1998 Plymouth Voyager Cluster/Lights Issue - Flashing on and off cluster...

jhah17

Here is what I am experiencing...if someone has had the same issue or knows for sure what could be causing my issue, I'd love to hear from you.

I have a 1998 Plymouth Voyager, 3.3L

My instrument cluster flashes on and off while driving or parked. The guages tend to go crazy too...I do not have lights at all whether it is on or off. I do have turn signals and my windows go up and down fine. I only have interior lights when the cluster is on. The cluster is on and off at a fairly rapid rate. I also do not have windshield wipers when it is off. That's all I can think of right now. If you have questions, feel free to ask. And even better if you have answers...haha

semockr

This gage sits on midrange and never moves even when I gun the engine. Is the sending unit shot or is it the gage in the dash which is impossible to get to.

semockr

95 Gnd Vgr 3.3: there are 3 in front which I can change but how do they expect someone to change the other 3 in back.

jhah17

Anybody have any thoughts on this? Still hoping for some sort of idea of what's going on.

2voyagers

I'm pretty sure your problem is the all to well documented instrument cluster gremlin. Very common problem, and easy to fix. Sounds like your gauges are behaving erratically, off and on without predictability. Has banging on the top of the dash ever brought them back to life? If so, then it's almost certain it is the instrument cluster problem. Here's a link that describes the solution:
http://www.fixya.com/cars/t10027668-instrument_panel_works_off

Essentially you just remove the instrument cluster and remove the circuit board from the back. Locate the 13 pins that are soldered in place where the main wiring harness connects. It is likely the bottom right ground pin that has a cracked solder connection....by re-melting the solder on this pin, your problems are solved. With a magnifying glass, you'll probably see a small crack around the solder on this pin. I re-melted all pins just to be sure. Google "98 voyager instrument cluster solder" and you'll find lots of posts describing the problem and this solution - some with pics. It's real easy to do.

danielwallace

Right on the money, there! I had an intermittent problem where the whole cluster (all of the guages) just stopped working. It became more frequent and then stopped working altogether. This morning I took it out, pulled the circuit board off and examined the solder joints on the main connector with a magnifying glass as you suggested. Voila! Several of them had hairline cracks in the solder. I re-soldered them all and stuck it back in and it works like a charm! It took all of about 30 minutes start to finish... simple job, really.