98 Sonoma demon-possessed guages

[SNFranklin]

Hi all,
I picked up my new truck last weekend, and it promptly went haywire. All the guages and lights kept cycling themselves as if the ignition was just turned on--and this is while driving down the road at speed. For 20 minutes straight the lights would flash on, the speedo/tach needles would rotate around and back . . . but the truck drove just fine. I'm thinking a short somewhere or maybe ECU problem, but I've been reading that these instrument panels like to go bad. Any solutions other than the dealership? I've heard www.mrwizard.com mentioned . . .

Thanks

[snyde77]

Originally Posted by SNFranklin

Hi all,
I picked up my new truck last weekend, and it promptly went haywire. All the guages and lights kept cycling themselves as if the ignition was just turned on--and this is while driving down the road at speed. For 20 minutes straight the lights would flash on, the speedo/tach needles would rotate around and back . . . but the truck drove just fine. I'm thinking a short somewhere or maybe ECU problem, but I've been reading that these instrument panels like to go bad. Any solutions other than the dealership? I've heard www.mrwizard.com mentioned . . .

Thanks

Funny, I have the same type of problem. My dash lights have been going on and off intermittently also. In my case just the Gear Selection Lights (Park through Drive) and the odometer lights have been going on and off. I had one time where all of the guages except for the Speedometer guage started going wacky. Once in a while everything is normal and then it starts at it again. It doesn't effect driveability but has been bugging the carp out of me. The problem only seems to be getting worse.

[Smaug067]

I have this same problem, but have found the cause to be an after-market alarm system (AudioVox Pursuit series, model number escapes me at the moment) to be the cause of my woes. I will be fixing or uninstalling the system soon. Will update then.

[Smaug067]

Found the problem. There is a wire which passes over the top of the battery from the negative terminal and grounds to the chassis. Jiggling the wire causes the lights to behave erraticly, or even a total loss of power. I will be reworking the connection and will post another update then.

[Smaug067]

Okay... no faulty wires, no bad alarm. Closer inspection revealed that the negative connection on the battery had been screwed in crooked. Tapped the existing bolt and screwed it in straight, pulled the positive connector as well and cleaned it up. Now everything is rock steady. Also discovered the alarm is factory installed, not after-market. All in all... feeling very mechanically declined at the moment.