1989 Instrument lights going NUTS

[Justin B.]

Since you guys have helped me on the other issues maybe you can help me on this one: The digital instrument lights on every gauge are going crazy! Thay all light up but for example: each tach. and speedometer segmants or bars are flickering from 0 mph/rpm to wide open but in no randmon order. The best way to explain this is to imagine a strand of Christmas lights with 100 bulbs flashing in no order. That's what the bars are doing. The small gauges are trying to show actual numbers but it's just a scrambelled mess. The fuel reserve light goes on and off even though theres 3/4 tank of gas.
So, is it time to send it off for an overhaul or??????

[Bill H.]

Re: 1989 Instrument lights going NUTS

We had a couple of those on our C4 forum, One guy could get the gauges to come back by smacking the top of the dash, so he pulled all the connections and cleaned them, solved it.
Another guy tried that and cleaning the connections didn't work, IIRC, he bought Killebrew's Digital Dash book and found the problem.

[Justin B.]

Re: 1989 Instrument lights going NUTS

Bill, do you have any idea where i can find the replacement electrical compontants if I find the problem? I know that these parts most likely can't be bought at Radio Shack

[Peter M.]

Re: 1989 Instrument lights going NUTS

First this you need to do is check all your grounds and connections by cleaning and verifying all connections & grounds. If this does not solve your problem, check out batee.com and follow their diagnostic instructions. If you don't want to do the work yourself, Contemporary Corvette will rebuild your cluster for something in the $250 - $350 range.

http://batee.com/corvette/dcrg/repairing_interboard_connector/repair.htm

www.contemporarycorvette.com

[Edward J.]

Re: 1989 Instrument lights going NUTS

Justin, The problem your having is a common problem with older corvette digital dash boards.Take Petes advise send it out for repair.My years as a GM tech I have seen and sent out many for repair.