To help others fix the same problems I've encountered.


Welcome to my website

I recently purchased a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado 4x4 Ext Cab, I really like the truck but it had a few little issues I wanted to fix. The first issue was the stereo backlighting, just about all of the lights were burned out, so after removing that and resoldering all new bulbs (all ten) onto the circuit board, it now works perfect.

The next issue to tackle was the problem of the odometer/gear selector panel not lighting up, actually it lighted up intermittently but was very annoying. Now the avid interneter I am I figured that other people had the same problem and a resolve to the problem would be easy to find on the net. Well was I right, many people had the same issue however I was wrong about finding a fix for it, I've looked everywhere on the net to find out how to fix it, the only solution I found was to have the instrument cluster replaced, anywhere from 180 to 500 dollars. The way I looked at it was chances are it's a problem thats fixable, so I ripped mine apart and found the issue. I created this space on here for other people to see the step by step instructions so you can fix yours for the low cost of FREE, no parts required, just solder. I'm assuming that its the same issue with most since the symptoms are basically the same. I would say that the manufacturer of the circuit board didn't put enough solder on the joint and from movement the little bit of solder that was there easily breaks. I will say that I'm your average joe will some experience soldering but not much, even if you can't solder, you could still break it down and bring it to an electronics shop to solder it, it takes less than 1 minute to solder once you take it apart. I hope that this helps at least one person out there save money, all that I ask in return is you tell me that it helped you out and if you have questions let me know. Have a good day and good luck, Chris.


Topic: Questions, Comments, General

Date: 31/03/2013

By: JB

Subject: broke odometer

thank you so very much for the info on the repair-finally !!!! someone that was able to help.

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Date: 12/03/2013

By: jhalmar

Subject: 99 1500 chevy truck

PRND21 dont light up at all dont work everything else does how can i fix this

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Date: 13/03/2013

By: Chris (Site Adm)

Subject: Re: 99 1500 chevy truck

It would be impossible to diagnose from here however it may be attributed to the same type of problem as total failure, check the connections to the board, repair as neccessary, aside from that, it could be a host of things, this site was specifically created for the total failure of the display problem. Good luck.

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Date: 21/01/2013

By: AP

Subject: 2000 GMC Sierra Fixed

Thanks for this info. I've had 9 years (not kidding) of no odometer and no PRND. With your info I fixed it in an hour.

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Date: 15/12/2012

By: Byron

Subject: Yeah!!!

After tearing the dash apart for the 6th time your fix was simple. At one point I stuck a rubber ball behind the inst. panel and it worked for about a day. Thank you very much for ending my frustration.

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Date: 10/11/2012

By: Brad

Subject: odometer

Your the man Chris. $50 on a soldering iron and solder. You saved me a small fortune and I can't thank you enough.

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Date: 24/09/2012

By: Ryan

Subject: Silverado odometer fix

Chris, you're a champion!
My 1999 Silverado has had this intermittent problem for years, and I did not want to spend the $600 for the dealer to fix. My odo wires looked to be under tension and that's probably so many have failed. Thanks again for the easy fix. Cheers! Ryan

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Date: 24/09/2012

By: lewis

Subject: 05 cluster

do u know if can fix the spedometer this way can buy an 05 silverado no spedometer.

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Date: 10/07/2013

By: Jake orfo

Subject: Re: 05 cluster

No that's a much more difficult issue that has to do with the circuit boards

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Date: 20/09/2012

By: David B.

Subject: Odometer Fixed

Thanks, Chris, for this page ! My problem was exactly the solder joint you have pictured. The most time consuming part was cleaning the circuit board adequately to get a good solder job - I pulled the wire completely out of the board to get it right, but it was still tricky. Good thing it was the end contact.

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