Jessica Hatch Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Sorry if this has already been posted a lot but i couldn't find anything on it on hear. But my I got a 99 el dorado give to me that was my grandpas and the digital dash board doesn't work and I have no I idea where to start. I thought it may be a fuse but I couldn't figure out which one to check by just using the owners manual. Please Help???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 First check and see if the brightness is turned way down? Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Go to the bottom of my post here and read How to retrieve DTC codes and do that and write down all the numbers that comes up on the DIC. I am hoping that at least your dash will display those codes. You may get some IP codes that will help us know what is wrong. If you can snap a photo of it, post it here if you can. I tried searching for one but was not successful. The 97 I am working on has an analog dash, I am a bit surprised to hear that your dash is all digital. Is the entire panel blacked out, can you see anything at all fuel level, temp, speed, etc? Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Hatch Posted April 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 First check and see if the brightness is turned wa Go to the bottom of my post here and read How to retrieve DTC codes and do that and write down all the numbers that comes up on the DIC. I am hoping that at least your dash will display those codes. You may get some IP codes that will help us know what is wrong. If you can snap a photo of it, post it here if you can. I tried searching for one but was not successful. The 97 I am working on has an analog dash, I am a bit surprised to hear that your dash is all digital. Is the entire panel blacked out, can you see anything at all fuel level, temp, speed, etc? Yes, the entire panel is blacked out and you can not see anything on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Hmmm, not being able to read the codes is a bit of a problem. My guess is that codes and info come up on your digital dash (can someone confirm that that has a 99 ELDO). Not being able to read the codes is a bit of a problem. You need to find someone with a TECH 2 or Snap-On Modis that can read the codes for you. Digital dashes can go bad, but as you noted you could have a fuse, power supply or ground problem. I only have 91, 94 and 96 service manuals. I need to get my electronic service manual up and running again. Hopefully someone with a 99 service manual will check their manual to see the diagnostic tree for a blacked out IPC. In the mean time call around to area repair shops and ask them if they have the ability to read ALL codes (besides the P codes, P stands for powertrain). You need IP codes. You should not have to pay a shop for them to simply plug in their scanner to your DTC port and check for codes. If they want to charge you say no and drive out.. If you are lucky, maybe your local Cadillac dealer will help you out and plug a TECH 2 scanner in for you.. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Check for a fuse box in the trunk on the driver's side. You may have to remove the back panel of the trunk to see the electronics boxes mounted behind it. On the inside of the lid of the fuse box there is often a diagram of which fuses do what. Look for a fuse marked 'cluster' or similar. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Hatch Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Check for a fuse box in the trunk on the driver's side. You may have to remove the back panel of the trunk to see the electronics boxes mounted behind it. On the inside of the lid of the fuse box there is often a diagram of which fuses do what. Look for a fuse marked 'cluster' or similar. thanks for all your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Just for the heck of it try disconnecting the battery and waiting a few minutes and reconnecting it. Completely free and worth a shot GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 I'm looking at my 1997 model year schematics, which are probably OK for your car. There are a few interesting things you can check right now. First, does the car start and run normally? When you first turn the key on, does the instrument panel light up all the lights for a few seconds? Does the PRNDL light show you which gear you are in? Is the radio display OK or is it dark too? If any of these things work OK then the instrument panel itself is working, it's just the lights. The trunk compartment fuse block is accessed by pulling back the trunk liner at the hinge on the driver's side. The fuses to look for are a 20 Amp CLUSTER FUSE, a 10 Amp RLY IGN1 FUSE, and a 10 Amp IGN0-BODY FUSE. The door lock switch on the driver's side shares the ground with the instrument panel cluster. If you can use this switch to lock and unlock the doors, the ground is good. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Hatch Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 I'm looking at my 1997 model year schematics, which are probably OK for your car. There are a few interesting things you can check right now. First, does the car start and run normally? When you first turn the key on, does the instrument panel light up all the lights for a few seconds? Does the PRNDL light show you which gear you are in? Is the radio display OK or is it dark too? If any of these things work OK then the instrument panel itself is working, it's just the lights. The trunk compartment fuse block is accessed by pulling back the trunk liner at the hinge on the driver's side. The fuses to look for are a 20 Amp CLUSTER FUSE, a 10 Amp RLY IGN1 FUSE, and a 10 Amp IGN0-BODY FUSE. The door lock switch on the driver's side shares the ground with the instrument panel cluster. If you can use this switch to lock and unlock the doors, the ground is good. The car runs great, I had to get a new battery. When i first turn the key nothing happens and it is still black. There is absolutely nothing showing when i start the car or anything. Okay, i will check those things out and let you all know the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 I would have to check but if the instrument panel module wasn't working then the car wouldn't start. No "segment test" which is all the lights coming on when you first turn on the key means that the lights are out. If the PRND21 indicator is working that's one of the three fuses that is OK, but you are saying that even that is dark. Checking to see if the electric door locks works will tell us whether the ground is good or not because that shares a ground with the instrument panel. The fact that you had a new battery is a big clue. Note rockfangd suggested that you disconnect the battery for a few seconds and see if that resets a locked-up computer somewhere; that kind of thing can happen with a low battery because the voltage drops when you start the car, and if it goes below about 9 Volts everything can go funny all over the car. If the new battery doesn't make things work better, look at the three fuses I named. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted April 18, 2013 Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 New battery -- now my money is on the positive battery cable is not clean and tightly connected. Take the battery cable off the battery post, and look at how the various parts come together on it. Clean them each off, then re-assemble to the battery and see if the dash comes on. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted April 18, 2013 Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 Thank you Bruce. I was assuming that replacing the battery would include cleaning the terminals, which is my bad. I once had a battery replaced and the guys at the shop were touting themselves as Northstar experts and talking about how they could change my starter no sweat. I got home and found that they had *not* cleaned my battery cables, and that there was tons of corrosion between the spades in the positive terminal, much of which was clearly visible when you looked at the terminal, much less took it off to change the battery and put it back on. I cleaned pulled out all the spades and cleaned between them as well as around them and put it back together, cleaned the ground cable, and had no further trouble. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted April 18, 2013 Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 I cant even begin to stress the random problems that can be caused by battery connections and battery state. And even once in awhile they just need to be reset. There are so many electronics controlled at once and things happen GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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