03-06 Silverado Instrument/ Gauge Fix
 

Hey guys,

I just joined and did a quick search, and didn't see the fix for the Chevy Stepper Motor problem (for those of you like me that are out of warranty).

Check out this instructional site:

http://montecarloforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12319


I know it came from the monte carlo forum, but I used it for my 03 Silverado. A few tips I can give are-

1. My truck will crank up and drive around without the instrument cluster installed, so yours probably will too (in case you can't get done before having to go somewhere.

2. I ordered my stepper motors off Ebay (about $7 each). They came before the end of the week.

3. I am not a master soldering expert, but I was Very careful, and had a helper gently pull the motors off the board while I gently burned the solder off. The boards are not super fragile, but I did burn one to the point that it wouldn't work correctly, and I had to go back a dozen times adding solder until it connected with the printed circuit.

4. Some of the problems I had before were my tachometer read about half engine speed most days, and read correctly about once every two weeks. My speedometer would get hung up going back towards zero, but move when accelerating. I had to take a photo of it when it got down to about the 5 o'clock position so I could tell everyone my truck does 160. Every time I cranked it, it would drop 5 mph, so I could reset it before leaving the house if I wanted to crank my truck 30 times in a row.

5. After re-installing the stepper motors, half of my dash lights quit working, and the bulbs solder in as well (who thought that up?). My oil pressure gauge would crank around backwards, but that was caused by me burning up that connection mentioned above. You do not have to re-assemble the whole thing to plug it up and test it. I suggest you don't, because like I said, I had to go back and forth about a dozen times.

Hope this helps,
Flash

Thanks for the link and advice. It certainly is a common problem.

Just a heads up. There was a service bulletin put out for this year and is good till 80k. I have an 04 and they just replaced my whole cluster at no cost.

I was out of warrenty also. but i just gave them a little bit fo razin, and they said they would fix it for free. was surprised, but hey they fixed it.

You can get a replacement/rebuilt cluster off of a guy on Ebay. He totally rebuilds all motors and lights and gives a guarantee

i had same prob. found guy off ebay and they took care of me. ordered cluster on the 23rd and got to my house on the 28th. plug and play. they are digital dash solutions on ebay

is 05 included or no? my gauges have been acting up for a month. im out of warranty but only have 53k on the truck.
debating just buying a rebuilt SS style.
ive dealt with DDS before, they are good to deal with.

are you talking bout the warranty issue with your 05? that i dont know. but i ordered an escalade cluster for my truck and it works/looks good.

I just talked with a Chevy service guy, and he said that the 03 chevy trucks speedometer cluster is covered up to 95,000 miles. The 05 were covered up to 70,000 miles. They just have to get the code off the computor to odere it.

I have just purchased a 06 Silverado and don't have any guage problems that I have noticed. Could you guys please describe what the symptoms are for the problem you are describing? I would love to know what to look for and be able to get it fixed under the service bulletin if my truck has the same problem