2012 Model; My center display that shows the odometer, outside temp, gas mileage etc keeps going dark for days or weeks. Then one day you'll start the car and it's working perfectly and will for some time. Then drops out again. Oddly, when it is dark the push to start illumination works on it, just nothing else once you start the car.

So I'm sure nothing is wrong with the display itself since when it is up it works perfectly. At first I thought I might need a ribbon harness, but I'd think a crack in the ribbon lead wouldn't come back and work fine for days. And I've never noticed a big bump or any vibration affecting it. I'd like to leave tearing into the dash as a last resort, especially since I don't know what to chase.

Any of you guys know any fuses or connections outside the inner dash I could check or connect and reconnect in case it's just a corroded connection? Or any knowledge of the connection path to this display?

 

More than likely you have some LED's that are either dying or the solder joints are failing. It is a common problem on these gauge clusters. My speedo sometimes flickers more than the mirror ball at Studio 54 while other times it acts "normal." The repair will involve disassembling the gauge cluster, removing that middle LCD panel and either replacing LED's or salvaging a LCD panel from a junkyard cluster and swapping that over.

This thread details the process.

 

Had a similar problem with my wife's Jeep. There was a folder she threw up on the dash and covered the light sensor that dims the display and turns on the lights. Just a thought.

 

Well, the display in question is a LCD, so LED problems are not more likely the issue.

 

The LCD panel is back-lit by LED's. These clusters have a proven history of LED flicker/failure.

It is highly unlikely the ribbon cables are failing. Possible, yes... probable, no.

Either way, replace the whole cluster or crack it open and investigate- repair or replace accordingly/ as you see fit.

 

Sounds like it could be temperature or humidity related. I could see flickering if you had some solder joints acting up but not the entire cluster for black. I would probably pull the cluster and see if you can find the primary power feeds and grounds. It sure seems to me that is where you are more likely to find the problem. Possibly some corrosion on the ground or power feeds.

 

In OP's case, it is his enter display acting up, not the entire cluster going out. For me, it is a portion of the speedo flickering like the disco ball at 54. Others have had a hodge podge of different portions of the cluster flickering/ dying. It is obvious there are bad soldering joints in some clusters and all years seem to be affected, albeit sporadically.

The options are the same: repair or replace. Unfortunately, I have the soldering skills of a bull in a china shop so I deal with it, for now... Luckily for the OP, the center LCD display can be easily swapped out with very little surgery involved and no soldering skills needed.

If only that damn TPMS LED would croak...

 

Yeah, I haven't had any flickering, just dropping out.

The most interesting part is that the initial "Push to Start" illumination always works. And it covers a good amount of the whole display when it shows. It's just the different data displays that aren't there. You know, the stuff you can scroll through. So when it's acting up, the push to start shows up on the display like always, but once the car starts it's all black. So I'm left wondering why there's a different source for the "Push to Start" and the rest of the info.

And of course as soon as I posted this it's been working perfect for almost a week now.

 

Gotcha! So, I might have misinterpreted your symptoms... In other words when the problem occurs (car ON), there is no information being displayed at all on the center screen? It lights up fine, but the screen is blank?

The "Push to Start" message is initiated by the cluster itself. That message does not rely on any signals from the car to show up. Once the car is ON, the cluster/center display receives info from the AV COM, BCM, AC AMP, and other systems:

The cluster has a built-in diagnostic function that you can try. It is very limited but worth a shot:


Unfortunately, diagnosing further will be next to impossible here online. The problem could be the cluster, the amp, wiring, etc. Maybe others will have additional suggestions.