How-to fix a 97.5-2004 buick regal gauge cluster

[Virginia78704]

Great video. I have a problem with my 2004 Century that is somewhat similar(?). The instrument panel, radio, wipers and windows don't work while the engine is running but do work when the ingition is "on" engine not running. Any ideas?

[MrAnt00]

Can a buick regal cluster work in a buick century?

[usmc9883]

Worked perfect used 150ohm .5 watt resistor from radio shack

[gmctyphoon1]

Your video saved me a couple hundred bucks. Thanks for the info, I had to do all eight resistors. thanks again

[gesroner]

went to radio hack also, got the resistors, soldered them in. still no lights also, and now the gas gauge is out.... any ideas???

[divadime301]

Could anyone hear what it was that needed to be bought from radio shack???

[westcoastblacksmith]

Ive got a 2001 with this exact problem. we put new resistors in and they all test ok (my dad is no stranger to circut boards and electronics) and yet the odometer is still dark? what now?

thanks

[Youngbl33zy]

His car idles at 4500rpm....

[henchicken1]

thanks for the info this worked o.k. however i would like to add that the radio shack resistors are not like the factory ones in that they mount to the circuit board differently.... the factory ones do not go thru the board as the radio shack ones were designed to.... so you have to do a little customizing to make them fit! I would also advise to ad a little 5 minute epoxy so they will not come loose.... so far so good!!!

[digablesoul]

8 months ago my odometer went out and I followed your instructions and it worked!! Today my driver info center went out and I did the same and fixed it. Your video saved me twice. Thanks again!!

[MTProvi1990]

Hey I used a 150 ohm 1/2 watt resistor like you said and the odo works briefly, but then the resistors got SUPER hot and started smoking. At this point, the odo guage flickers and eventually goes out.....what gives? Anyone else have this problem????

[2wiz4u1]

So I did this on my 99 regal gs. And the driver info center still doesn't work, but the odometer works great now. Anyone have any ideas ?

[sniffersone]

Great info !

[kegler3000]

Mechanic told me he'd have to ship it out-of-town ... Electronics Tech said he couldn't do it. So I went to Radio Shack like you said. THANKYA, THANKYA. Gonna' do my DIGITAL CLIMATE CONTROL next week ... Thanks, Again

[notTOTALLYstupid]

Works great now, thank so much for sharing this video.

[ScarredTemple]

I have a 99 Regal with this problem, but the lights are also off that display my a.c and heat controls. Is that a separate problem or will this fix that problem also?

[Z71Ranger]

Great Video! Thanks for taking the time to make and post it.

[wyoroadtrip]

Great information. Worked like a champ. Thanks!!!

[lilroo1985]

that looks like my cluster in my 99 century, will it work? my speed needle is bouncing all over the gauge, changed the VSS (twice) and i was told it was this

[badbarada]

Thanks man... i fixed mine the way you said... great video.

[ESPO2081]

YOUR VIDEO WAS THE BEST I DID WHAT YOU SAID AND IT WORKED AND I SAVED $160.00 BY NOT HAVING TO BUY A CLUSTER ON EBAY IT COST ME $2.56 FROM RADIO SHACK THANKS AGAIN

[oaxacapower1]

Thank you for your video. I fixed mine in 1 hour. This is the first time i do something like this. After fixing my cluster I fixed 2 more thing and I saved over 800 dollars. (control module).........God bless you!!!

[79TAKid]

hmm one of the other videos said to use 1/8 watt resistors... so thats what I bought. I guess Ill try them out and see if they work?

[MaximRecoil]

I used to work in a PCB factory. It appears that the solder paste for those 4 resistors never got enough heat in the SMT machine, resulting in poor joints from the factory. The resistors themselves most likely can be reused if they're still there; which is what I did tonight.

1. Remove the resistors and remove the solder on the pads with solder wick.

2. Carefully clean the terminals on the resistors with a wire brush.

3. Solder the resistors back in place (preferably with 63/37 solder).

[boxxdr]

Just fixed my 1998 Regal thanks to you. My local electronics store was out of 1/2 watt so I used four 150ohm 1watt resistors and what do you know. My odometer is back! Thanks!

[teamjd1323]

Thank you for info. I repaired a 2003 Century and everything worked great for 2 days then lost everything on cluster. The only thing that comes on is the service engine soon lamp with key on. Checked powers and grounds to cluster and all good there. Any ideas?

