Hi all - I recently replaced the OEM battery after 6 years of faithful service. It was a simple swap, nothing complicated. However, afterwards, I have no instruments. Nothing works. No fuel, no tach, no speedo, etc. The lights work, just not the gauges. I tried disconnecting and reconnecting the battery to no avail. Someone suggested replacing the instrument control module - http://www.fixya.com/cars/t1182831-g...after_car_died. What do you think? Could this be it? Or is this part of a larger issue? How can a company produce a car that wont allow you to simply swap out, or even disconnect, the battery without major electrical complications? Did I not follow some sort of sequence properly?

As a side note, this is not the first electrical problem I've had. My original radio cuts out randomly, the fan controls do not work on the first two settings, and the fuel pump started giving me problems two years ago to the point where we had to bypass the original harness and run a wire directly off the relay.

Is the wiring in the vehicle the culprit, or just multiple junk pieces in one car? Anyway, if we can tackle the gauge cluster for now, I'd be happy to get back to driving around a cav with floppy muffler... oh yeah, that thin muffler strap broke, too.

-Sean.

 

I would check the fuses and possibly relays for the instrument panel. as for the fan speed control, I think it's about 30 bucks for a replacement at the dealer. I believe its called a fan speed resistor and its located under the pass. side dashboard by the feet. the muffler strap you can get at NAPA for 20 bucks and if you do decide to do it, make sure you also get a rust inhibitor spay, and coat it with it. I hope this helps.