Tach and Temp gauge work intermittently on new cluster

[foofopps]

So the odometer went out on my original cluster, while I have it out to fix it I replaced it with another one (euro) that I was told "worked fine". I installed it and everything worked. The temp gauge bounced a few times while the engine was warming up but settled fine in the middle. Now the next day I start my car and neither the tach nor the temp gauge work, but then later that day they do work. Pretty much every other time I have driven my car the past 2 days the tach and temp either work just fine or neither work. Everything else in the cluster works just fine. I do no think its a connection issue. Is there something within the cluster like a battery inside the cluster I need to replace? I would like to fix this so when I go back to my original gauge cluster I can sell this one to another member. Thanks in advance.

[Adrian_Visser]

Well if the SI batteries fully discharged when it was sitting they may have leaked onto the circuit board, this is probably what's causing the intermittant problems you are having.

Here's a little DIY on how to do it: http://www.beckerelectronics.com/SIboard/siboard.html

The problem is you are going to have to replace the SI board, they can be bought new from the dealer, price I can't remember.

[delatlanta1281]

Let it ride for a couple more days.

[foofopps]

^ Good read, thank you. Anyone try just replacing the batteries? I think I will take that risk as the gauges have worked properly half the time. Anyone who has replaced the batteries, did you buy them online or find them at a radio shack?

[foofopps]

Hokay so today, same problem...in the morning all the gauges worked fine (after my car slept for 12 hours)...then I drove to work (15 minutes of city driving) and it sat from 8am to 4pm. When I left work the tach and temp gauges did not work. Does anyone know when the car battery charges my cluster battery? When it is sitting or when it is driving? Seems to me like it charges after it is sitting overnight, but who knows. If this is true maybe I should let my car sit for a couple days on a trickle charger and maybe that will help juice up my cluster batteries???

[AlarmedBread]

Check your coils resistance, I had similar symptoms when the coil was failing. Tach worked fine when the coil was cold, but as it ran and warmed up the tach stopped working, then the coil completely failed.

[Adrian_Visser]

Coil as in ignition coil? WTF are you talking about.

[McGyver]

just pull a new SI board from a junk yard and get lucky that the batteries are good.