Hey guys. Just inherited an 04 Sierra from my father in law. He said the instrument cluster just stopped working one day a few years back. I opened it up and found a few places where the solder was cracked. I touched them up and got the odometer and gear selection to work again, but still no movement on the gauges. Is there a simple fix? Is it worth ordering one of the rebuild kits on amazon? Or am I just gonna have to sent it out for rebuild? Can I pull the one from my 03 Silverado and see if it works fine to verify that it is the cluster??
04 Sierra Cluster Issues
- Thread starter Khughes6103
- Start date
freddyboy61
Member
- Dec 4, 2011
- 276
Your best bet is to either send it out for repair or find one at a salvage yard. A "rebuild kit" will only cover the stepper motors.
I would also suggest in sending out your cluster. The one I used just a few months ago replaced all the stepper motors and lights, regardless of their operating condition. Cost right at 120 bucks.
If I do get one from a salvage yard, how do I set the odometer to the correct mileage, or is that stored somewhere else?
So do I have to have it sent out for rebuild? I was hoping for a quick plug and play option as long as it was the same year model but it sounds like I can’t.
First thing... If you have Durable Power of Attorney, get the Title Transferred into your name BEFORE having any IPC Work done. Alternatively, give these Guys a call to bone up on how this can be done with a Professional IPC Repair Service:
circuitboardmedics.com
These Three links may interest you:
https://www.gmfullsize.com/threads/wtf-cant-program-mileage-into-cluster.127674/
… and according to this PDF:
https://dor.sc.gov/resources-site/lawandpolicy/Advisory Opinions/RP93-4.pdf
...and this is information listed on the Federal “Truth in Mileage” Odometer Form adopted by South Carolina, Vehicles over Ten Years Old within the Current Models or 16,000 GVW at minimum are exempt from having to use Mileage Data on Documents meant for Title Transfers. The sub-links have similar forms available for ALL States:
https://eforms.com/odometer-disclosure-statement/
If you are intent upon keeping your Truck, the R&R won’t prove to be too much of a problem. But if the present mileage is exceedingly Low and/or the Truck is in remarkable re-selling condition, there may be some Odometer Certification companies near you such as “Speed O Tach" that can perform the work and provide any requisite Door Jamb Labels and Legal Notarized Documents needed for In State and Out Of State Title Transfers.
Circuit Board Medics - Automotive, Trucking & Appliance
Circuit Board Medics is an automotive, trucking, and appliance electronic module repair company serving consumers and businesses worldwide.
circuitboardmedics.com
These Three links may interest you:
https://www.gmfullsize.com/threads/wtf-cant-program-mileage-into-cluster.127674/
… and according to this PDF:
https://dor.sc.gov/resources-site/lawandpolicy/Advisory Opinions/RP93-4.pdf
...and this is information listed on the Federal “Truth in Mileage” Odometer Form adopted by South Carolina, Vehicles over Ten Years Old within the Current Models or 16,000 GVW at minimum are exempt from having to use Mileage Data on Documents meant for Title Transfers. The sub-links have similar forms available for ALL States:
https://eforms.com/odometer-disclosure-statement/
If you are intent upon keeping your Truck, the R&R won’t prove to be too much of a problem. But if the present mileage is exceedingly Low and/or the Truck is in remarkable re-selling condition, there may be some Odometer Certification companies near you such as “Speed O Tach" that can perform the work and provide any requisite Door Jamb Labels and Legal Notarized Documents needed for In State and Out Of State Title Transfers.
Great info! Thanks! So as long as the truck is over 10 years old and I have NO intention of selling it, I can just swap
As long as you remember that there is no real way of telling at the salvage yard that the IPC is in any better shape then the one you are currently using.
- Jul 22, 2015
- 2,724
(meant to post this last night... I see others have mentioned some of these things now, but still...)
The gauges are controlled by things called stepper motors. Check out some of the You Tube vids on doing those. They're a bit tedious to do, from what I hear, but some people here have done them successfully.
As you've seen, there's a nice little cottage industry in rebuilding GM truck clusters. Between the cold solder joints, the stepper motors, and even the lamps, people have probably made enough money off fixing GMT800 clusters to put a kid through college.
You may even find a local Craigslist source, if you're interested in that. There are people in my area who do them, swap out the lamps to LEDs, etc. On my Sierra, the PRNDL display is out (at least, in daylight; I can see the ghost vestige of it at night, if I turn up the illumination all the way. But everything else works, so I haven't gotten it fixed, yet (I'm doing other projects on it, first.)
The '03 Silvy cluster should swap right out, especially if the trucks are optioned the same (steering wheel controls, no trans temp gauge at the bottom LH side). The odometer should display the Chevy's mileage, not the Sierra's. If one of the trucks doesn't have the SWC, then I don't think it will have the Driver Info Center (DIC) messages displayed - and I wouldn't leave it connected very long.
GM re-engineered the cluster in '03, and it remained the same until the GMT900s were released in 2007.
The gauges are controlled by things called stepper motors. Check out some of the You Tube vids on doing those. They're a bit tedious to do, from what I hear, but some people here have done them successfully.
As you've seen, there's a nice little cottage industry in rebuilding GM truck clusters. Between the cold solder joints, the stepper motors, and even the lamps, people have probably made enough money off fixing GMT800 clusters to put a kid through college.
You may even find a local Craigslist source, if you're interested in that. There are people in my area who do them, swap out the lamps to LEDs, etc. On my Sierra, the PRNDL display is out (at least, in daylight; I can see the ghost vestige of it at night, if I turn up the illumination all the way. But everything else works, so I haven't gotten it fixed, yet (I'm doing other projects on it, first.)
The '03 Silvy cluster should swap right out, especially if the trucks are optioned the same (steering wheel controls, no trans temp gauge at the bottom LH side). The odometer should display the Chevy's mileage, not the Sierra's. If one of the trucks doesn't have the SWC, then I don't think it will have the Driver Info Center (DIC) messages displayed - and I wouldn't leave it connected very long.
GM re-engineered the cluster in '03, and it remained the same until the GMT900s were released in 2007.