2003 GMC Sierra 6.0 - zero consistency on speedometer

[MagnutsWJ]

I drove for about an hour and a half this morning and after noticing some issues with my speedo, I set my cruise at 115 km using gps. While stopping and getting back to that cruising speed multiple times my trucks speedometer showed anywhere from 35 km/hr to 90 km/hr each time. Rpm's were consistent and the odometer seemed to be working normal even when the speedo said I was doing 30.

This happened one time before, about 2 months ago, oddly enough on the same highway. I used my scan tool to reset the computer settings which made no difference. After the truck sat for the day everything was back to normal, for two months at least.

Does anyone know what might cause such a thing? Has anyone had a similar problem? The truck is running great otherwise so it's not an urgent issue, just have to be on the ball with the gps to check speed. Any help would be great. Thanks.


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[Rot Box]

My dad had this happen on his 03 GMC (5.3 1/2ton). He ended up needing to have the GM dealer change the entire gauge cluster. I guess it's not as simple as just pulling the old one out and replacing it with another.. Worth looking into anyway. Hope this helps.

Andrew

 

[Larry]

There was a 7 year – 70,000 mile special policy on speedo issues on 2003-2005 GM full size trucks and SUVs due to defective stepper motors. Unfortunately that has expired for you.

As Rot Box stated you will need to exchange the cluster to fix this issue. Any GM dealer can do that or you can work directly with an AC Delco repair center if you can find one near you. There is a really good AC Delco repair center in Chicago. Not sure how complicated it would be for them to do a Canadian unit but you might want to give them a call. AJR International They service pretty much all GM electronics; radios, clusters, ECMs, etc. Great people to work with.

 

[Tiki]

As stated above this is a common issue with the stepper motors. Thereare lots of places that you can send the cluster to for repair (quick google search: http://www.gaugepegged.com). I used a similar experience on my 2004 to upgrade to an escalade cluster that had an integrated trans temp gauge which you should have but didn't come standard on the 1500's.

My dad had this happen on his 03 GMC (5.3 1/2ton). He ended up needing to have the GM dealer change the entire gauge cluster. I guess it's not as simple as just pulling the old one out and replacing it with another.. Worth looking into anyway. Hope this helps.

Andrew

It is as simple as replacing the cluster if you have the cluster reprogrammed for the right milage.

 

[Rot Box]

I used a similar experience on my 2004 to upgrade to an escalade cluster that had an integrated trans temp gauge which you should have but didn't come standard on the 1500's.

That's a great idea Nuts, I wish wish I would have known my dad would really benefit from having the trans gauge when he pulls his trailer.

 

[Larry]

That is what I did when our 2004 Tahoe Z71 cluster went haywire. Rather than an Escalade cluster I got an exchange Silverado SS cluster from AJR that also has a trans temp gauge. The trans temp is straight plug and play. The Silverado SS cluster looks is more sporty with white face gauges rather than the jeweled blingy Escalade cluster.

Silverado SS

Bling bling ghetto cruiser Escalade cluster

 

[barefoot boy]

There are a number of places on the 'net that sell replacement stepper motors, and if you can solder, you can replace them yourself. There are Youtube videos showing exactly how to do it. It is recommended that you replace all 6 or 7 motors, as generally they will all eventually fail. In my 2003 2500HD, the only one that did not fail was the voltage gauge.