Common Chevy Silverado Instrument Cluster Problems

by Spork Marketing

The Chevrolet Silverado is a favorite among many Americans. It is one of the best-selling vehicles in the nation with over 12 million sold since it became a nameplate in 1999. It is available in light, medium, and heavy-duty variants and is the first pickup truck to ever offer a hybrid powertrain.

With some owners pushing over a million miles on their trucks, the Silverado is known for its reliability and dependability. Despite being a well-built truck, the Silverado still has a few weak points. One of the common trouble spots is the instrument cluster.

Common Silverado Cluster Failure Symptoms

Cluster Needle

With hundreds of millions of miles on the road, several minor issues with the Silverado’s instrument cluster have become apparent.

Faulty Gauges

The most common issue plaguing the Silverados instrument cluster is a stuck, sticky, or jumpy gauge needle. Erratic analog gauge needles manifest in a variety of manners.

Your needle may be exaggerating its movement and jumping excessively. Sometimes the needle may be stuck in one place or stuck in certain positions. The needle can even get pegged in the fully clockwise position and not deliver a reading at all. The issue starts with one gauge but eventually affects all of them.

The problem here lies with the stepper motors. Each individual analog gauge needle has its own stepper motor. The original stepper motors by GM feature a design flaw that shortened their lifespan. If your gauges are only operating after you’ve been driving for a while, then check out this article.

Language Options Randomly Changing On Driver Information Cluster

Most analog Silverado Gauge clusters have two displays: an odometer and a gear indicator. The screen displaying the odometer is also known as the Driver Information Cluster and is capable of many functions. One of these functions is selecting a language.

Sometimes, all the languages will scroll across the instrument cluster randomly on their own. Even if you reset it to English, the language options will still endlessly scroll, or it may change to a random language. This issue is rooted in faults on the circuit board.

Odometer Display On While Vehicle Off

Over time, the odometer display tends to work intermittently or not power on at all. Instead, it may just display the odometer when the truck is off. This problem is due to a soldering issue on the circuit board.

Dark, Dim, Or Dead Cluster Lights

Due to the way the cluster circuit board was designed, certain parts of the board, such as the power supply circuit, overheat which leads to failure. This in turn causes part of the backlit display to go dim or even dark.

Odometer Displaying Error Message

If you are receiving an “Error” readout in your odometer display, then your cluster is suffering from a memory chip problem.

What To Do When Your Silverado Cluster Acts Up

Driving your truck with the instrument cluster can be annoying, not to mention unsafe. If you're experiencing instrument cluster issues, you've got two options:

  • Repair it
  • Replace it

With either option, you’ve got to remove the cluster from the dash. Check out our easy-to-follow guide on how to do this yourself. When it comes to sourcing a new cluster or repairing your current cluster, ISS Automotive is here to help.

Just mail in your cluster and our team of experts can repair it. Currently, we offer repair services on the following Silverado model years:

You can also buy one of our high-quality refurbished OEM instrument clusters. We offer OEM instrument clusters for the following model years:

For newer Silverado models, please contact us to hear about our repair services and replacement options. ISS Automotive has been distributing and remanufacturing electronic and mechatronic components for vehicles since 1949. Have a question? Call us at 1-800-755-5980 for support.

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