TravisCombs
Junior Member
Hi all,
I have a 2010 Ram 1500 that I bought used in 2013. A few months back, I noticed that the EVIC screen (or whatever it's referred to as - the screen in the middle of the instrument cluster with mileage, radio station, etc.) got darker. The best way I can describe it is it looks like the backlight has two "zones" - the bottom and the top, and the top seemed like it went out. The entire screen was readable, but the bottom was brighter than the top, with the top not being nearly as bright as it was.
Fast forward to maybe a week or two ago, and it seems maybe the bottom light went out too. Essentially, the middle screen would appear to be completely off to the untrained eye. It is next to impossible to read anything on it, even when I shined a bright flashlight to it. For awhile I thought the entire thing maybe did die, but I was parked in the sun the other day and could ever-so-slightly see the mileage on the screen when I opened the driver door, which suggests the screen still "functions", you just can't see it because of the light.
I'm an IT guy but I'm ignorant with vehicles. Outside of oil changes and opening the air filter cover to say "Hmm, looks good", I'm useless with auto repair. I thought maybe it might be fuse-related. I looked at the owner's manual for the fuse descriptions, but a lot of them don't make sense to me because of the heavy use of acronyms. Is it possible that a fuse went bad? And if so, what should I look for?
For what it's worth, in the 6 years I've owned it, there have been a slight handful of times where that EVIC screen did not appear to power on with the truck (no Dodge logo, no mileage shown, etc., just blank), but it would fix itself the next time I started the truck and would work for months-years without another issue. Unknown if the entire screen truly didn't come on in these cases, or if it was somehow a similar issue with the backlighting.
Also for what it's worth, I think once or twice since this recent incident where the screen essentially stopped working, the screen did briefly flash on before it went out again, suggesting it *may* be possible to bring it back to life? Is it possibly some sort of loose connection somewhere?
If it helps, my truck is the Big Horn package with the "Premium" instrument cluster (as described by the manual; the one with 6 analog gauges). Everything else on the instrument cluster works - all gauges respond correctly, and all lights seem to cycle when starting the truck. Even the three sectioned-off screens under the EVIC seem to function (low gas, cruise control, etc.). It's just the "main" screen.
I have a 2010 Ram 1500 that I bought used in 2013. A few months back, I noticed that the EVIC screen (or whatever it's referred to as - the screen in the middle of the instrument cluster with mileage, radio station, etc.) got darker. The best way I can describe it is it looks like the backlight has two "zones" - the bottom and the top, and the top seemed like it went out. The entire screen was readable, but the bottom was brighter than the top, with the top not being nearly as bright as it was.
Fast forward to maybe a week or two ago, and it seems maybe the bottom light went out too. Essentially, the middle screen would appear to be completely off to the untrained eye. It is next to impossible to read anything on it, even when I shined a bright flashlight to it. For awhile I thought the entire thing maybe did die, but I was parked in the sun the other day and could ever-so-slightly see the mileage on the screen when I opened the driver door, which suggests the screen still "functions", you just can't see it because of the light.
I'm an IT guy but I'm ignorant with vehicles. Outside of oil changes and opening the air filter cover to say "Hmm, looks good", I'm useless with auto repair. I thought maybe it might be fuse-related. I looked at the owner's manual for the fuse descriptions, but a lot of them don't make sense to me because of the heavy use of acronyms. Is it possible that a fuse went bad? And if so, what should I look for?
For what it's worth, in the 6 years I've owned it, there have been a slight handful of times where that EVIC screen did not appear to power on with the truck (no Dodge logo, no mileage shown, etc., just blank), but it would fix itself the next time I started the truck and would work for months-years without another issue. Unknown if the entire screen truly didn't come on in these cases, or if it was somehow a similar issue with the backlighting.
Also for what it's worth, I think once or twice since this recent incident where the screen essentially stopped working, the screen did briefly flash on before it went out again, suggesting it *may* be possible to bring it back to life? Is it possibly some sort of loose connection somewhere?
If it helps, my truck is the Big Horn package with the "Premium" instrument cluster (as described by the manual; the one with 6 analog gauges). Everything else on the instrument cluster works - all gauges respond correctly, and all lights seem to cycle when starting the truck. Even the three sectioned-off screens under the EVIC seem to function (low gas, cruise control, etc.). It's just the "main" screen.