[rch105]

You just saved my 88 year old father lots of bucks...bucks that would have been taken by the local Buick stealership. Armed with my 99 cent pack of 150 ohm, 1/2 watt, RS resistors, I removed the old ones and soldered in the new ones...success! It was 2 years that the cluster was dark. The hardest part was getting the trim off without breaking it, after all it's a 2003 and plastic gets brittle! Many thanks again...and keep on putting these helpful videos out!

[sampojo]

Yeah, me too, but you absolutely do not have to clean any of these resistors or replace them at all. What is going on here is a heavy normal operations heat load on these weak solder joints. Too little solder was used in the manufacturing & design.JUST RE-SODDER with a little extra on each joint and save yourself the headache.

[sampojo]

Yeah, me too, but you absolutely do not have to clean any of these resistors or replace them at all. What is going on here is a heavy normal operations heat load on these weak solder joints. Too little solder was used in the manufacturing & design.JUST RE-SODDER each joint and save yourself the headache.

[AutoXpressTech1]

@sampojo

[AutoXpressTech1]

it has a design fault. Better to replace than resolder. Have everything fixed right at my site.

[gewh34]

Worked great. Just repaired the instument cluster on a 2002 Buick Century for $0. I reused the same resistors. I removed them from the board first and cleaned some corrosion off the board with alcohol first then sesoldered them to the board. FYI, when I put a meter on the original resistors; the outside two resistors measured 120 Ohms each while the inner two measured 150 Ohms each.

[lorenz1547]

Worked great!

[redhotyellaboi]

found some resistors from an old pcm in my garage soldered them to the board and worked great in my 2000 buick century thanks..many thanks

[redhotyellaboi]

found some resistors from an old pcm in my garage soldered them to the board and worked great in my 2000 buick century thanks..many thanks

[M3RVITIS]

You know weather or not i can use 1/4 watt resistors instead of 1/2 watt resistors, they 150 ohm, just 1/4 watt instead of 1/2 watt. It's all i have available at the moment -_-

[Rholzie]

Worked like a champ! thanks for the info and vid.

[unclepez]

Worked for me! Thanks for the video! Not too bad for a $12 fix.

[1lanre1]

thanks for the information, I tried it and it works, spent $10 for the parts 2hrs to work on it compare to $554 the dealer was charging me, you make my day and my mechanic was surprised, thanks .

[digablesoul]

Worked like a charm!! Thank you for posting this up. I wouldn't know what to do without this vid. Many thanks!

[d1375]

Thanks! Super helpful, especially the specifics on which resistors to buy. For $0.99 my odometer & prndl work again! One of my original Rt side resistors had fallen off & the remaining 3 fell off when I touched them.

[HDBikerBob1]

does it matter which way the resistor go in i did a test one & had red lines across the PRND123

[HDBikerBob1]

does it matter which way the resistor go in

[alds491]

Thanks a lot man. This fixed my 98 buick century instrument cluster gear inticator problem for only $0.99. I was almost going to buy a whole new cluster, $50-$150! Keep up the awesome videos.

[magnum750]

Great instructional video, I pulled my cluster off and found all four of the resisters had burnt off. I replaced them and now its working great. This was on a 2000 Century, it took longer to take the dash apart than it was to solder on the new resisters. I took my time and the whole process was right about an hour.

[steamish77]

Worked great on a 2001 Century...saved us $180!

You rock!

[skitbethgirl]

THANK YOU!!! This will be my 2nd time replacing my cluster for my 2002 buick century in 5 years. (been off for almost 8 months) It seems everybody is looking for this part and it is getting too expensive and stressful. Thank you thank you thank you, for sharing your knowledge and explaining the exact tools/$ needed.

[MoAoX]

Is it possible to replace the standard lights with a different color light, such as red LEDs, or do the gauges themselves light up green.

[anushair007]

thank you so much!!

i had this problem wth my 2002 buck century. i found dash removal instructions on the net. opened her up and removed cluster.

found all resistors in place. i wiggled them and a few fell off.

purchased the wrong amp resistors so i decided rather than driving across the city, i would try to resolder the resistors i had knocked loose.

what do you know???? works like a friggin charm!!!!

thank you SOOOOOOOOOO much!!!! i wish there were more people as nice and helpful as you!!!

