I have a question regarding an instrument cluster gauge. I got mine replaced yesterday and the dealership had the place they were getting it from program the odometer. When it arrived the guy at the dealership said it was a brand new cluster, never used, so would need additional programming. We are looking around for a better deal for this programming but I wanted to know if the speedometer for a new cluster would need such programming to work because we noticed that the one on this new cluster isnt working. Does this sound like just a programming issue or a faulty cluster?
Jay Smith: Differs from model to model, some vehicles wont start without programming, others may have other concerns, programming is generally teaching one module to talk to the others through VIN recognition, odometers are a very hot item with the law, they are programmed by the makers-remakers it may not be getting a validated signal from powertrain control module. It could be a cluster but could be programming. What year make and model?
Jessica Edwards: 2004 pontiac vibe basic
Jay Smith: Not familiar with the setup but it would stand to reason that if IC isnt told what vehicle it is in it may not function, things like this were setup so people couldnt swap cluster to rollback odometers. Maybe a GM person will chime in.
Jessica Edwards: Ok, thanks for the input
Josh Marxen: Jay Smith is exactly right. when the first digital odometers came out they werent locked if you had a car with 190,000 miles you could switch them for a 50,000 mile one from a wrecked car. New scams include fake mechanics bills for new engines or transmissions. Only dealers are allowed access to the programming for these and the theft system
Jessica Edwards: We had the dealer order it. We gave them the mileage and VIN because he said the place they were ordering it from would program it before shipping it, my dad planed to install it himself. When it arrived they said that it was a new one, not refurbished like they thought it would be, so it would need additional programing. They didnt elaborate on what or why. I would have thought that if the cluster wasnt communicating correctly with the PCM, that more than just the speedometer would be affected.
Josh Marxen: If the anti-theft gets triggered it can become a nightmare. The cluster would have or should have come from whoever made them for ponitiac. Ive found a guy on Ebay who rebuilds the original clusters for me I think the last one was $50 or $60. My guess is your car didnt accept the new cluster. GM went way overboard on these systems trying to keep insurance rates down. And its more top secret than most government stuff. Even though its a new part its like an organ transplant. If every line of computer code doesnt match perfectly the cluster wont work and on some years the car wont start to protect itself from damage. GM did this to foil scammers and were trying to make an unstealable car. The only ones worse than Pontiac are Cadillac
Josh Marxen: There are tiny electric motors that run your gauges. Too replace them takes special tools and a skilled hand but each one costs about $5.
Jessica Edwards: We are planing an going to another GM dealership that charges a little less for programing then the one we got the cluster through tomorrow, hopefully theyll get it sorted
Josh Marxen: Even dealers have different rates. I dont know why they dont just have the originals rebuilt other than they are told they have to order their parts from the company. The mechanic wouldnt say much because they are not allowed to bad mouth the brands…See more