Haunted dash electrical question.................

[Drock]

*Disclaimer* Electrical is NOT my thing. So about 2 months ago my GEN2 light dimly lit, and not sure if it was at the same time? But I noticed shortly after my gauge lights stopped working. Well tonight, at the end of a 100 mile trip the gauge lights came on and the GEN2 light is out? I'd tried cleaning the ground above the floor vent, and wiggled every wire I could reach from under the dash. Could this be an issue with the printed circuit board on the back of the gauges?

 

[Bighorn]

All three of my Blazers have had issues with that circuit board.
#1 the dash light dimmer (twisting light switch) rheostats get crunchy on blazers.
Twist that a few dozen times and see if your dash lights brighten and dim smoothly or if they flicker in certain spots.

The dash light bulb sockets can be removed from that printed plastic overlay, socket and all, by twisting and the copper parts of the prongs can be refreshed and even gently bent up to provide a tighter contact.
It can be tricky to get them out without removing the dash but most of them can be removed that way.
The Gen 2 light is troubling though.
Sounds like you would be best served removing the dash and going through everything back there.
It is somewhat easy on the M1009 compared to the civilian models with stereos.
Sounds like your long trip shook something that was making poor contact and restored it a enough to solve the issue.
But it will most likely be back if that is the case.
I would attack it before it gets you.

 

[Drock]

*Update* As of this morning the gauge lights are still working, but ten minutes into my drive the GEN2 light is back on. Can I just buy a new printed circuit board?

 

[joshuak]

Cleaning the board is option, not a bad job to do. The stickies has good threads on cleaning and repairing intrument clusters.

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?123199-CUCV-Helpful-Threads

 

[sneekyeye]

Before you buy a new circuit, check to see if the alternator isn't in fact going bad and causing the light to come on. Check the output voltage at the battery when the light is on and it's running