So I was driving my '02 WS6the other day on the highway and my gauges die. Radio and everything else still functional. I turn around to head back and get a different car, but decide to stop on the side of the road and try to restart it to see if it corrects the problem. The car won't even turn over or click when I turn the key. My first thought is alternator. Someone comes out to help and they test the fuses and the gauge cluster fuse was blown. Put the radio fuse in there to test and she starts right up. What is that gauge cluster fuse linked to that would cause the car to not fire when it's blown?

 

GAUGES fuse? My owners manual says BCM, BTSI, instrument cluster, DRL module.

 

I'm pretty sure he's talking about the instrument cluster. I think the reason you couldn't get the car started was the instrument cluster(aka guage cluster) acts as some kind of ground for the starter if I remember correctly.

 

Its a PCM issue. My 1998 would start up without the cluster but would idle so badly that there was no way to put it in "drive" and drive away, it would stall immediately. Put the cluster back in and it was perfect again.

It just wigs out the PCM and it can't function.

 

Yeah I was driving fine with the fuse blown. Maybe a little loss of power but I didn't notice because I was in 5th and 6th. And yeah. Meant instrument cluster.

 

I was told the PCM must be able to register mileage or it will not allow the engine to run properly. Since the guage cluster is the only place mileage is stored, there isn't any memory or anything stored in the PCM for mileage.