"Locked"-Instrument Panel-Gauges Die

[Scott Geyer]

Guys,
Last year my gauges were suddenly dying when i was driving. I ended up putting some spacers on the instrument panel to move it away from the bar. That worked, but the other day it did it again. I don't lose any power, just all the gauges. One thing i did notice this time, is a "Lock" appears on the display area of the instrument panel. Is that the theft mode suddenly going on? If so, is there a way to disconnect that? Any feedback would be great.

 

[Traé]

VATS “Vehicle Anti Theft System” can be turned off with HP Tuners if you have it.
Not sure about the intermittent gauge issue. May be bad grounds or a loose connection somewhere. Can you wiggle any connections on the gauge cluster or BCM and cause it to malfunction?

 

[Gtstorey]

HPT can’t be turned off by HPT on the turbo SS cars. Lock might be caused by the bad connection on the low speed data network which also feeds all of the data to the cluster.

 

[Scott Geyer]

Where would I find the connector for the low speed data network?

 

[Scott Geyer]

Also, if needed. How would you go about replacing the connector to the gauge cluster?

 

[Ark :D]

Low speed data network is all the green wires, joined together. Remember cutting the junction box out of the harness? Those wires.

 

[Scott Geyer]

I bought Lonnys Goblin. My mechanical skills are limited. Luckily I’ve got some buddy’s who are mechanics and all of you guys. I thought the problem was fixed last year. It’s got to be something besides the crimped wires at the gauge cluster, since I fixed that

 

[Ark :D]

I bought Lonnys Goblin. My mechanical skills are limited. Luckily I’ve got some buddy’s who are mechanics and all of you guys. I thought the problem was fixed last year. It’s got to be something besides the crimped wires at the gauge cluster, since I fixed that

Oh. I would expect Lonny's car to be a pristine example of a build, so it's probably not a wiring issue. I'd see if you can source another gauge cluster and see if it happens with that one, too.

 

[Gtstorey]

Not sure I would agree that this probably not a wiring problem. The connections all through the car have been messed with much more than they are really designed for and eventually they can have trouble making good contact. Or it could be damage to the cluster connector that has shown back up.

Is this an intermittent problem or continuous one?

First step would be to get a good diagnostic scanner on it that will read all modules, And probably best if it is tech2. But any good one with bidirectional control would likely sort this out fairly quickly if it is a continuous problem. If intermittent it might be harder to track down a loose connection.

 

[Scott Geyer]

It’s back in locked mode after starting yesterday when I put in a couple spacers. The lock symbol comes on, gauges won’t move and the low fuel display flashes. This is frustrating

 

[ah.b.normal]

My vote is bad ground. I had written out a bunch more about broken LAN's but realized I need to leave that stuff to the electricians here. Bad grounds seem to dominate(IMO) because oxidation/corrosion never sleeps. And computers are really intolerant about (added resistance in any circuit)bad/dirty grounds.

 

[Ross]

My vote is a Canbus issue. Maybe run some tests on it to see if it has 60 ohms.

 

[Scott Geyer]

I’m going to scan it and see if anything comes up. From the research I’ve done, a bad BCM does have similar issues that I’m having??

 

[Gtstorey]

My vote is a Canbus issue. Maybe run some tests on it to see if it has 60 ohms.

I’m not sure how much of the vats uses the high speed data but the test are simple enough to do as a check.

 

[Scott Geyer]

I was hoping to be able to disable the VATS, but from what I’ve read, you can’t do that?

 

[Gtstorey]

I’m going to scan it and see if anything comes up. From the research I’ve done, a bad BCM does have similar issues that I’m having??

You are a long way from diagnosing a bad bcm. If a scan doesn’t tell you anything (and again you need something other than a “p code” scanner to really do it, the next step is to expose all of the wiring connections at the bcm, ECM
and fuse box for a “wiggle” test. It would also be
a good idea to check and make sure all of the relays and fuses are seated correctly.

 

[Gtstorey]

I was hoping to be able to disable the VATS, but from what I’ve read, you can’t do that?

First step is to add in your signature what your donor is. I don’t remember whether Lonny’s was a turbo or supercharger.

The vats won’t make the rest of the gauges not work, so you will still have problems anyway.

 

[Scott Geyer]

I bought it with a supercharger, but have now replaced it with a ZZP turbo and I will definitely check the wires at the BCM

 

[Gtstorey]

It’s not the supercharger or turbo that is important, it’s what the donor ECM and other wiring/diagrams that come into play that is important. Vats can be turned off with HPT on any cobalt that came stock with a supercharger.

Not that I think that’s the solution to your problem.

 

[Scott Geyer]

I agree. If the vats is removed then it can’t lock the car. A buddy who built his Goblin is going to come by