Guage Cluster Freaking Out

[PhntmSk8r]

Yes i searched, every thread i found was fuse related, or just people with stupid questions. I've spent time investigating this and cannot figure it out.

Alright, heres the deal.

I swapped an LS Integra cluster into my ej8 2 years ago, and it's been doing great, no issues ever. Until thursday night.


Thursday night i went to start the car after installing a new clutch master/slave, and doing a valve adjustment. The battery was dead and the ECU main relay lost power (you could hear the 'click' when they'd loose power). No biggy, happens all the time (i have an odessy battery thats 3 years old) so i jumped the car and first time i fired it up nothing on the cluster was working but the battery light would come on then shut off (like normal, on ACC position). So i shut the car off, fired up the truck i was jumping it off of and let it run for 10-15 min then everything was back to normal on my car. (parking brake light was on, check engine light cycled, turn signals work)

Next morning i start it to go to work and back to the same BS that was happening the night before. I pull the cluster out and blow off the connections, check all the wires i can see/feel and make sure all is well. Plug the cluster back in, fire it up and everything works normal. It does fine the 3 miles back to my house from work.

Go to leave later that night and as soon as i get to the end of the block the whole cluster went dead (temp, fuel, rpm, speed, all lights info related ie: check eng, battery, parking brake, oil, turn signals) then as i got onto the highway (had a friend following me setting the pace) the cluster would come/go and TRY to work. The RPM's/speedo would jump up to right about how fast i was going and sit there for a split second then drop back down and either sit at 0 again, or jump between 20-40, etc. etc. It was always random and never between any set RPM/speed range.

I noticed when i'd hit the brakes and start slowing down, and got to around 30mph (decel) the cluster would come back in and work fine. However, acceleration from a stop the cluster would wig out as soon as i revved the motor to start moving. Also, my hazards still work but my turn signals do not always work. And my signals do not come/go around the cluster. Sometimes they'll work when the clusters working, sometimes they work but the clusters not working, and so on. Again, it's also completely random as to when they do/dont work.

So;

I've gone through ALL of the wiring i can get to without pulling the dash out, I've checked all KNOWN grounds (steering column, under kick panel behind hood latch, on center dash support, and by main relay)

I've checked all fuses related to INTERIOR electronics (radio, clock, instrument lights, back up lights, alt fuse, battery fuse etc.) and all look to be OK and are tight within their socket.

The car still runs fine (vtec works, 2step works, etc.) which tells me the ECU is getting all of the information, but the cluster is not receiving the information consistently like it is supposed to.

So i am at a loss, and i need to get this fixed today as the car goes back on the dyno for more tuning tomorrow. Hoping i wont have to pull the dash, and the whole engine bay harness and start going over everything in order to fix this.

Any helpful ideas/input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[PhntmSk8r]

Hmm, nobody has any ideas?

 

[lethal6]

I read over this a couple times and it is really hard to diagnose electrical bugs in just reading about the problems but I will give it my 2 cents. In reading what you wrote, my first guess would be that the main plug that goes into the back of the cluster is loose. I don't know what that has to do with what happened the day before? Could be a quirky coincidence.

If you haven't already, I would take out the cluster and check the connections in the back. They aren't really all that hard to get out and it sounds like you already exhausted your other options.

Other than that, I can't think of what else it could be. You have multiple glitches going on and that main plug supplies most of them.

 

[PhntmSk8r]

^ i already checked the main plug. i thought i put that in my original post but i may of missed it.

I took it all apart, cleaned the terminals put it back together and it worked great on my drive home from work. Then later that night it started doing the same thing again.

 

[jdmem205]

Maybe the cluster try swapping it out????

 

[PhntmSk8r]

^ got money for a new one? lol j/k

I'm going to try tomorrow when im at the dyno, there will be 2 integra's there so i'll swap clusters quick and see what happens.

 

[jdmem205]

Yea try that you never know the cluster could just be messed up. I think the only way the wires can cause the problem if opposing wires are exposed and touching one another or they are on the verge of tearing but you said you checked most of the wires.

 

[RonJ]

You mention intermittent problems with the cluster warning lights and gauges. Are you also having problems with the cluster back lights controlled by the dimmer switch?

Odd electrical problems like this one are often caused by faulty grounds. All cluster lights and gauges, as well as the turn signal relay, are grounded by G401 and G402, located behind the left and right kick panels. I recommend that you carefully clean and tighten these two ground connections and also check continuity of these wires to ground using a multimeter. Note that pinpointing the source of the ground problem may test your patience as the problem is intermittent.

