Car electrical problem?

Question

Hi Guys. Can anybody help me with this car electrical issue please.

while driving home the other night my speedo, rev's, temp guage and odometer went "dead" on the dash. I continued to drive home and the next day it was fine again. The next day we went for a drive and just before we got to our destination, it all died again. We "played" around with the fuse box thinking that either a fuse was loose or perhaps becomming weaker and then it was fine again. Today, I'm driving and it all dies again. This problem does not effect anything else, the car still runs perfectly (we've owned it since brand new and it's now 6 years old) all the other electrics work ok, even the dash light works as does the petrol guage. It's just really strange.

Does anybody out there have any idea what may be causing this problem, and what Ishould do about it ?

BTW it's a 2001 mitsubishi lancer coupe, has not been thrashed, is well looked after and has very low mileage.

Any ideas or suggestions ?

Answer 1

it might be a main ignation feed to your cluster. which probably wont affect anything else in your car. or it could be an internal problem in your cluster or a ground to your cluster. it should be tested and diagnosted properly by someone with electrical experience

Answer 2

It will not be the alternator as somebody suggested. It can be as simple as a bad connection somewhere, either on the power [positive] supply or ground side. To find an intermittent fault like this can be frustrating. There is also the posibilty of a crack or dry joint [badly soldered joint] on the printed circuit board of the cluster.
To find the fault remove the cluster from the dashboard but leave it plugged in. Switch the car on and start to wiggle the various plugs and connections and lightly tap the cluster and circuit board with a plastic object. While doing this keep an eye on the instruments. If you touch the "problem" the cluster will go on and off.

Answer 3

All those instruments require separate inputs. I doubt all the inputs would go bad at the same time. However, an instrument panel ground could cause this problem. Something as simple as removing the connector from the panel and reinstalling it could fix your problems. I would start there and branch out checking other grounding points as I went. Don't forget to check the wires. Some times a wire will break inside the insulation, normally that occurs close to a connector and it is unusual but not unheard of.

I have a 96 Buick check engine light problem, would you care to swap troubleshooting time? Both problems can be exasperating but at least it would be a change of scenery.

Answer 4

Sorry, gimpalomg, but they are all connected to a power source. Change the fuse so you will know that is good. U could have a bare wire grounding out. Do you have tilt steering? Sometimes this creats a weak point in the wiring. Start with the fuses and trace from there. Good luck

Answer 5

try checking the ground for the gage cluster in the dash.if all theses gages use the same ground and its loose or coroded it will cause this. if you can't find the ground you can look it up in the wire diagram. I use http://www.eautorepair.net/ its cheap and I can print all the info I need during my seven days. good luck

Answer 6

sounds like the voltage regulator. which is incased in the alternator.
but firsst try tightening you wires on the starter.