Instrument Cluster in QX4 has gone crazy..

[samhutto]

I did a search and didn't find anything addressing my specific need, but if I missed a post please let me know.

A couple weeks ago, after letting my 98 QX4 sit for a week, I turned it on and noticed the fuel gauge was showing a full tank(rare on a college budget), and then noticed the tachometer swinging like crazy. Also the temperature gauge is maxed out and the speedometer was reading about 10 mph when I was rolling down the highway. After turning the car off and back on the problem stopped..
Now, sometimes when I turn it on all is fine, some gauges will work and others won't, and the odometer will read all 9's at times. After driving a while, if I turn the engine off and back on. Sometimes all gauges will work, sometimes a few, sometimes all will be crapped out.

Does anyone have any ideas on what this might be? I wanted to get some opinions before I took out the panel..

Thank you all.

[Towncivilian]

Inspecting the wiring and backside of the cluster is a wise place to start. It almost sounds like a ground issue, so inspect all the wiring as best as you can, and make sure there is no corrosion or any loose screws on the backside of the cluster.

[00pathyse]

Check your tow package plug at the back. Mine had shorted out on itself and gave me all kinds of electrical issues.

[samhutto]

I pulled out the cluster this past weekend and found no loose connections or any corrosion. I do have a tow package plug I installed myself, but I didn't notice anything while inspecting the plug or any of the exposed wiring.. Any other ideas?

[r81gsr95]

hey did you ever get this figured out? My cluster is doing all sorts of crazy things... It will show 9999999 on the odometer, or the odometer wont show anything at all. my speedometer will stick and jump. The other day the speedo wouldn't work at all, it just stayed at 0 and then that caused my cruise control not to work. I turned the car off and turned it back on, then everything was fine again.

I removed the cluster and installed it again, everything worked great for a little bit and then it went back to the same problems. I was thinking about just putting a new cluster in it? The qx4 clusters look real nice compared to the pathfinder ones so i was looking to throw one of those in my pathfinder. I hope that is the problem though... I have a tow package installed so i will look at that as well.

[samhutto]

I ended up finding a used instrument cluster that was within 300 miles of my QX4 and had it shipped to me and installed for around $300. It works like a charm now, apparently my old cluster was just going bad. Best of luck to you getting yours fixed or getting a new one.

[r81gsr95]

Thanks for the reply! Okay great, i see a lot of clusters for under $100 on ebay.. I'm going to throw one of those in and hope it fixes my problems. I think i'm having a problem with the cluster alone, rather than the speedo itself or something. Thanks again

[Jus10]

Im new to this site, so i apollogize if im asking a question that already has been answered. I own a '98 Qx4 with the same cluster problems. Can anyone tell me what years will also fit and work with no modifications? or is it best to find another '98?

[Fly guy]

This must be a common problem. I'm having the same exact problems as the first poster. I've got an 1998 with 235,00. What all is involved with getting cluster out? Thanks in advance
Kevin

[mrwhizard]

Common problem. Visit http://mrwhizard.com for repair of these clusters.

[sasngang]

We have a 02 QX4. It's been a great car for us... Now at 178,000 miles BUT about a week ago the speedo became erratic, then within a short time quit working completely. At the same time, the ABS and the 4X4 lights illuminated. Plus the little diagram showing which tires were engaged quit showing anything, and the cruise would turn on, but not engage. My first thought was "seems like a ground or low voltage issue"

I pulled the instrument cluster, and cleaned all the contacts... after re-installing... still the same symptoms.

Just by chance I noticed a significant ground lug was unconnected under my hood, on the top, aft side of the passenger strut tower. It was a coming out of the wire harness near there. Once I cleaned and reconnected the ground, everything went back to normal. SWEET! Hope this helps someone.

[fueler]

^ i'm with sasngang. The only time i've experienced something like this in my QX4, is when I had a battery with one bad cell (same as loose connections)