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2000 Durango - Gear Indicator out

11K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  TazRango 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

I just purchased a 2000 Durango, and noticed that the digital gear indicator does not light up most of the time (the letters and the box around the selected gear). Occasionally when parked or in the middle of a drive, it may come on for a minute or so but more often than not, it does not light up. When it does light up, whichever gear I am in, or shifting through, is accurately selected. The digital odometer lights up, and all of the lights for the other non-digital gauges are functioning.

Has anyone had this problem before, or know how this could be fixed?

Thank you! :wave:
 
#2 ·
The whole indicator goes out? Or does the PRND21 show up but the indicator box does not?

If the PRND21 is there but the indicator is not, then it's either a bad sensor in the transmission or a loose/bad connector. If the whole thing isn't lighting up and it comes on randomly, it could be a broken solder connection or failing component on the cluster circuit board.

There is no separate fuse for that display - however, it does get its data feed from a separate computer (the TCM). So if the PRND21 is there just with no box, it's also possible the TCM is failing or losing power. Does the transmission shift properly through all four gears? Do you have any codes? Is the Check Engine light on? You can check for codes by turning the key (starting at OFF) ON-OFF-ON-OFF-ON (landing at ON) and watch the odometer. It will flash out P codes separated by ------. At the end (or if there are no codes) it will say PdonE.
 
#4 ·
The PRND21 and the selector box is, most of the time, completely off. Not just the selector box - it's the whole display. Once in a while it will come on, either mid-drive or when I first start the truck and will accurately reflect the gear I am in. But most of the time it isn't on.

The transmission shifts properly through all gears and the check engine light is off. No other irregular displays are on. I tried the key-turning method you told me to try to get pcodes. It simply showed the mileage, the three dashes (---), then Pdone. Nothing between.
 
#3 ·
My truck does the from time to time. It's usually either neutral or sometimes reverse. Quite often it does it when I put it in 1 because I live on a terrible road and this makes going slow downhill easy. Also my O/D OFF light comes on when I'm accelerating hard 99% of the time, but O/D is still on. The indicator lights have been doing that since I got it. The O/D OFF thing didn't start until the Superchips install. It's also kinda rough about shifting into reverse, and there is no interlock/block off for reverse or park. No codes though....
 
#5 ·
Yeah then I think it's a safe bet that it's an issue with the cluster. Do you notice that it comes on after you hit a bump/rough patch/if you hit it? Or is it completely random? Rough patch indicates a broken solder connection, which is relatively easy to fix - once you find it. Completely random indicates an electronic problem, which in the absence of special tools, a schematic and test point values will be next to impossible to fix.
 
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