Rep Power: 0

My wifes' car, instruments went totally dead. Driving along and they simply stopped v odd.
Car works ok (as far as I can tell) but No instrument movement, not even any instrument illumination either.
This has happened about a year ago then it revived itself a few hours later. Today it did it again.

What to do?? Go to dealer and give them 1500 $.
Did try Search but it didn't give results I could use /understand
I can do diy ....but I'm 71 now and not nearly as good at learning new technologies as I may have been.
Also on fixed income so paying large is problematic as well.
Suggestions of any type ..gladly received.

 
Rep Power: 222

It's not going to be $1500 for an hour of diag.

Aftermarket stereo?
check for loose grounds

 
Rep Power: 133

Dang. You've had a history of bad instrument panel issues going back years... Hopefully not another bad cluster. Maybe a bad connection at one of the wire harnesses at the back? Check fuses: #10 (7.5A) in the under-dash fuse/relay box and #9(10A) in the under-hood fuse/relay box.

 
Rep Power: 367

at this point?
pull out the wiring and check them one by one...
check the suspect ones by checking the fuses to narrow down.

 
Rep Power: 0

Success! Thanks people .
Panic well subsided now.
Turns out the underdash (**** poor fuse panel access tho) 7.5a "meter' fuse, which seemed fine had developed a tiny bit of surface oxidation.
Only my OCD caused me to scratch it back to shiny metal blades, using my exacto blade no less.
Astoundingly that worked.
Resistance buildup from no longer shiny metal must have been Tiny.
Absolutely shouldn't have made a difference. Honda seriously scrimps on wiring gauges and connector quality. Almost no headroom. I've noticed.
But More than Happy it did.

 
Rep Power: 133

You're welcome!
Let me know if you have any other issues with your EL. I had, and is still in the family, an 03 EL since 2010.

 
Rep Power: 0

Sadly it's dead again !!
Tried the car this Morning and the 'fix' didn't survive the night.
Redid every step of what worked yesterday,
Even fitted new 7.5 a fuses... Nada.
Clearly the thing is getting iffy/no power.. Or?
Will have to Remove the cluster and check plugs /power supply.. power isn't flowing thru.. for some reason.
Once I get over being Pissed at this car...
I've noticed that on other brand Clusters...A simple mosfet replacement Repairs them.
Hopefully the shitty Lead Free solder that Honda chose to use in early 2000's has failed .... yet again.

Will have to examine the PCB V carefully.
Easiest would be to buy a fresh Cluster from the dealer 'parts' goof.
No idea on the Usurious Dealer price though. Fully expecting something horrific. (Update: 1075 $ +taxes Yipee!)
Not surprising given that Honda wants ~500 $ for the car's resonator / mid pipe piece..
Even if affordable I'm not relishing the thought of the ODO at Zero though.
Or some Dealer's *** Covering stupid door sticker stating previous odo readings.
Used Cluster might be one solution but given the inbuilt reliability of this version Cluster .. Sketchy at best.
Also a time bomb solution as any Used is going to be V Well used in 2021.

PS: Just talked to a Circuit Board Medics. com repair tech .
They don't repair Acura clusters (even tho its a rebadged Civic ) as they don't have the right Cluster Plugs to power it up ?
Really1? ...Mine are Blue and Green.. Sure look the same to me a V Strange response But?
He did admit that Honda cluster failures are almost always a solder joint failure.
IF that's the case. We will find out .

 
Rep Power: 224

Is the EL cluster the same physically as the Civic? Could you swap in a Civic cluster? I have never heard of a PCB failure on a 7th gen Civic cluster.

 
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Best as I can tell the clusters Are identical. Only face plate decorations differ.
Acura EL is simply a Luxo Civic with rear discs, but mostly different badges and Japanese Walnut (wood photograph) dashboard decor.
Which is Why I found the Circuit board patching Company response as Odd.
Suspect they didn't have any 'Acura' ones on the shelf to ship out as their real reason.
Internet is rife with failed 2000 - 2005 Civic clusters.. also Accords and Elements of the era.
Surprised That you've never heard of this particular 'problem'. I had long before this one died.
Dealer, warranty replaced mine inside of the first 6months of ownership.. when I whined about the oems' fuel gauge going intermittently dead.

For that reason I'm leary of fitting a !8 yr old /used one

 
Rep Power: 224

I have owned like 5-10 7th gen Civics, but only one for an extended time. None of them have had cluster issues aside from a failed trip/reset button. I still drive my '02 Civic, 320k+ miles.

 
Rep Power: 126

I've known 5-ish people with 7th gen civics, all from high school. Not once have any of them had that issue. The bulb for the odometer in my '01 failed a couple years ago, but that was inconsequential.

It sounds like there's an underlying issue somewhere.

 
Rep Power: 222

For the $30 for a junkyard cluster and the 30 mins it takes to swap it I would do that. Hopefully when you have the cluster out you notice something wrong with a harness or something

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks for the posts people.
It's back to working.. Yayyyy ! And doing so repeatedly, even overnight..
A promising sign, ideally it will keep on working
I had the cluster out and opened it up.. read it's Civic '04 sticker /label as well as it's Hecho in Mexico one.
[Car was made in Canada. I paid 28,000$ for it ].
A wee bit of crusty flux on the solder side, Isopro wiped that off cleanly...my OCD again..
But Nothing amiss or anything corrective done on my part.
Spritzed Quality electronics Contact cleaner /lube on the ridiculously Tiny pins / holes of the Blu and Grn plugs.
Now it works 'fine' !

As retrospective guess: Seems those teeny tiny contact surfaces had built up enough microscopic corrosions to prevent power flows.
The spritz leaves a permanent anticorrosion film.. so? this should Help long term.. I hope.

Same thing as happened with the Tiny blade fuses, except this patch has lived longer.. so far.
Hondas wirings are surprisingly Mickey Rodent in gauge and connectors.
Surprisingly mine has pcb mounted LEDs. Neither prone to failure nor 'upgrade' Many Utube videos on bulb changes... Must be for differing clusters then ?

Anecdotal stories of this cluster not failing.. surprises.
Why then does the Dealer maintain 'on the shelf' stock of a 17yr old part ?

Anyways.. All done for now.. Thanks again inputs/concerns.. appreciated.