[gbaby384]

I have a 2001 buick century. I had the same issue with the gear selector and mileage light being out. I took the cluster out and found in the circuit board that two of the resistors we hanging on by one side. I soldered them back on put the cluster back in and it fixed it. So YES IT WORKS ON a 2001 BUICK CENTURY and in my case i didnt have to buy knew resistors. Thank you for the tip. It saved me about $200

[gBesPirate]

Can anyone reply with some help for my situation? Read 2 comments below this one

[gBesPirate]

My bulbs and resistors were fine. Turns out the 7.5 amp fuse in passenger side fusebox keeps popping. I put a 10 amp in and it melted the circuit board of the headlight switch. So I replaced the switch. And the 7.5 amp fuse keeps blowing every few days

[MrLeroyJacob]

THANK YOU!!!! AND GOD BLESS YOU!!! You just saved me $200 - $2= $198. This worked like a charm. At first, I changed only 1 resistor (150 ohm 1/2w), the result was a dim odometer and even dimmer with the lights out. So I changed all 4 of the ones on the right side (odometer ones) now odometer displays again (brighter than ever!!!) you da man!

[gBesPirate]

I have a 97 regal ls. My speedo gauge and tach gauge lights don't work. I replaced the fuse in the passenger side box several times. always blows. My odo info center works fine. Will this fix my problem?

[MrLeroyJacob]

@gBesPirate I would take off the circuit board and replace the bulbs. I think they are 194's. That should fix your problem.

[gBesPirate]

Hey

[adrman100]

Thanks for posting this. I have a 2001 Buick Century. This worked for me.  I only replaced one resistor instead of all four. Only one had fallen off. 20 cent part, $7.99 for a soldering kit from Radio Shack to fix plus time which was about an hour mostly because I haven't soldered anything before.

[MrLeroyJacob]

@adrman100 when you replaced only one, was the odometer bright? I replaced only one at first and my odometer was dim, barely visible in the daytime. So I replaced all the odometer ones and they are nice and bright! Im so boosted!

[adrman100]

@MrLeroyJacob The resistor I replaced was at the bottom (closer to the middle of the cluster). The other three were intact. The odometer is bright now.

[little0big0man0]

Thanks for the info, excellent presentation!

[iamsearching3]

Thank you very much for this video - its great! I have just repaired my cluster based on your instruction. Works great now!

[jaz13jaz]

Thanks, I'm going to use your same procedure to repair a friend's century. I know it will be a little different, but this points me in the right direction.

[shadowbreed38]

i have a 2002 buick century and this video just saved me $325.00 for inspection.

thank you very much

[pamula313]

This really does work. I did it several months ago, as I posted on this site. Mine is still working fine.  If you don't know how to solder-get help. The printed circuit is delicate and you must be careful.

[adamjr131]

I have a 2004 Buick Century and on the Radio display and gear cluster the lights are very very dim and practally unreadable in sunlight, would happen to know what would be worng?

Thanks!

[jamesjr723]

Man thanks a ton it work just like you said!! Any way you can do a video like this for the digital climate display?

[jamesjr723]

Man thanks a ton it work just like you said!! Any way you can do a video like this for the digital climate display?

[baddebt]

My Brotha from another Mother,,,How can I be the Man when you are The Man?

Thxs man~Debt~

[beshoe25]

This was a big help! Only other choice was to replace dash! This guy rocks!

[Steve29410]

THANK YOU.Been fretting over this for a couple weeks.Dealer was about $570 to do a swap.Found a place in Florida to do a repair for $129.Pretty fair for someone who couldn't use a soldering iron.Finally saw your video. As you said I just touched the danged resistors and they fell off. I have a 2000 Buick Century.Went the resolder route. I'd use wire end resistors next time.Soldering the ring-end resistors was a bit of a pain. BTW,2 were 120 ohm,2 were 150 ohm.Lost track.Staggered.Didn't matter.

[wexorx]

Thanks friend, just as you said .My wife is now very happy with her odometer. When I first opened the circuit board, the middle of the DIC resistors was already gone and three of the Odo's parted company at the slightest touch. The Radio Shack parts and iron worked perfectly. I see there are people who do this very same task for $150 on the internet. Thanks for the heads-up!

[toddis32]

what years/models does this fix. is the Buick Century the same?

[fayetteville929]

WHAT!!!!! You gotabe kidding. I've been driving this thing like this for at least a year. And now your telling me I can have it fixed in an hour. You should be shot for not telling me this sooner. I pulled my cluster out today and sure-enough, 2 were completely missing and the outher 2 fell off the moment I touched them. I followed your directions and in less than an hour my 99 LS now has odometer,trip and gear indicator. Thanks for the video, someone should pay you for it. Maybe next time. LOL.

[andriotis007]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I was able to repair the cluster and it works great now!! My regal is loaded with electrical issues and for once it felt good to cross one off my list of endless repairs.

I have issues with the climate control module acting eratically and locking up with heater blasting. Any suggestions on what could be wrong?

Thanks again.

