How to take the dash off?

[Andy Szkutak]

The other day i made a post about my overhead console thermo/compass going out once in awhile, as well as my dash lights....when i had my neons put in they ran a switch in the dash..is it possible they loosened something else up? and the other day i think it was Todd Z that said to take the dash off to check for loose wires. how do i remove the dash?? It's an '01.



Thanks

Andy

 

[Bill Ellis]

I believe that the owners manual cautions against certain electrical system mods because the electrical system monitor in the CPU might not be able to function properly after you've done the mods. Vehicles today aren't like they used to be. When you start adding devices to existing circuits no telling how that will effect the monitoring software. Could be something complex [CPU] or something as simple as a loose ground. Right now, given the symptoms, my money's on the CPU.

 

[Andy Szkutak]

what do i do?

 

[Bill Ellis]

Don't know how to remove entire dash, but panel beneath steering wheel comes off with screws you can see and one under hood release. After you get it apart enough to find add-on switch, disconnect your neons and see if problem goes away. Keep in mind that neons use a power supply that just might be inducing electrical noise into adjacent wires which then transmit that to the CPU. Unwanted signals [noise] can wreak havoc on digital devices such as the CPU. Most of the time though it's random and not repeatable when you want someone to look at it.