I have a small mom-and-pop business, supplying some stuff to retail stores, mostly hardware stores. My part-time helper and I were all set to go to the Daytona area stores this morning.

O-zero-dark-thirty a.m., I start the truck, glance at the gauges, and see twelve volts (battery voltage) on the voltmeter instead of the expected fourteen volts (alternator voltage).

Blech! The fix-it place that I use near my house doesn't open until 8:00 am. I'm pretty sure that there's at least one more engine start in the battery so I'll be waiting there for him. Trying to remember, I think he replaced the alternator and belt maybe a year ago. It will be in his computer records. If it's less than a year, at least the parts will be warrantied.

Got hold of my part-time guy before he left his house to meet me, thankfully he will be available day after tomorrow, so I don't really lose anything. Just rearrange the schedule, but I was up at 3:00 am this morning and I'll have to do it again on Thursday.

I've had a hell of a time with rebuilt/refurb alternators on my truck. First one lasted about three years and the second one just a year. After that I took it to the dealer and had a factory one installed. Hopefully that will last a while. The original factory alternator on the truck lasted for something like 15 years.

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Originally posted by Expert308:
I've had a hell of a time with rebuilt/refurb alternators on my truck. First one lasted about three years and the second one just a year. After that I took it to the dealer and had a factory one installed. Hopefully that will last a while. The original factory alternator on the truck lasted for something like 15 years.

False alarm.

I went to the truck fix-it place, they ran extensive diagnostics and found ... NOTHING WRONG! Alternator and regulator are doing their jobs. Battery is healthy. Why then, does the voltmeter on the instrument panel show very low voltage? Answer: faulty voltmeter.

I bought a cigarette lighter voltmeter, to double-check, and yup -- the system voltage is right where it should be.

It's my understanding that the gauges on this vehicle, 2001 GMC 3500, are not replaceable individually, the whole instrument cluster, fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, temperature gauge, voltmeter, and speedometer, are a cluster that is "replace the whole thing."

Not gonna do that, I understand that the part is in the neighborhood of five hundred bucks, plus labor to replace it. As long as everything else works, I'm content to save the money and just use the cigarette lighter voltmeter.

Nothing more to see here, y'all can move along to the next topic in the forum.

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It's my understanding that the gauges on this vehicle, 2001 GMC 3500, are not replaceable individually, the whole instrument cluster, fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, temperature gauge, voltmeter, and speedometer, are a cluster that is "replace the whole thing."

I don't know if yours falls into the same category, but my 2005 GMC had a gauge cluster with failing motors. In my case it started with the speedometer.

There's a few local guys here that rebuild them on site. Think it cost $250 or so. He came to me, pulled it, had a little van with his set up in the back, and 30 minutes later had it all back together.

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Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

It's my understanding that the gauges on this vehicle, 2001 GMC 3500, are not replaceable individually, the whole instrument cluster, fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, temperature gauge, voltmeter, and speedometer, are a cluster that is "replace the whole thing."

I don't know if yours falls into the same category, but my 2005 GMC had a gauge cluster with failing motors. In my case it started with the speedometer.

There's a few local guys here that rebuild them on site. Think it cost $250 or so. He came to me, pulled it, had a little van with his set up in the back, and 30 minutes later had it all back together.

Do he make house calls in Apopka?

I made a cigarette lighter plug with two banana plugs on it so I can jack my VOM into a lighter or accessory outlet on the cars.

Yep, those GM vehicles have an 'integrated' cluster. My son had one where the speedo broke. Had to take the whole thing out. It was a swap out and he did it himself. The part wasn't that expensive overall, but He had to fork out a 'core' charge to get the new part and then take a refund once the parts place had the old one. The other trick was getting his odometer reset. That was apparently part of the 'programming' they did to the replacement part before he got it.

Those clusters have a reputation of failing. When my Ranger had a cluster problem, I took it out and gave it to Hamp's Speedometer Repair in Alpharetta. Next day, fixed speedo, plus refluxed a few leads on some other gauges. Fifty bucks.

Try these guys:http://www.bobsspeedometer.com/1/120/index.asps:

Friends of mine, have had them do work for me since 1969 when they were in Detroit.

If you talk to Bruce (owner), Jeff or Denny tell them Joe from the GM dealership referred you.

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Originally posted by shovelhead:
Try these guys:http://www.bobsspeedometer.com/1/120/index.asps:

Friends of mine, have had them do work for me since 1969 when they were in Detroit.

If you talk to Bruce (owner), Jeff or Denny tell them Joe from the GM dealership referred you.

Thanks. I'll check with them. Telephone call is NG because hearing aids, I'll use the "Contact Us" form on the website.

Their site lists services for model years 2002 and newer. My GMC 3500 with the problem is 2001. I'll let them know that.

I live in Dayton, Ohio....lotsa retired gm workers here. (Inland, Delphi...) My 2004 gmc dash cost $150 to rebuild. Dropped it off at lunch, picked it up 4 hours later good as new. His little duplex house was freakin littered with dash units, I was afraid I was gonna get the wrong one. 5 bills sounds extreme, just a matter of finding the right guy.

You are still right though if it is not one thing, it is another.
I could do a whole thread by myself on the little things that have broken or gone wrong this last year, but it would sound like I made some of it up.