Thanks so much for posting this video! We have been having this issue with our 1999 Caravan and after checking with a former Dodge mechanic he told us to replace the cluster circuit board. The best price we found was $499 through Amazon and Ebay. My husband saw your video and we were able to fix the van without having to spend all that cash! You're our hero!

Thank you so much. Been racking my brain to figure out how to get my wife's van to stop the dash slap routine. She never could get it to work and it finally just quit working all together last night. 30 minutes counting the dash removal and reinstallation and we are up and going again.

We live off the income of 2 handi-capped children. So income it TIGHT. This video has helped me very much! Kept us from walking for a long time. THANKS

Just pulled my cluster out, got it under a magnifying glass, and SHAZAM! The exact same terminal as in the video was cracked. I soldered it back, and now I have Tach, Speedo, gas gauge, odometer, and thr trip computer works again! Thank You.

i wish avery body that makes videos could be like you straight to the point nice video

Great video Sir. Our 96 Caravan was doing this crap. Been beating the hell out of the dash for a year now (LOL). Problem was "3" cracked solder joints on the back of the main plug. Just heated them up, applied a touch of solder, & my cluster works like brand new. It even made the door locks react quicker, & somehow fixed my rear window defogger!!?? Dunno how, but it did. Thanks again my friend for the instructional video!! Great job!!

Whaaaaaa? A thumbs down by someone? I have been so proud to have 100% thumbs up for almost 3 years. I love this vid. It's helped so many people it's crazy. I thumbs down you mr. Thumbs down guy....

I have been dealing with this issue lately and was ready to buy a new cluster. I am so glad I came across your video. Now I know what to do when I pull my cluster out without buying another. Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it very much. You are a wallet saver.

Thanks so much for posting this! Dodge Grand Caravan, instrument cluster had been off and on for years (worked in winter, died most of the summer). Needed this fixed because transmission can't be diagnosed without cluster. Had been too chicken to fix this myself until I saw your video which showed very clearly what needed to be soldered and encouraged me to find a video on how to remove it. Was REALLY easy! Saved $1,000! Thanks so much!!!

GREAT VIDEO!!! I understand your frustration when you get a thumbs down and all you did was try to help someone out, we go through the same thing, don't know what's wrong with people, just ignore them and keep doing what you do, again, GREAT VIDEO!

I did it! and it works. I made a little change; I took the piece to a radio shop and ask them to weld it for me. they charge me 3 dls. I just indicate them wich ones to weld. thanks man was fun and awesome!

THANKS!!!! Did the repairs tonight and the dash came to life immediately after. THANKS!!!!!!

I appreciate all the positive feedback. It's really nice to hear when it benefits someone else.

Thanks SO MUCH for this video. I just about wet my drawers when you were talking about banging on the dash. I just did it out of instinct. :) I've had the dash out a few times, for other reasons, and I sprayed the connector with electronic cleaner and it actually worked again. for about 2 miles. I did notice that if I put pressure on the connector the lights would come on, put the dash back and they'd go out again. So this video made perfect sense to me. No visible problems with the solder joints, but I heated them up with a new touch of solder. It's a MIRICLE!!!! Again, THANKS!!!

A true gentleman/thinker/do-it- yourselfer. Thanks for posting this repair job. My 98 caravan gauges have been teasing off and on, and about 3 weeks ago refused to come back on. I wasted many hours reading schematics, checking wires and vacuum hoses, sensors, etc, because I did not want to hassle with the dash disassembly. Everything works so good engine-wise, driving, and a great cold A/C, no other problems, just the "fun" unknown of driving without gauges. The soldering job you did is about the same job I recently did on a pawn shop Fender guitar amplifier. Both guitar jacks and foot switch jack had pulled loose from the printed circuit board from too many jerks of the chords. That was easy and came out perfect. So I'm hoping the same success for this instrument cluster f#@$%. I have already pre-cussed enough at it in the summer heat and fighting mosquitoes. So it goes...

