2003 town and country van tach and speedometer stuck 360 out after battery lost power?

Answer 1

I have a 2006 T&C that just did the same thing when I replaced the engine battery. Somewhere incident to the battery replacement there was a 'surge' (probably when the new one was connected) that flipped the needle beyond it's halfway point. It's own weight and momentum caused it to 'fall' the rest of the way around the dial so it is now 'stuck' behind or under the little nub on the gauge that it used to rest on. Mechanically, this problem does nothing to the performance of the vehicle, and the gauge is not broken. The trick is getting the needle back around the dial to its' starting point (where it was before this happened). There was a time this could be accomplished with a magnet. Now that the needles themselves are no longer magnetized (because an electromagnetic assembly deep behind the dash is) that approach won't work. There are three possible solutions that I know of. 1. - Remove the trim and clear piece of lexan over the gauges and simply rotate the needle back to origin. ($$ at the dealer, time, and risk of left over pieces when you put it back together - at least if I did it myself). 2. - Fish a small piece of wire through the hole around the trip reset button on the dash and work it over to the tachometer needle and delicately rotate it around to origin. (No $$ DIY, but frustrating - Bonus, no left over pieces : but that applies only to me) 3. - Drill a small hole in the lexan on the dash over the gauge itself and try to access the needle that way to rotate it back to origin. You can then fill the hole with a drop of gel superglue. (This idea came from a mechanic friend.) Personally, I don't know which option I will try to use to get it fixed. But now you have a better idea of what the problem is (and isn't). Good Luck.

Another solution - no drilling required. 1. Park on a level surface, and set the parking brake. 2. Remove the trim piece directly below the gauges. It just snaps in place. 3. Remove the two screws from above the gauges. 4. Lift out the cowl. You might need to adjust the angle of the steering wheel, or shift out of park (Did you remember to set the parking brake?) to do this. 5. Remove the screws around the instrument cluster. 6. Remove the instrument cluster, and unplug the cable that comes out of the back of it. 7. While looking at the gauges, rotate the entire instrument cluster. The gauges will follow gravity. 8. Reinstall. Solution #2 is a much better method.