 

[PhntmSk8r]

Those are exactly the diagrams i was hoping someone would have.

As of today, the cluster is acting mostly normal except from when i from partial to full throttle in any gear.


As far as the light's go, the back lights/dimmer switch have always worked no matter what the cluster and/or turn signals were doing.


My turn signals still do not work though, so i'll look into those grounds. Which are right about where i cant get to very easily. I'll update this thread when i find more.

 

[lethal6]

^ i already checked the main plug. i thought i put that in my original post but i may of missed it.

That might have been my bad. I read that you had checked everything you could without taking out the dash and I assumed you meant that you hadn't removed the cluster.

I took it all apart, cleaned the terminals put it back together and it worked great on my drive home from work. Then later that night it started doing the same thing again.

Hmm. That leads me to think that it is a ground somewhere that you have missed or a bad connection with the plug into the cluster, or possibly a bad cluster board it's self. When you took it out and put it back in, what ever is glitching made contact for a bit then lost it again.

Ugggh. I hate electrical bugs. They can be a huge pain in the ass and sometimes almost impossible to find easily.

As of today, the cluster is acting mostly normal except from when i from partial to full throttle in any gear.

Hmmm. Possibly the vibration from the higher rpms is causing a bad connection to touch and untouch causing the glitch.

I'll update this thread when i find more.

Yes, keep posted on what you find or don't find in your searching. I am curious.

 

[PhntmSk8r]

Well heres a couple updates;

I ordered a new cluster (gsr) so it should be here thursday/friday

I pulled the driver side 'access cover' on the side of the dash in hopes to find the above mentioned ground/relays, and no dice.

I've got tomorrow off work, so tomorrow I'm going to spend some time messing with it and see if i find anything. If i do not, then i'll have to wait until the new cluster comes in.

 

[matt96ex]

I just put my wiring back in my hatch a month or two ago so I'm trying to picture in my head.. The grounds you are looking for, if I remember correctly are further up under the dash, almost near where the wiring goes out behind the fender into the door. If you want, since my interior is still out, I can double check tomorrow. Good luck with your problem..

 

[PhntmSk8r]

Pulled the lower half of the dash off (access/cover panel with fuse box behind it, etc.)
Kick panel, and side access again


In the midst of moving things around and in general just cleaning up so i could actually begin to trouble shoot the problem, the main green plug on the upper most side, forward facing (towards driver) slipped right out. I pushed it back in, and cleaned up a couple other things/checked out some things, and then fired the car up.

Cluster works
Signals work

Haven't actually DRIVEN the car yet, so the problem may still be occurring, however it was about 10pm at that point, and trying to get out of my neighborhood without pissing everyone off would be a huge PITA. So i'll take it for a test drive tomorrow afternoon once the snow clears.

 

[lethal6]

SNOW!! Ugh. I can't believe it is that time of year already.


If the tabs on plugs get worn or bent they can jiggle around in the slot and lose contact from time to time. Hopefully it was something as easy as a lose plug. Nothing better than it being an easy fix like that.

I am fighting with my dash lights right now. 90% of the time they work and every once in a while they will kick out. If I thump the dimmer switch they come back on. Seems I have a loose plug connection or a bad solder in the dimmer switch. Easy fix, but a pain in the ass until you narrow it down to where it is coming from. I had the gauge cluster out and the lower dash all torn apart this weekend only to find out that the dimmer switch or dimmer switch plug is the problem.

Once again, good luck.

 

[PhntmSk8r]

Thats the weird thing with mine, all of the illumination lights have worked no matter what the gauges themselves were doing. It's just been a battle with the signals and gauges.

It's still snowing/raining so I haven't driven it yet. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[ekblack97]

Inputs guys! can a 99 cluster would work on my 97 hatch mine doesn't have rpm gauge plan to upgrade and would all the wirings and lights function on my car?

 

[PhntmSk8r]

^ search, don't clutter up this thread with useless BS.



As far as my cluster situation goes. Everything works well now. Even the new cluster works fine, problem has been solved

 

[lethal6]

Well, congrats on that. Maybe the cluster was bad and putting the new one in solved your problem completely? Hopefully it stays working for you.

 

[jontatum1985]

ok that diagram you posted do you have one of those for a 97 honda civic Hatch please ???

 

[PhntmSk8r]

ok that diagram you posted do you have one of those for a 97 honda civic Hatch please ???

Read the diagram, top left corner.



96-97 Models.

This means, EX, DX, HX, CX, coupe, hatch, 4door.