Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
Don't think I posted this earlier but when I bought my '04 Suburban in December of last year, the PRND321 display was barely readable. Doing some research I found that this was a common problem in the 03-06 GMT-800 trucks. I figured that eventually I'd get the instrument cluster rebuilt anyway so I ignored it (even though it was a total PITA when I was climbing a steep hill with the trailer because I like to shift manually to lower gears to keep the transmission a little cooler - a trick I learned in the 4runner.)
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Then, over 4th of July, I noticed that the speedometer just went crazy - showing 40mph when I was going 70 and showing 100 mph when I was going 20. Obviously a case of the well-known stepper-motor issue. That was pretty much the last straw. So last Monday, 7/11, I pulled the instrument panel, boxed it up and on Tuesday I mailed it out to Circuit Board Medics (http://www.circuitboardmedics.com) in South Carolina. It arrived on Thursday 7/14 and on Friday 7/15 they sent it back to me. It was delivered yesterday 7/19 and last night I put it back in.
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WOW! :Wow1: What a difference! I didn't take any 'before' pics but of course those of you with GMT-800 trucks know what the "before" looks like: Boring white backlighting, etc.
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Here's the "after":
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As you can tell, I ponied up the $30 for the colored LEDs and went with green for two reasons: It's easier on the eyes and it's my favorite color. I also spent the extra $100 to have the transmission temp gauge added (as they explain on their web site, all GMT-800 trucks with automatics are set up for the transmission temp gauge. They have the sending unit and all the wiring there already, they just don't install the gauge on the 1500 trucks with the 5.3 engines. Anything with a 6.0 or bigger gets the gauge.) Even though I can monitor trans temps with my Scangauge II I like having it on the dash. And of course, I'm loving that bright PRND321 display!
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Anyway, I just wanted to put in an endorsement for the folks at Circuit Board Medics. I know there are a lot of "DIY" videos on YouTube about how to replace the stepper motors and even replace the lights with LEDs, so those of you with more mad skillz than me could probably do it yourself. Even though this was a bit pricey ($280 + $20 for me to ship the cluster to them - return shipping was included in the price) I'm very happy with the results.
.
Then, over 4th of July, I noticed that the speedometer just went crazy - showing 40mph when I was going 70 and showing 100 mph when I was going 20. Obviously a case of the well-known stepper-motor issue. That was pretty much the last straw. So last Monday, 7/11, I pulled the instrument panel, boxed it up and on Tuesday I mailed it out to Circuit Board Medics (http://www.circuitboardmedics.com) in South Carolina. It arrived on Thursday 7/14 and on Friday 7/15 they sent it back to me. It was delivered yesterday 7/19 and last night I put it back in.
.
WOW! :Wow1: What a difference! I didn't take any 'before' pics but of course those of you with GMT-800 trucks know what the "before" looks like: Boring white backlighting, etc.
.
Here's the "after":
.
.
As you can tell, I ponied up the $30 for the colored LEDs and went with green for two reasons: It's easier on the eyes and it's my favorite color. I also spent the extra $100 to have the transmission temp gauge added (as they explain on their web site, all GMT-800 trucks with automatics are set up for the transmission temp gauge. They have the sending unit and all the wiring there already, they just don't install the gauge on the 1500 trucks with the 5.3 engines. Anything with a 6.0 or bigger gets the gauge.) Even though I can monitor trans temps with my Scangauge II I like having it on the dash. And of course, I'm loving that bright PRND321 display!
.
Anyway, I just wanted to put in an endorsement for the folks at Circuit Board Medics. I know there are a lot of "DIY" videos on YouTube about how to replace the stepper motors and even replace the lights with LEDs, so those of you with more mad skillz than me could probably do it yourself. Even though this was a bit pricey ($280 + $20 for me to ship the cluster to them - return shipping was included in the price) I'm very happy with the results.
