Chosen Solution

My speedometer, odometer, and gas gauge stopped working in my 1997 Town and Country minivan what would be wrong

Peggy Standring , try this. With the key off, hold the trip odometer reset button in, turn the key on, and in a few seconds the cluster should go into a self test mode. Let go of the button, and all of the lights should come on, and the gauges will cycle. If this doesn’t work, try your dealer and they should do a manual reset with the scan tool. If that absolutely does not work, you could have a cold solder connection on the instrument cluster, which is apparently not uncommon. Check the Chrysler forums for that. Hope this helps, good luck.

Check your owners manual to locate the fuse boxes, and the location of the specific fuses. When I had that issue with a vehicle (97 Jeep) it was one of the tiny fuses located in the fuse box under the hood.

Chrysler town and country computer After Battery replacement Blinking lights and Speedometer 120 The Calibration Test blower on high, both air sliders on cold (blue), selector knob (mode) on “panel” (dashboard vents- make sure all open) press rear wiper and wash for 5 seconds to begin diagnostic that should run with rear wiper and Intermittant blinking alternately. should end with just rear wiper blinking. push rear wiper to exit. The Diagnostic Cooldown test (necessary 2nd step) Press WASH and A/C simultaneously for 5 Seconds (evaporator cannot already be cool = engine and cabin are warm) AC / Recirc alternately flash - if flashing together test has failed The steps to fix the blinking lights: repower DC (battery replacement, jump, etc) (4 lights blink) Calibration Test (runs several minutes leaves 2 lights (wiper/Int) blinking) Diagnostic Cooldown Test (100 seconds) Now Just rear wiper blinking :-) Push Rear Wiper to exit and clear all blinking lights! Speedometer 120 hold down trip/reset turn ignition on (held until gas gage went to zero) release buttons (gagues swing round and ultimately zero)

I had this problem, and I fixed it myself free by removing the instrument cluster, (not too hard), and the circuit board behind it had a bad solder ground connection which affected everything. The other alternative would have been to replace the circuit board.

I just fixed two gauge sets that had this problem. The solder joints on the gauge board where the connector comes in crack and fail. This causes the gauges to operate intermittently. The gauge set needs to be pulled out and then the circuit board removed (just screws), flip the board over and re-solder the connector pins on the board. Put it all back together and all will be well. The only problem might be finding a geek (like me) to solder it for you. Note- don’t buy a used gauge set, they are likely to have (or soon will) have the same problem. My uncle had done that, which is why I ended up fixing two sets.

Eric. Start with the battery terminals change them out. I to have had issues with my dash gauges to where my van wouldn’t start I googled what it could be and said that the circuit boards are common issues and to beat on the dash so I did and it started right up. Well it did it to me again yesterday took it all apart and still nothing van wouldn’t start. Checked my battery connections and changed the positive it was bad car started up but gauges still are bad. So I’ll be checking relays or changing circuit board .

2 separate problems here.

  1. probably clock spring for all functions related to accessories like wipers. Chrysler has a lifetime warranty on certain Town and Country in this generation.
  2. As for the dashboard, most likely the solder joint on the connector on the back of instrument cluster (ground) as previously mentioned by another poster.

Another common cause of the instrument cluster not working properly is one or both of the ground(s). The older the car/van, the more likely you need to clean all connections. According to the diagram that I managed to get a copy of, the 13 pin connector that connects to the back of the instrument cluster has two pins (#7 and #13 that go to ground. The wires are Black/Light Green (# 7) and Black/Light Blue (#13). They both ground to the dash chassis, right hand side, behind the compartment that the cluster resides in. In my case, both the fuel and temperature gauges would sit at half way and none of the other gauges or LEDs worked. (BTW – it’s a 1996 T&C 3.8). One of the grounds is for the lights that light up the cluster via the dimmer switch. The other is for the total ground for the cluster. A good test is to hook an Ohm meter to the body chassis and then to both pins #13 and #7 and see if you have good connections. Even if that is not the root of the problem, going the extra mile to clean both connections is worth it and can often avoid future problems. Just my 2 cents worth. .