Speedometer/Tachometer Died

[Markel]

'94 Altima. Not sure what happened. They were working fine. My son backed the car out of the garage to get the lawn mower out. When we go to run an errand, the speedometer, tachometer, odometer, and temperature gauge are all dead. Checked all the fuses - no such luck. My son said when he was backing the car out, he went from neutral to park while the car was still rolling a bit (and he thought the tach might have died then). If it was just the speedometer/odometer, I would figure something in the cable from the transmission (is this still how they work? last time I had to bother with that was on my '76 Saab). But the tachometer has to be a completely different connection. Any suggestions?

[mechmike0034]

All are probably electric on that vehicle - I doubt it even has a speedometer cable. I would suspect a dead instrument cluster or a problem with cluster power or ground since mulitple gauges are affected.

[uncledaddy]

Check main fuses under hood. Use test light to check (including under dash) as merely looking to see if the fuses have blown can throw you off. Shifting while still rolling won't damage speedo cables. I believe this model uses an electronic cluster, so if all gauges are out then suspect electrical component driving these gauges. Hope this helps.

[mechmike0034]

Does this vehicle have a heads-up display (speedo/gauges "projected" on the inside of the windshield)? My research has determined that speedo head and heads-up display module failures are common on these vehicles. This of course does not mean that this is your exact problem, but I felt it worth noting.
Corrosion on the underside of the underhood fusebox has also been noted. I point this out because of your geographic location as you live in an area where this could potentially be an issue as well.

[Markel]

Does this vehicle have a heads-up display (speedo/gauges "projected" on the inside of the windshield)? My research has determined that speedo head and heads-up display module failures are common on these vehicles. This of course does not mean that this is your exact problem, but I felt it worth noting.
Corrosion on the underside of the underhood fusebox has also been noted. I point this out because of your geographic location as you live in an area where this could potentially be an issue as well.

No HUD. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Markel]

I got the car back from my mechanic last night. It took them a while. Their first diagnosis was a bad instrument cluster in the dash, which was going to be $350 to fix (with a used part). When they got the part, it didn't fix the problem. They ended up tracing it to a bad relay not providing sufficient power. Replacing the relay fixed the issue (they only ended up charging me $100).

[uncledaddy]

Thats what I thought may be cause. Why I stated to check electrical components driving gauges. Glad ya got it working.