead. :)

Hi bill57
smurfcorpse is 100% correct - solder joints at connector on the back of the instrument cluster, dir mine more then a year ago, no problems since, i'll try to find the thread on this site and also on allpar.com both have many people having same problem,

here are threads concerning this problem:

Automotive forums.com
"intermittent start problem '98 Caravan Sport"

allpar.com
"98 Town And Country, intermittent no start???"

if you search for these you will see how common of a problem this is and that Daimler "has never heard of it" !!??!! (right!)
hope this helps,
good luck
bob

To sumrfcorpse and pentabob, my eternal gratitude for reporting the real solution to this problem. While my soldering joints looked fine, I did the contacts cleaning recommended and haven't seen the problem in more than a week since I did the job.

I only add that when re-installing the board, don't panic if you see the gauges go out and back on. I determined that pressing on the top of the package was allowing the gauges to turn on and stay on. Therefore, I tightened the two top screws very tightly (but not overly so) and only tightened the bottom two screws enough to keep the board in place. I've pursposely driven on some pretty rough roads to test the install and haven't had a single flicker!

Thanks again to these two guys for posting the true fix for this most aggravating problem.

Glad to help bjaymo3,
these forums can save us all a ton of change, need to add that the true finder of this problem can be found by looking at the prior threads i posted, (actually very interesting to read) he found the original problem and was good enough to pass it along, i'm sure when you see this problem arise for someone else (which i have no doubt it will) you will do the same and point them in the right direction, if only the dealerships would give 1% of a hoot about their customers and research these type sites!, they continue to claim they have never heard of this failure (DUH!!!!!)
but,
thankyou for your kind words,
take care,
Bob White
pentabob

Thank you smurfcorpse and pentabob. I had the exact same problem when I came home for lunch today. Luckily, I am not far from work, so I walked back when my van wouldn't start. I banged on the dashboard a few minutes ago after reading your posts, and the van started. I will take care of the soldering this weekend when I have more daylight.

Model year? Here's a slideshow you can download to show you how to get at the cluster and make the repair: http://www.4shared.com/document/ymiABlDR/98TC_dash_solder_repair.html

BTW - Did you notice the dates on those posts? Not sure they are still around.

1998 Dodge Caravan. I did notice the date of their posts, and was impressed how quickly I was able to find a solution. Thank you for sending the slide show. I'll probably be making the fix this weekend.

Hi Wheels_Up_Wilbur and RIP, yep I'm still here, reading posts every weekend. Really hope that fixes your problem.
The best to both you guys,
Have a super weekend,
Bob

RIP,

Thank you for the slide show. I made the repairs earlier today. My eyesight isn't the greatest any more, but it looked like that solder joint had problems, so I resoldered each pin. The car started up just fine, so time will tell if I fixed it. Thank you again for your help.

Your Welcome
I'm still around but the van is now parked. That's why I haven't logged in. The last problem I had with my van was the overdrive went away and the washer fluid motor quit. I still drove it for well over a year and it still ran but no overdrive. Rust was getting to it so I parked it. Eventually I took the plates off and it still sits in my driveway and I thought about putting it back on the road this summer but the wife says I gotta get rid of it. So I went out and bought a new 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan and love it so far!

Smurfcorpse,

I just noticed, you're near where I grew up, Baptistown N.J., about 40 minutes north of Trenton. My folks still live there still. They gave me the van a few years back. I drove it across the country. I'm approaching 300,000 miles, and it's still going strong. Caravans are great vehicles. Thanks again for all your help.