Last year my instrument cluster (which is digital) began blinking off and on...working sporadically. But recently it went completely out. Speedometer not coming on at all and neither is the odometer.
MSL, I know you're going to think I'm joking, but it worked for me so I figured I'd throw it out there, no matter how silly I sound. On my 08 Taurus, 1/2 the speedometer lights went out. I punched the top of dash right above the speedo, (and no, it was not a temper tantrum) and bingo, the light came back on and has been fine ever since. Give it a shot; you've got nothing to lose and it might be the easiest fix you've ever done.
Of course don't do this in public. The biggest problem with these modern dashes are bad grounds. Most likely something is lose or dirty. A good whack sometimes straightens dirty things up. Of course it could crack the dash, hurt your hand, or cause more shorts. Sneak up on it and try tapping it a few times first. I'm not ASE curtified so I could be wrong.
Yeah, you are wrong...you slap it open-handed with your pimp hand (and I am ASE-certified...certified as what, the jury's still out about).
It's a common issue, there is a fix and it's not bad grounds. Just search for Impala SS speedometer fix. You have to open up the cluster and do a bit of soldering I believe. If you aren't comfortable with doing that there are speedo rebuilders out there.
Here's a walkthrough: http://www.grail-ss.com/Digital%20Dash%20Repair.htm Really all you have to do is clean and re-melt some contacts with a soldering iron. Simple beginner stuff
Not a Caprice instrument cluster, but similar. Many years ago I had an RV refridgerator stop working. It had a printed circut board inside. Like mentioned, a few circuits cracked so the fridge stopped working. My dad simply soldered them back together. Long ago I picked up a bunch of misc. car dashes at a junk yard. Maybe 20 years ago. I figured I could use some of them on other car projects. Most of those have printed circuits behind the guages. Maybe I'll still use them someday! I can see where those would eventually get brittle and crack when driving on many bumpy roads. Slapping the dash is only a temporary fix. Sort of like slapping your wife.
