Digital Dash broken, odometer?

[Ruman999]

I am purchasing a '98 Buick Regal tomorrow. Very nice looking car, runs good, broken digital dash though, and no idea how many miles are on the car.

Any way to tell if the digital dash is broken? I am going to attempt to fix it, of course, but would like to know of any other way to find out how many miles are on the car.

Thanks,
Chase

[BNaylor]

Welcome to AF.

Is this being purchased through a car dealer or private party? Most states if not all require the actual mileage be disclosed at time of sale by the previous owner. The mileage is stored in the odometer module located in the instrument panel (IP) cluster. There is a DIY fix that may work to bring the display back.

What specifically is wrong with the IP other than just being broken?

[Ruman999]

It's actually being purchased at a dealer type auction. The cluster is broken and it looks like someone attempted to steal the passenger side airbag. I got a great deal on it. I'm going to spend this weekend trying to fix the IP. We'll see if I can get it working, unsure the reason for it being broken right now. I just was curious if the odometer info was stored somewhere else. I'll just have to wait to see if I can get the instrument panel fixed this weekend.

Originally Posted by BNaylor

Welcome to AF.

Is this being purchased through a car dealer or private party? Most states if not all require the actual mileage be disclosed at time of sale by the previous owner. The mileage is stored in the odometer module located in the instrument panel (IP) cluster. There is a DIY fix that may work to bring the display back.

What specifically is wrong with the IP other than just being broken?

[BNaylor]

Odo info is stored no other place for retrieval. Not even in the PCM module. If you plan on tackling it DIY let me know so I can direct you to a tech procedure that might help you resolve the issue and save some money. Good luck.

[Ruman999]

Well I just picked up the car. I bid and purchased it without seeing it, lol. The speedometer, tach, gas, temp, etc. all works fine, just no digital part on the bottom of the tach and speedo.

Other problems with the car are:
Hole jabbed into HVAC screen(screen is completely blank)
Passenger side power lock/window thing is gone
Glove box is missing the latch so does not stay shut
Hole in right headlight
Missing cupholder
Missing interior door light on drivers side
Sun roof motor works, but must be off track as it doesn't move even though i hear the motor
Digital dash issues
Lug nut cover missing off rear right chrome rim.



Those issues aren't too horrible though, and i got it for $1090. It is supercharged. I have to go out of town this weekend, so I can't play with it, but hope to get working on it early next week.

I'd love to know the DIY trick for the dash, and also, if anyone has any tips on getting the sun roof back in the track? I can actually push it down about a half inch below the roof of the car if i push from the top, so I'm sure it isn't sealing very well.


Thanks!
Chase

[BNaylor]

Doesn't sound too bad for the price. Anyways here is a link to the procedure on the driver information center and odometer. Good luck with it.

Click here

[Ruman999]

Looks easy enough. I'll work on that early next week. Thanks a lot. Yeah the price wasn't too bad, drove 120 miles today perfect! I'm scared/anxious to see how many miles it has when I get the odometer working though, kind of like rolling the dice

[Ruman999]

Fixed! Resisitor problem. 148k miles.

[BNaylor]

Will wonders never cease. Thanks for the feedback and good to hear something got resolved.

The mileage isn't too bad for the age, however, classified high but if you can keep the repair costs down to get it back in shape then it may turn out to be a good deal. Good luck with it.

[Ruman999]

HVAC was fixed too, same thing, resistors. Only other big things are headlights(won on ebay for $26 set), sunroof put back on track, and the shifter shifts without pushing the button as well as the key doesn't turn back to off correctly to pull it out(i think problems are related). My dad fixed a couple things when I was out of town(weekend OWI class, i will never drink and drive again) and I plan on fixing the rest when I get back.

This forum has already been a huge help! I made another post, but you've been helpful here, are there any other big maintainance issues I should be aware of? I've heard the tranny can be a problem, so I planned on changing that fluid.