Next up was the gauge cluster - as with most of these, it had failing parts. The gas gauge didn't work correctly - partly because I need to replace the sending unit in both gas tanks (yup! This has the extended fuel capacity setup with one large and one small tank) - partly because the gauge itself was failing. The sending unit doesnt register anything when the tanks are full - but it starts to register at 3/4 tank. The old gauge would stick at 3/4 tank until you had driven enough to get down near 1/2 tank, and then restarted (repowered) the gauge cluster. So, I got ahold of Carl at fixmygauges.com who was awesome and provided an excellent looking custom cluster. I went with black Escalade faces, white LED's, and red pointers for a clean, simple look that hopefully wont stick out too badly until I can convert the rest of the dash lights to white or blue LED's.
Here's the old gauge cluster. The digital portion was also failing - if it turned on at all, it would only show me overall odometer and "Trip A" which, I believe, means this was the incorrect gauge cluster for a 2500 Suburban. Half the bulbs were out as well.
After pulling it, I found out that this was actually a Denso remanufactured unit - so definitely not the original cluster.
This is a crazy simple swap, for those that haven't done it. It took me 15 minutes and I hadn't ever been inside the dash of a GMT800. All you really need is a 7mm socket, a nut driver or long extension, and if your dash surround is stubborn, something to pry it off with. I was able to get mine off even with my damaged hands. A little tip; turn the key to the ACC position and drop the shifter down all the way. Makes getting everything out much easier.
VERY happy with the results - much better to look at and really improved the driver experience for me. Also very satisfied with Carl at Fixmygauges.com - I know he's semi-retired now but as long as he is still turning these out, I'll recommend them to everyone I know that has a 99-2013 truck and is having gauge issues or just wants a change. Bonus win? The bottom steering wheel control buttons (fuel economy, personalization, etc - they were missing from my Suburban when I got it) that I stole out of my LS swap donor Yukon work perfectly now that the new cluster is installed, and instead of "Trip A" and "Trip B" its "Personal" and "Business" which works perfectly since I do travel for work.
