Hello all, the other day I was driving and I noticed that my instrument cluster died. Turbo worked but everything else, odometer, spedometer, fuel gauge, tachometer, and all notification lights, dead. The only thing that stays constantly lit is the battery indicator. Help?! I have done some research and there is no fuse or relay related to the instrument cluster. Could it have fried, or maybe something came loose? Thanks

 

I would think something came loose behind the gauge. I fine it hard to believe that the whole cluster went bad all at the same time. Not to say this is not possible, but it is unlikely.

 

This is a common problem. Plenty of volvo owners have suffered the same instrument cluster fate. I actually contacted the NHTSA and made a complaint because a faulty instrument cluster is a safety risk. Volvo wants over $1,000.00 to repair it. I hope other people will call and complain too so this issue will be recalled and fixed for free.

 

I've never heard of something like that happening. I would check all the connections first before doing anything else. If your battery light is on, I would also check to see what kind of voltage your battery is getting, although that's a different problem, but it's not supposed to be on.

 

Are all lites dead including cluster liting when headligths are on, turn signal, cruise control indicator, etc? If so , I woud be doubly sure the fuse related to the cluster is good. There must be one. If it involved other circuits, be sure they are working. If fuse is OK, The inst cluster has onlly one socket connector for all functions . Before removing the dash cover to access cluster, try a couple of odd ball things such as banging lightly just abiove inst cluster, were cluster connection is located to see if this might shake the connector and get a responce, even jiggle your ignition key some while driving. Removing the cluster is a bit of a job but not a mankiller.Chapter 11, section 29 of a Volvo 850 93-97 Haynes Repair Manual( Available at auto parts stores) idetaile the exact procedure. The manual has been a life saver to me when working on my 96 850.
If nothing you do works, I would get an opinion from a the service dept. of a reputable Volvo dealer. A good dealer should give it to you for no charge. I can't believe the problem is anything more than a bad connection or a fuse. I have seen parts of clusters malfunction, but never the whole thing. Just too coincidental to happen.

 

I would disagree. From what I understand, there is a chip that runs the whole cluster. It could be the chip has gone bad. I have the same problem and am trying to figure different possible fixes.

 

Have you jiggled your key?
Is your radio working?
What about the seatbelt alert ding, do you still hear it?
The reason im asking is cause it sounds like a Possible ignition switch or switch connection issue or a wiring issue...
Their are numerous chips in your board, Unless you your board is cracked I dont think the whole cluster would go out..
Plus your turbo gauge is mechanical not electrical so thats why it would still work..

 

Thanks for the quick reply! I should have said I have an '03 S60 2.4 non turbo. Everything else works from your suggested list. Not sure what to check next

 

Hello all,

So, seems I am in the same boat with almost every other volvo owner out there. Cluster just stopped working. Every once and a while it will spring to life again but it is usually short lived. I have found a new cluster at a scrap yard and swapped it out. Seemed to work well after I installed it but when my wife took it to work the next morning it was up to it's old tricks. I have noticed (with the cluster hanging half out) if I wiggle the connector in the back it works fine until I hit it just right and it goes out again. Does anyone know where I can get a new connector? Or even what the correct name for it would be? Thanks

Jason

 

Poor connection at the conector. Lightly bend your pins slightly to tighten the fit and re check!

 

suppose I could give that a try. Seems a little difficult to find a replacement connector (like I would like to do)

 

I have a '95 850 turbo and I'm experiencing something similiar. The difference is that my instrument cluster works EXCEPT my turn signal indicators and the backlight for the info display! I have plans to replace my broken odometer gear and replace my cluster bulbs with new led bulbs. What would cause that?

 

The bulbs could be the problem. When I changed out my cluster I realized about half of the bulbs were gone on both the old one and new one. I was able to get enough to use between the two of them. On the rare occasion the dash does work all the gauges come on. (they didn't before)

 

Thanks vt-spike! Well im gonna jump on this cluster and see what it looks like and hope its just blown bulbs. I'll post what i find out.

 

My 2003 s80 cluster is dead also. Everything went very slowly at first. Now everything is dead. No lights or functions working. Is it safe to drive? does anyone have an answer?

 

2003 S60. While driving, the instrument lights went out and the gauges stopped functioning, but the bright light indicator and the climate control panel/radio panel still lit. The next morning, all looks good. This sounds similar to some of your experiences. Have any of you found the answer?
Thanks for the help.
Mike

 

actually you can easily send out your cluster to get repaired for under $200. I just did it. Go to Ebay and lookup seller euro-electric. They give you easy instructions on how to pop out your panel, mail it to them and they ship it back fixed 1 2 3. Dont do like I did and wait for years and trying everything under the sun.

There are other sellers that seem more expensive out there.
or can search.
"VOLVO INSTRUMENT CLUSTER REPAIR". If you dont want to use ebay
you can just call them. 866 281 2414.

No I dont work there i just used their service and boy I wish i knew about it earlier

 

I am having the same problem with my 2003 S80. The gauges and lights went off and on several times and then quit. Over the next few days they would come back on (except the clock) intermittently but an urgent SRS notice remained along with a yellow triangle light. I went over all of the 3 fuse boxes with a couple of different mechanics and could find none related to the instrument cluster. One independent Volvo mechanic tried a reset by removing two fuses and then waiting and restarting. Nothing. Then 2 days ago the cluster started working again, except for the clock and the urgent SRS notice. The day before this happened I had the radiator replaced but we couldn't find any problem related to that. The prior week I had the front struts replaced. A couple of months ago I had the transmission rebuilt...

 

I would imagine your cluster is dead, or dying. It seems to be a very common problem. (Along with many others from these overpriced swedish POS's) The new one is of course outrageously overpriced as anything else to do with a Volvo. I ended up sending my original out to get rebuilt. The replacement I had bought also dyed. The rebuild has worked great ever since I got it back. It is a lot cheaper, and the service at the rebuild shop was great.

I sent it to;
Southern Electronics Inc.
730-A Research Rd
Richmond, VA 23236
Nationwide Speedometer and Instrument Cluster Repair

I would e-mail or call them first of course. 1(804)423-1100 or 1(800)446-2880 or info@SouthernElectronics.com

Hope you get it figured out.

 

Same problem exactly. On a separate occasion I also had gauges that looked liked the dash was getting half the needed voltage. Not the alternator. An example, when despite being topped off the gas gauge would read half to 2/3's full. This would change when I braked so I think something came loose in the instruments.