1994 SSEi gauge problems

[LloydCFerguson]

Hi,

Was this ever resolved? Looking for ideas, my '93 SSEi's DIC, compass and guages (except the speedometer and tach) stop working after about 20 minutes of driving, if I turn the car off they come back.

TIA

[TDS-94SSEi]

yeah, I am also dealing with the same issue in my '94. I pulled the dash cluster far enough to verify that everything was connected wiring-wise, and also checked both ground blocks under the carpet, driver and passenger side. Pulled both ground blades and they were clean of corrosion, the passenger side one still had the tape wrapped on it, but the driver side has apparently been accessed before, it did not have the tape wrap anymore.

Looking for any other ideas. I too, wonder how easy it's going to be to find a replacement cluster that I could even try in the car.

FWIW, I recently had to have the dash cluster replaced in my '98 S- Series Blazer. It was displaying one similar issue, where the gauges (some of them) were flaky, and the trip odometer kept resetting itself back to 0. The bahavior of this cluster in the Bonneville is making me think the cluster could be suspect.

Anyone have info on which circuts might be tied into the 2 grounding blocks under the carpet? Would be helpful for troubleshooting. I'm getting REALLY sick of the issues this car has developed. It's a shame that I like the car as much as I do, otherwise she'd be gone already. . . .

[jonnevilleSSEi]

The plethora of little electronic oddities is, I suppose, the result of having all of the little flashing lights that were originally a special feature (and let's admit, still cool when they're working) unfortunately it's going to be a real issue because if there are new replacements I'm sure they're getting real pricey and as the platform ages even used parts could be rotting away in outdoor yards and might not be any or much better. I suppose someone who does circuit boards might be able to repair things until the custom imprinted led panels don't work. For example, the old Riviera with the original touch screen radio and car control, do any of those still work? If so, it's (I'd guess) a countable number. Some of my panel features (the DOC and compass) flicker when they wants to, some odd combination of temperature, humidity and perhaps mood or maybe planetary alignment or ? It is frustrating, when it's all lit and working it's great and the car just rides and handles perfectly.

[Hoganct]

Mine is becoming worse. Only issues I'm having are the DIC and Compass flashing on and off and fading in and out. Can't tell wether it's time or the humid warmer weather but the DIC and Compass are both becoming flakier. Otherwise the cluster seems fine. Normally once I've driven a bit the issue self remedies but not always. It's fine "most" of the time. My guesses are that most likely it's a loose connection within the cluster. A soldered point that will be nearly impossible to get to. My next guess is that it's simply a connection wire that will be relatively easy to get to. Beyond that suggestions I've seen include cleaning the Buss (are those grounding points?) and someone on the outside suggested as alternators age they can do flaky things like that. I'd prefer to not need to replace the cluster so I'm guessing I'll remove it and verify the wire connections as the first step.

It appears that once the main dashboard valance is removed that I'll need a "star tip" driver to remove the cluster. Am I correct? What size/spec drivers are needed to remove that? Is there more to it than that? Any surprises I can prepare for? Special removal techniques that might help? Other tools I should bring to the game? If anyone else has resolved a similar issue please share some notes.

@Hoganct: Did you get yours resolved or where are you with it? TIA.

I am still working on it I haven't found a new cluster I heard of a repair shop the specialize in instrument panels I might pull it bring it there. If I put a used one in it could be bad too?