Instrument Cluster

[Billups]

Hi

I have a 2000 Camaro V6. When I started up today, there was no power to the instrument cluster - nothing displayed. The only gauges that still work are the battery and oil level. Will fixing this require a simple fuse replacement or is it more complicated than that? Whatever the case, about how much will this cost? Thanks.

[Genopsyde]

won't know what you need to do until you replace the fuse, which is most likely the issue. If that doesn't do the job, drop us another line and we'll go from there.

[Billups]

Originally Posted by Genopsyde

won't know what you need to do until you replace the fuse, which is most likely the issue. If that doesn't do the job, drop us another line and we'll go from there.

Thanks. The fuses for power/accessory and the tail lamps were both blown. Curiously, even though the instrument cluster wouldn't light, the fasten seatbelt sign still came on. Anyway, I replaced both fuses and was able to drive home. Later that same afternoon, both were blown out again. Presumably that's indicative of a more serious problem. Any thoughts?

[Genopsyde]

that indicates a short somewhere, the problem is finding out where.

[Genopsyde]

i'd start by checking the wire connections to every component that's powered thru those circuits, checking for wires that have become exposed and are grounding out, even lose connections can blow a fuse. If you're lucky you'll find the problem that way, if not, unfortunately, it's time to use the wire diagrams and trace all the wires from beginning to end.

[ct91rs]

Originally Posted by Billups

the fasten seatbelt sign still came on.

It's not uncommon to have separate circuits that operate different components in the instrument cluster. The "fasten seat belts" must have been on a circuit that was not blown.

[Billups]

Thanks for the help so far. I took the car into my local Chevy dealership. They replaced the newly blown fuses, kept the car for about a day and could not get them to blow again. I doubt the problem has gone away so I'm going to keep a close watch to see if there's some kind of trigger.

[Billups]

Just like clockwork. As soon as I put the key in the ignition last night, my fuses blew out again. I didn't do anything unusual or different, so there's no obvious trigger. I have a question though --- about a month before this problem started, I had my dealer install a replacement remote control for the central locking/alarm system. Could that be the source of the problem? I asked them and they claim that since the process just involves programming up the right frequencies on a computer, it should have had no effect on the circuitry. I'm not entirely convinced. Any thoughts? Thanks.