[jpsmart59]

I did all this and my dashboard cluster gave out blue smoke and the whole

circuit burned out....lol And I burn one of my nuts in the process. I smell lawsuit now.

[ownu57]

I have a 1998 buick century custom and have this same problem. I have worked with electronics so the soldering wont be a problem. The only thing I cant figure out is how do i take out the cluster? could someone please let me know?

[pamula313]

I figured it out. I disconnected the battery with the lights on. Followed instructions in manual for resetting delayed lighting. GM has alot of those quirky resets. All works good now.

[97line]

awsome...thank you..yup it worked for mine as well

[pamula313]

I have a question relating to this. I did this 2 days ago, and it worked, but now I have no headlights. I have parking lights, but no headlights. Do I have to reset something?

[97line]

@pamula313

maybe you knocked something loose pulling dash apart..headlights should work fine..

[pamula313]

This works. I measured the resistor that came off the cluster, and it was only 125 ohms, but used a 150 ohm resistor to fix it. I will report back here if anything goes wrong. But my odometer and prndl are working again. Thanks for figuring this out. Pretty crazy to change the entire cluster over this.

[milvolts1]

Are you kidding, man you don't know for how long i have been driving my regal with no clue as to how many miles my car had. Tried everything. was almost ready to by a whole new one for about 3 c-notes. You my friend..are a hero to us do it youselfers. God bless you for all your help. it really works

[brushlessjunkie]

I just picked up a regal gs.The driver info display did not work and I was bummed out about it.Then I came across your vid and pulled it apart, sure enough one of the resistors were melted off.So I replaced all of them and it works!!!

Thanks alot!

[rlhal33]

Thank You,this Saved Me From Buying A Cluster

[dufkis]

Thanks for the vid got mine all fixed for $2.18!

[dgmitw]

FANTASTIC!!! This is exactly what was wrong with my '01 Buick Century. Yup, 99cents worth of resistors and about 1/2 hour work saved me several hundred dollars at the shop. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO.

[agbutcher]

I just did this on a 2001 and worked like a champ! Thanks!

[tomyoukers]

You just saved me $280! I replaced this instrument cluster to get it inspected last year. Two months after I had it inspected with the replacement, out again it went. :(

So, I thought I'd fix it. I looked on YouTube following my son's advice and found your video. All the four on the right top were gone.

I went to radio shack and got them, put them in and what do you know, worked like a charm.

Thanks for posting this. Much appreciated.

[capteddie23]

Hey Boss thanks for the vid. Deller wanted around $300 for a new one, only cost me a buck for the resisters!!!!!!!!!!

[ks507gr]

Video left me totaly motivated to fix it myself. Not too hard except I never have sodered before and would have prefered to use a pen type than a gun. I replaced the 4 resistors as explained but after checking cluster I only have orange lines and can see like a ghost image of gear selector. One side of first resistor spot on the actual circuit board broke partially off leaving very little to soder to. Is it bad sodering on my part to the connectors or is it this broke off part? Can it be fixed?

[johnniejoemer]

I've used this procedure on many Regals and Centuries...saves a ton of money. Great video.

[homes24]

nice vid but u need 2 focus the camera

[migueluribe04]

Worked out perfectly. Saved me some money. Thanks

[thetuba06]

is it possible to change the color of the led lights that light up the gauges?

[nbramley54]

Great video just finished repairing my 1999 Buick Century easy when someone shows you how Thanks.

[mannie300]

does this works on the gauges too?? i have a 2001 and my gas gauge doest work its always on full it only comes down wen the empy light comes on.

[graphicguitar]

and if you can't remove your heater from your car of a buick regal. got to ebay and find someone who works on these heaters to fix them and they will give you highly detailed instructions on how to remove your heater.

[graphicguitar]

correction of fil saver... you are a life saver

[graphicguitar]

i went to ebay and found alot of people who will fix your heater. i have a 1999 regal ls and my right side lights went out and my display quit working on my heater and i have dual climate control. i found prices for around 40-80 for them to fix your heater for you. by the way BlownRegalLSX thank you so much for this video you are a fil saver. the GM dealership wanted to charge me 340+ for a brand new gauge cluster just to get my mileage to work. This should have been a recall anyone agree?

[76327monte]

the heater controls in my 98 regal gs are f'd up. you can change the passengers heat but not the driver's side. you only get cold. know anything about it?

[ajstill03]

how do you get it out can you fix the heater

[trentondhuggins]

worked like a charm. thanks bro

[bozcopcspecialist]

Thanks so much.  Save both a ton of time and money!

[bmonkey78]

Will this work for a 2000 Buick Century? I would think so...

