I have a 2006 Chrysler 300. Love the car!! For the past month or so, every now and then on my way to work, early morning, (never happends in the afternoon or evening) every light on the instrument panel will light up, and the MPH and RPM needle will drop to 0. I don’t loose power or speed, this will last for seconds and then the lights go off and the gages go back to normal. Sometimes it happens two or three times in a row. It has happened with curise control on and off. It has happened at 70 MPH and at slower speeds. The first time it happened, I took it into Chrysler and they hooked up the diagnosics to check the computer, but there were no codes and they could not tell me anything. AT that point it had only happened once. Since then it has happened several more times. Has anyone heard of this or anything similar that might cause something like this? Thank you.
A weak/bad diode in an alternator will do this. SOMETIMES a good alternator tester will flag it…Also check that batteries grounds connections, engine and chassis are sound.
I think that the problem is closer to the instrument cluster, since the engine isn’t affected. A good automotive electric shop/mechanic would be better than somewhere else.
Thank you very much for your answer. I will have someone look at it again. Will it hurt to drive it until I can get it in?
What type of mechanic do you plan on taking it to? This needs to go to a electrical specialist (preferably one that has O’scope experience). Whats your plan on instructions to the mechanic? something like “I will pay a max 10hrs,call me after 2hrs and give me a report”.
Or will it be, “I am not paying for anything that you will not guarantee it will stop the symptons,if symptons continue I will ask and expect to recieve all money paid to be returned”.
I would tell you,“my shop labor is X dollars per hour,you will pay per hour,I make no prediction how long it will take to find problem,I may have to install parts that can’t be returned,you will have to pay for these parts,if you stop my search before I find the problem you owe me for all time I have into the car”.