My gauges stopped working.

[midknight]

so i was out in the snow today and when i was driving home all my gauges stopped working all the switches and lights still work and engage but the gauge cluster doesn't move have any ideas

 

[Jager]

have you tried replacing that specific fuse?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the stock 95-01 section. It sounds like it could be a fuse.

 

[midknight]

its not the fuse thats the first thing i checked i actually think that some of the snow got into a fuse panel or something because it put a glitch in it the gauges will work if i turn on the stereo but turn off if i turn it off i don't understand how that could have happened but its kind of funny

 

[fbc]

If it turns out not to be the fuse, I believes the ECU drives the instrument cluster. You could start there.

 

[midknight]

I'm actually thinking that it might be somewhere in the ignition like a wire got crossed because since then i have turned my ignition off and it would kill the motor but leave all the electronics going and the way it turns on and off with the stereo is what makes me think it is a crossed wire.

 

[budwich]

))) that's pretty funny/interesting... the snow (from the earlier post) now crossed a wire... )) Have you been doing any "rewiring" lately for say a stereo or such??? sounds perhaps like an ignition switch issue that you have narrowed it down to... maybe. Is your radio stock???

 

[midknight]

Its not stock but it uses the stock wiring and has been in there for well over a year with no problems so its not my wiring job

 

[budwich]

not sure if you can make that statement... you could say the same for the rest of the wiring, its been there for a while, its good...yada yada.... Everything ages, connectors move/touch, insulation melts, wires break. It would appear that your gage cluster lost its "drive"... get a meter and check the voltage and grounds going to the panel. Although from your "radio on, panel on observation", indicates a lost voltage, you should check the stuff. Further, it would appear that the radio power is "feeding" power for other things or vise versa... which probably not good in the long run.

Having said that, take a look at the ignition switch "wiring" for loose/broken wires.

 

[midknight]

will do as sooon as the snow melt and the temp is in the posotive numbers

 

[budwich]

ya, I hate winter DIY auto stuff... my hands are still thawing from some loght efforts on the hood lifter shocks which also don't seem to like the cold weather and almost took off my head and arms, lucky I was moving away just at the right time...

 

[Joe Dirt]

I would think it's more likely to be the stereo wiring than the truck wiring. Pull the radio bezel and check just to be sure- you could have a wire in there that was pinned between 2 things when putting the bezel back and it just now wore through from vibration, creating a short.

 

[midknight]

Ya I know what you mean I was giving my friend a jump and got smashed in the head