99 Neon electrical

My 99 dodge neon has developed an electrical gremlin. Intermittantly, mostly when the lights are on all of the gages will drop down to 0, and the tachometer stops working. Sometimes they will go up on their own, sometimes I need to turn the car on and off and they will be fine, and sometimes nothing works. I haven’t yet noticed anything consistant that causes it. I’ve had the instrument cluster, the ground wiring, and the relay box and fuses checked with no luck. Any thoughts?

This seems to be a common problem with many Chryco cars of that vintage. They used a cheap cold solder method to manufacture the instrument cluster. Over time, the solder develops cracks, usually at the pin connections.

The simple but costly fix is to replace the cluster. More adventurous owners attempt to do the repairs themselves by removing the instrument cluster and reflowing the solder.

Check back here if you want more information on a DIY project.