Thanks. I spent a year without gauges dreading ripping apart the dash but finally I got enough information to just do it. I was quoted over $750 by the dealership to deal with it. When I finally attacked it and when the dashboard display came back to life it was "great success" as Borat would say. Every time I look down at the dash now I have so much more appreciation for this bit if technology.

thanks for the video! my panel had the same pin cracked. 45 minutes of work and I no longer have to use my GPS as a speedometer. (smart phone. yeah there is an app for that.) It is videos like this that make the internet the most powerful tool on the planet.

I have been looking for this information for ages! Thanks for taking the time to show us!

After pulling the green computer board from the cluster, I found many (10 to 14) bad connections. I went ahead and re-soldered them only to find the cluster still not working. I'm not the best as soldering so I thought I would take it out and give it another try before spending some serious cash. After finding a couple more questionable places, I fixed them and THIS TIME rather than getting everything back together and THEN starting the van, I simply connected the cluster and checked it (before putting everything back together). Worked fine. COOL! I left the van running while placing the cluster into the dash, and it STOPPED WORKING. Here's what I found. The main power clip/connection had a loose wire where in went into the white clip. Problem fixed. MY ADVICE: If you find no problems with the soldering, or fix the problems and it still won't work. CHECK THE PLUG. Worked for me!

Thanks for the best info and (only) fix I can find for this online. Had this problem was driving me nuts. Gonna break out my soldering iron and try your solution tonight.

Great video. Thanks so much for the help. I resoldered each joint and instrument cluster works great again. No more having to bang on the dashboard. Thanks again...Huge help

Hey John, thanks for adding more great info. It looks like you went through quite the over haul for your electrical system.

I have beat this thing for well over a decade! It still comes off & on when I hit a bump, & my ride only has 87k miles on it lol. Many thanks to you! Many!!!!!

thanks a lot. I was going to the salvage yard. Saved me a trip. Just fixed mine. works flawlessly.

I had the same problem with my 1998. dealership wanted $500 to replace dash, took me 30 minutes to do it myself. Thanks!

Just what I needed. Took a couple hours, but fixed the problem perfectly. Thanks a lot!

1997 Dodge Caravan. In winter, no amount of slapping fixed it. Summer was better, but it's beginning to act up in warm weather too. I am relieved to hear it's only about a half hour job. I had the fear it was going to be a 3-4 hour job. Going outside with all the stuff I need to get this FIXED, right now. Will post how I made out.

Did this fix and damn, easy as hell. Even used a soldering iron I didn't think would work. Took me a total of about a half hour because I was fumbling with the panels and helping a friend out at the same time. The solder reflow on the pin doesn't look pretty, but it works, and that's what I was going for. You know that gauge cluster would've cost me 200 for a replacement part alone?

I am glad you found the answer. My dash is digital so it has a slightly different configuration. I would do some searches about the gas gauge now. It could have something to do with the sensor in the tank. Chances are though is that it has something to do with the work just done to the instrument cluster. Hopefully there was no contacts joined with solder that shouldn't have been. Good luck with the fuel issue. If you resolve it, let us know. Cheers...

Thank you Sir. My brother 98 caravan was doing the same thing. Resolder all the pins. Works like new. Thanks again my friend :)

just repaired my cluster the way you showed, thank you for sharing

thanks from Argentina dude, my friend could repair his cluster following your instruction!

This video was extremely helpful and I followed it to the letter AND it solved the problem, awesome and thanks for posting!!

I'm back, and I did it! It works! Soo happy to have my gas gauge, speedometer,and odo back. Glad I found this video because I never take my car to any garage, I always do my own repairs. However, it would have been nice if you did do a video on how many screws there were to get to the circuit board! And how to disengage the emergency brake release handle correctly. On mine the cable popped out of its spot in the back. Gonna have to take the metal piece of the lower dash area (by knees) off, to get access to that area. But that's for another day.

This helps a lot, thank you very much!