[BlownRegalLSX]

essentially, it should be the same

[NemStarz23]

I have a 2001 buick century custom... and my mileage guage and an PRND123 is out too.. is the regal the same as the century custom with the guages and info center

[broadwayblues]

@bmonkey78 I just did this, spent a dollar and my wife's 2001 Century is working great. I would, as the OP suggested, replace all four resistors while you have the thing open. I only replaced the two that had fallen off, only to find that another one had fallen off only ten minutes after reinstalling the dash.

Thanks so much for this video, you saved us a ton of money.

[jchibvoz]

thanks a lot.best of luck in all you do

[maple1600]

Thanks! It worked for me. Saved me $150!

[labrae]

BlownRegalLSX,

Thank you so much!!! It worked perfectly. I was going to send out the cluster to have it repaired for $169. plus shipping and you saved me a bundle!

[vinswift]

this was a great advise work perfect

[PawfectFilms]

Thanks so much! This was a super easy, super cheap fix, and cost me about 30 minutes of tear out/re-install time and $1.06 in parts. Really appreciate the detail in the vid! :)

[PawfectFilms]

Oh, just a note, this was on a 98 Buick Century custom, but the layout and parts were the same, as I expected. Thanks again!

[ladyluck0791]

Thank you for your video! My PRND123 has been out for a year. I am going to do in myself as well. My question is: What precautions do you take when working around electric and around the dashboard?

Thanks!

[BlownRegalLSX]

you just need to watch out for the solder points, and other parts of the board

[j27mills]

hey great info!! does the resistor have to be .5 watt, i can only find 1/4 or 1 watt 150 ohm thanks!

[fbenson2000]

Awesome video--- but how do you get the cluster out of the car =) I've got no idea how to take it out...

[loomis2k4]

This worked great for me on my 99 Buick Century. Thanks for the great vid. I was able to take everything apart just fine, then I coulnd't figure out what was wrong. Never would have thought to check for "missing" resistors. All 4 of mine were off. I found 2 of them laying lose inside the cluster compartment. It was only 99 cents for 5 resistors at Radio Shack. Extremely cheap fix. Thanks.

[wadleigh333]

regal man, thanks for the video, you saved me a lot of money, few resistors and some descent soder for under twelve bucks. thanks for the demo

[kanez619]

hi m8....this is a rly gr8 video.....i was wondering if u can help changing a fiat regatta gauge cluster...i mean change the colors of the led

[notownreppa775]

hey i have a 1998 eclipse and my instrument cluster lights are not working. kinda having the same problem as "mytubeforfunonly" my stereo system is working and my headlights do turn on. whats not working is the lights on the climate control knobs and non of the lights to da guages in the odometer are working. i removed da cluster but all of the bulbs looked o.k. if you or somebody can help me fix it i would really appreciate it. thanks!!!

[gto2003]

i dont think those resistors are right. i replaced all the ones you said to replace with those and drove it for a day. it made the pieces that look like little barrels get so hot that 1 melted off

[BlownRegalLSX]

you prolly did it wrong

[thomasw120]

If you use a tester you will find that 2 of the resistors are 150 and 2 are 120. Dont know if that helps but I soldered the originals back on and it works great! Thanks!!!

[jaz13jaz]

@thomasw120 Yeah, I found the same values. And the 2 at the bottom, that are in series, are 43-ish. Thanks for that info. I think I'm going to resolder the old ones back on, it probably developed cold solder joints and formed micro-cracks. I guess that's why they break off so easy.

[mytubeforfunonly]

I like to clarify the lights that are not working are odometer, radio knobs, climate control knobs. These lights should be on when the head lights are on. I played with the dimmer knob but no help. Is the dimmer switch bad. I removed the cluster and all light bulbs seem to be O.K

Thanks,

AL

[BlownRegalLSX]

the odometer light should be on at all times. you should be able to see then im direct sun light. this video should be able to fix this. as for the radio knows and such. im not really sure. you could buy a dimmer switch from(Ed Morad) he is on ebay. and sells very good parts.or try one from a scarp yard. i will try to find you an answer to the radio knows and such

[mytubeforfunonly]

Yes, the odometer light is on all times. I am talking about the lights that illuminate the instrument cluster, radio and climate control knobs, steering wheel radio control knobs are off even the headlights are on at night. Thanks for your video, I removed the cluster and checked the light bulbs they seem O.K. What the chances of all light bulbs burned. I took the headlight switch apart, clean it and put back together still do not solve the problem.

[zoomtm]

hey corey! zoom here! cool video!