Hi everyone I'm new here but was wondering if anyone would be able to provide me with some insights into what is going on.

I have a 96 4cyl 2wd 4runner and everything on my dashboard has gone dead. No working speedometer, odometer, gas gauge, windshield wipers, fuel gauge, heater/ac blower, signals, or temperature gauge.

The dashboard lights work when I turn on my headlights.

Not sure if this has to do with fuses?

Any ideas to troubleshoot and if so how complex or expensive is it to fix something like this?

 

Also I should mention that this has been happening for almost 9 months now. Previously the problem was intermittent and would come and go and the vehicle would also run rough during the time I was experiencing the issue... so I took the 4runner in to a mechanic. They changed my spark plugs and distributor which seemed to fix the problem at the time but I don't think it was the root cause.

Now the instrument cluster is completely out but the engine runs fine.

thanks for any feedback.

 

First thing i would suggest is to check the fuses if the cluster is completely dead. The next thing would be the contacts that the instrument cluster uses to connect to the rest of the system. I can't speak from experience about a 4runner, but my old Jeep Cherokee had this same issue. I resolved it by slightly bending the contacts the instrument cluster uses and adding some dielectric grease to them. Solved the issue on the Jeep.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'll check that out and post if I have any success.