Have a '04 Accord EX Coupe that has hit one of New Jersey's notorious "sinkholes" on Interstate 80. Besides the tire and rim that were destroyed, the entire dashboard no longer lights up. Everything comes on as it should when the key is first inserted....then fades to black as soon as the key is turned to the on position. Have been told that it is the "multiplexer" that shorted out and have been told by a Honda dealer that its the "gauge module" thats shot. The "module" comes at a cost ot $500. I need some advice and imput from the experts on the board before i consider shelling out the bucks.

Any help will be appreceiated.

 

i have seen this before, but without actually getting in the car and testing some things, i cant tell you one way or another. i'll tell you that the gauge cluster is not cheap. $500 seems just about right from the ones i have replaced. you may want to see if they can find you a used one, i've done that before and have gotten them for around $100. then they can install it and just rewrite the mileage onto the new one.

hope it works out for ya

...skeeter...

 

Yeah skeeter I was kinda hopin that $500 was on the high side but guess not, thanx. Strange though how they all come on when the keys inserted, then.....poof!!

Anyone know of junkyards for this year honda in or around NE PA, or NJ???

 

so your looking for just the cluster? they are pretty cheap on ebay, less than 100 shipped for some. and if you are gonna get the mileage rewritten anyways, the mileage on the cluster you buy dont matter and the higher the mileage, the cheaper they are. =P

 

yeah that does seem kinda odd, but if one of the internal components is fried, it would make sense that it shut down after the bulb check function finishes.

anyways, im almost positive that that year can be rewritten with the ODO reading. i know this happened to me more on the V6Hybrid version of that body style. any more info i find i will pass along to you

cheers

...skeeter...

 

Thanx guys, thats good info.
I was just wondering (which can be dangerous) if its actually the cluster i should thinking of replacing or should it be the component thats creating to situation? Unfortunately I haven't done much of any back-probing and such on Honda....until now. Are there any test that can be performed or is this way over the top??
Again, anything help. **Its kinda tough using an OBD scanner to see how fast your going**

 

you can borrow a friends cluster to see how it works in your car after you start it and stuff, if it doesnt turn off, then its your cluster, if it does turn off, its notthe cluster. =P

 

i wish i had a better solution that this one, but in all honesty it was what i was gonna tell you to do next. situations like this are the reason i kept 3 different clusters around (accord, civic, element) all with dead fuel gauges, to test for stuff.

there is a self test for this cluster I THINK. im still trying to rumage around and find the procedure for it. but again, that may run through the blub check function of the cluster, so it really wont tell you anything.

no there is no way to just replace or test the components of the cluster. when i said something in there might have fried im talking on the capacitor and resistor level. i mean, sure, you can go through every resistor on the back of the board with a mmultimeter and test it, but its seriously not worth it. and also almost impossible to repolace unless you are a "soldering machine"!!!

good luck
cheers
...skeeter...

 

Damn, you guys are giving me all the wrong answers..(hehehe). Yeah...kinda thought it would wind up at this point. I'll see what i can quickly get my paws on to check it. I'll post what i find.
THANX for all the help!!