The fix for my Dodge Caravan instrument cluster was the capacitor on the back of the panel next to the connector in the center. It was weak and hadn't failed open yet. Replaced it and it was alive again, an easy repair. Note: Some multi-meters will test capacitors and there are testers on ebay from $15 on up. If you are going to buy one make sure it can test the large capacitors in your AC/ heat pump. 50uF is not uncommon in newer units, but most will test much larger than that. You won't regret buying one.

Thanks! You just saved my GF $600! (what a mechanic quoted us to fix it)

very informative. found the same pin cracked at the solder... thanks again!

I'm glad I came across your vid very straightforward. Did exactly what you're saying and booyah baby its all good to go. Great job on the vid man peace out and take care:)

@MrSargentodpro I am glad it was able to help out someone who can really appreciate it. It was time well spent making that quick video for everyone else :)

Yesss!! thank you for posting your video....

Good catch!! Thank you for sharing

@TheHinton58, I am not sure about the instrument cluster affecting your car that way. But if your cluster is dead, this is a really good place to start as I have found that it has affected thousands of vehicles.

Thanks for the post, totally crapped out finally on my parents van. Going to get out the Weller :)

Thank you so much! I had this issue with my 98 Dodge Caravan and until I found this video, I was thinking it was going to be a minimum of $200. As someone who drives a 20 year old vehicle, I obviously can't afford upwards of $200. :) I understand that old cars need help and I do as many of my own repairs as I can. I still have the service engine light on but everything else works fine. Once it gets to the point where a good smack doesn't work any more, I'll hit it with some solder. Tomorrow we change the oil to see if that helps.

Thanks so much, this just saved me a few hundred bucks and I'm so grateful

thank you!! can't wait to try this

I'm glad it helped. Just trying to make the world a better place one dodge caravan at a time ;)

Good advice Russ.

99 Plymouth Grand Voyager checking in. Yes, this was the problem and for $9 at my local car shop I was able to buy a soldering iron and fix this myself.

I know how you feel. Mine was dead for over a year and when the dash lit up I was like the Frankenstein doctor.... It's alive!!! (insert evil laugh here)

Your welcome! I appreciate the extra time you took to leave a comment here. That is the only way I know it is helping people. It makes me feel great to know that my video is helping others. Cheers my friend...

. Me too sir. I tried it with, I have to admit, some doubt but it worked. Dodge should be paying you! Thanks so much for posting.

fantastic information

thank you i may have same problem very helpful video

for changing dashboard lights on any car, do you have to disconnect the battery first?

just did that to a 2000 Chrysler Town and Country works fine now , was using a wooden hammer to slap the dash with to keep it going , glad we don't have to do it anymore

when you solder the joint,what gage solder did you use,thanks.

Good luck @queenninathetwin. It will take a little bit to take the dash apart and pull the panel but it is a simple in and out job. I had the same experience during winter or rain. If it was sunny and dry, the slaps worked a lot better.

Great advice! I've only had one of my five Chrysler mini-vans act up and it's now too old and worn out for further help. The instruments on it would usually start working again after restarting the car.

Did slap dash for a year before going out. The tach needle came off from slapping. The pin on mine that was broken was the same one. Thx! With 240K the car isn't worth spending much on. I'm reasonably mechanically inclined. If I did it now knowing exactly what i was doing and everything went well it might take me an hour. Otherwise figure 2 even if you like to fix things. Resetting the needle took time to get it right. I would not have seen the crack w/o a lighted magnifying glass.

@717lin, it is actually very easy. You need to look around the plastic surround. You will see a bunch of screws. You need to remove these scenes. Once all the screws are removed, the plastic cover/surround will come right off exposing your instrument cluster. You will then need to undo a couple more screws to release the cluster itself. The only tricky part comes next when you pull the instrument cluster out, you will need to move the gear shifter down in order to have enough room to get the in

Hi, thanks for the info. Mine has a string from the gear shifter to the indicator in the cluster. How did you disconnect that? Thanks

Glad it helped you out @Sidney Griffin.

