My 2009 Silverado 1500 with only 12,000 miles has begun intermittent display of all warning lights that are normally seen at start up. They stay on for 2-3 seconds and all gauges drop to -0-. When the warning lights go off, the gauges return to normal. It is not as prevalent after engine reaches normal operating temperature.
The trouble could be with the alternator since it makes the test for the warning lights when the ignition is turned to ON. There may also be a problem with the ignition switch or the connection to it. The ignition power supplies power to the alternator exciter so if either of those things have trouble it could cause the warning lights to turn on but perhaps not the gauges to go out. The ignition also supplies power to the warning lights so perhaps the accessory position of the switch may be the trouble and the gauges are on that part of the switch. Since the power to the gauges in the cluster seems to be going out I suggest you get a wiring diagram and follow the path that provides the power to the gauges. Somewhere that path is being broken. The trouble is most likely just a loose connection.
Run/Crank relay could be bad causing power loss. The cluster or BCM could also be bad or a poor connction.
Thanks for the good info @knfenimore. I think you may have called it here. The R/C relay is certainly a very good suspect for this issue and I would put it at the top of my suspect list. It looks like it provides power to the compass also so if that has a problem at the same time then that would pretty much cinch the deal.