2005 Chevrolet Avalanche Instrument Cluster Not Working

I used the search button, but most of the threads are old so I didn't want to bump an old thread. Again I am new, so I do apologize if this is in the wrong section.

My 2005 Avalanche's instrument cluster isn't working. It's all jacked up, but thank God the fuel meter still works. The speedometer is past 120, the RPM is usually all the way to the right, etc. Also the light where it displays whether the truck is in Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive doesn't work most of the time or isn't bright enough. I'm located in Houston and did a Google search for local places that fix them, but I heard that they can mess up again. The name of the place is J&B Automotive and they charge $120 to fix and the odometer will stay the same and no need to reprogram. I looked for Yelp reviews, but there was only one review. Their site is http://www.jbautoshop.com/.

Should I take it there to get fixed or what should I do?

If you can find a local shop, that's great.

You can also look up Digital Dash Solutions on the web or eBay. They will either fix your existing, sell you a remanufactured unit, or sell brand new ones. They do all the programming for you. Cool part is you can upgrade the cluster. They do white gauge faces, denali style, escalade style, etc.

Snyder80 said:

If you can find a local shop, that's great.

You can also look up Digital Dash Solutions on the web or eBay. They will either fix your existing, sell you a remanufactured unit, or sell brand new ones. They do all the programming for you. Cool part is you can upgrade the cluster. They do white gauge faces, denali style, escalade style, etc.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Although an upgrade sounds nice, I think I'd rather stick with the stock one. And yeah, I'd rather have it done locally if possible. But only if they do a good job. I'm thinking about going to the place I posted, but what are the odds of it messing up again? I don't want to waste $120.

Well... I bought my '05 about 6 months ago. The oil pressure gauge is shot on mine. And I know for a fact that it is not the original cluster because the hour meter is off.

With you having so many problems I highly doubt it is just a stepper motor issue. It's gotta be more of an issue with the electronics of it. I don't know much about how fixable that is... I'm no where near knowledgable on these kind of things.

Digital Dash does sell stock clusters too as well as repair service, just FYI. They even have stock with the added trans temp gauge.

Either way... There seems to be no guarantees with these clusters, though rebuilds with the newer versions of the stepper motors seems to help

Snyder80 said:

And I know for a fact that it is not the original cluster because the hour meter is off.

Click to expand...

Not necessarily.
I have read here that the hour meter sometimes resets itself, or gets out of whack.

http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,130642.0.html

http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,89793.0.html

http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,116755.0.html

http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,88748.0.html

Snyder80 said:

Well... I bought my '05 about 6 months ago. The oil pressure gauge is shot on mine. And I know for a fact that it is not the original cluster because the hour meter is off.

With you having so many problems I highly doubt it is just a stepper motor issue. It's gotta be more of an issue with the electronics of it. I don't know much about how fixable that is... I'm no where near knowledgable on these kind of things.

Digital Dash does sell stock clusters too as well as repair service, just FYI. They even have stock with the added trans temp gauge.

Either way... There seems to be no guarantees with these clusters, though rebuilds with the newer versions of the stepper motors seems to help

Click to expand...

Hopefully it's nothing with the electricity part of it. It still displays my odometer and everything fine and the gauges still light up fine.

Here's what mine looks like.

I just noticed that you have another post going and are having issues with the screen on your factory navigation as well?

Snyder80 said:

I just noticed that you have another post going and are having issues with the screen on your factory navigation as well?

Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately. Somebody in that thread told me it'll cost me more to replace it than to buy an after market one, so I guess I should upgrade.

If you are having electrical issues in multiple systems, I would have to wonder if there is a common cause. Perhaps both components are ok and a bad ground is causing it??

You could spend a lot of money replacing both these systems and still find an issue...