Hey Shecky308, I simply reheated the solder joints that were there. Because of the hairline cracks that were barely visible plus the fact that I wanted to be extra careful not to touch any other pins and have them short out together, I felt the safest thing was to simply re heat the existing solder joints. And this has worked perfectly now for 3 years. No problems since the fix.

@lonex00 worked like a dream, thanks!!!

Omg,,, my car has had 0 anything for months now, Imma try this and hopefully it works *keeping my fingers crossed* Thanks for the info and video :)

good job thanks for sharing

thank you so much i will try this

@William Keenan, that would most likely be the same issue. The movement from the harness at the connection is what makes the pins complete the circuit.

Good job

wow thanks for the heads up:)

There is a ribbon cable that needs to be unclipped from the wiring harness to the instrument cluster. You should be able to just gently pinch the sides or use a flat screw driver to disconnect it.

What diffent instrument clusters go in there

this has been happening to my 98 caravan and today I lost all gauges and the van wouldn't start until I slapped the dash. did your van not start when i did this? i dont kbow why my van wouldn't start because of this

Ugh love when all The lights come on

By chance are you still active? Having a similar issue but have already gone through resoldering it all.

I have no lights. Cluster ok, replaced light unit. At the connector at the swicth Orange/brown wire. When operating slider it's going from 0 to 4.95V but at the connector at the cluster it's staying zero. Any suggestions?

omg I wish I knew, been driving without my gages for 8+months! def about to go buy a solder gun!

Thanks geroboan1. I agree. I get a little frustrated watching some DIY videos and having to watch someone take out 17 screws. Not wanting to fast forward in case they happen to say something important. Short sweet and to the point!

Nice. A $9 repair. That's proper!

Well I couldn't say for sure. But usually when this problem starts, it can be resolved temporarily by slapping the top of the dash fairly hard. This causes the cracked cold solder joints to make enough contact to work for a while. Eventually not even slapping the dash will fix it and you will have to take the dash apart and reheat the solder joints to fix it.

Thanks man

Found the answer. On a mechanical shifter indicator you have to slip the small cable (string) off down on the column and slide the mounting bracket free then it just comes out with the dash. I hit all the solder joints and it's working for the moment. Only problem is the fuel gage now just goes up to full when you turn on the ignition whether there's gas in the tank or not.

@ThreadDotRun, were you able to fix your instrument cluster? Thanks for commenting. Good luck.

My Speedo is dying. This gives me hope. Cool!

I did it to my 98 caravan... thank you (never under estimate the powers of the female mind) good to go

@concepra, most of technical skill stops at "slap dash". But it does sound to me that the power between then harness on the cluster and your switch is where the issue is. My cluster was fine except for the cracked solder pins. Once those connections are fixed, more times than not, your entire panel comes back to life. I am sorry I can't be more help but most of my knowledge was gotten by just over a years worth of part time google searching and forum reading until I finally got to this info. Th

Thanks!!!

Need help fast! I've never soldered before, and my panel is a LITTLE bit different. The connector is the same though, I've done research saying I might as well just re-solder all the pins.

Thanks for commenting. I like to know it's helping people. Cheers

Now you will finally start adding mileage to the van ;) Anytime the gauges were dead, it wasn't recoding mileage. The pros and cons of this malfunction.

Did the turn signals stop working along with the guages? Thanks

@underground2000, I am doing some research on a similar problem I have. My rear side window doesn't work. Right now I don't have anything on that but if I figure it out, I will let you know.

Great vid, solved my problem, to those who thumbed down, well, the only thing stopping haters is their IQ, so let them be.

thank you

Awesome!, thanks!!!!

After all those times hitting the dash, like a MAN..

Could you give us a more detailed explanation of how you removed the cable from the instrument cluster ? Looks like it is by "feel", what are you feeling ? Thanks for a great video !