If you plugged the reader in and everything worked correctly, it would seem that the reader was completing an open or intermittent circuit....
If the grounds have been covered, perhaps its time to check the power lines, I would check to make sure all fuses are properly seated in their sockets, and none are blown....

 

My Silverado has same issues, gas gauge sometimes goes down to empty, then few minutes or a day later goes back to normal.

But, the main problem is the speedometer.
I never know exactly how fast I am driving.

The dealer has quoted $650 for a new cluster.
Plus they need to order it, and it would come in about 5 days.

I asked dealer if there is a recall on this.
The answer was no.
I could not believe it, it is like a safety thing, not knowing how fast you are driving.

I am not ready to pay that kind of money for a cluster.
Please someone let me know if there is something that can be done.

I looked into purchasing a used one on eBay, but they are around $300.
Plus the mileage would be different. I also heard that if you get a used cluster the vehicle may not start, because of the VIN and security.

If anyone has dealt with this issue and can give me some information on what you did, that would be great.

Thank you

 

I'm having the same issue with my instrument cluster. Did you figure out what the problem was?

 

I have since sold that truck, but the only solution I found was to leave the ODBII plugged in.

 

I was going to try that but I think I had a bad ground. I wiggled the ground wires and it went away

 

Mine would randomly cut off or on with hard bumps then later started acting up with ruff turns. Now in the past two years its been dead but yet ive caught it jumping up to 25ish a handful of times. Hope its just one of the grounds

 

If your scanner is getting data from the PCM, here's what you do: Find the pinout for your ECM, then test continuity between the pin for the suspected faulty cluster lamp and the harness behind the instr cluster. If there is a short in the wire, then you know it's the harness. It could also be a failed servo or lamp inside of the instr cluster assy. That's an easy swap job. Beyond that it would be a failed unit.

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I really need to resurrect my old truck. I have an 01 Sierra 1500 with the 5.3. My cluster never had an intermittent issue, it just suddenly failed. I have searched all over the net and this is the closest I've found to the same fault I'm having.

My dad has a 2000 Silverado 1500 with an aftermarket radio that didn't have AM. I switched his radio with my stock unit. When I put his radio into my truck, I saw a spark from behind the radio and the cluster immediately lost the PRNDL/ODO display, the Message Center, Tach, and Speedo. Nothing else in the truck seems to have issue, but I haven't been driving it.

I have pulled, checked, and cleaned every fuse in the truck. I've checked all grounds. I've looked over all large power wires and connections. I have swapped in a known good cluster. Nothing has any effect on the fault.

I know it's my fault for leaving the battery hooked up and also trusting the wiring harness the previous owner put together, but Damnit truck Gods! Why punish me so harshly?

 

My opinion, you've zapped something in the electronics
https://www.carid.com/2000-chevy-sil...289713108f0b75

 

The cluster itself is not malfunctioning. I have put it into my dad's Silverado and it functions as normal. I guess I forgot to mention that part, but have mentioned plenty to eliminate the cluster as the culprit.