2006 Dodge Ram Tachometer fix

I've been putting up with my inaccurate tach on my 2006 Ram for a couple years. It normally reads about 300 RPM low and sometimes jumps up and down. I finally found the solution on the cumminsforum.com forum. (see link below).
The 2006's suffered from a cold solder joint on a couple chips in the instrument cluster. The fix is to re-flow the solder on those chips and add some shims to keep the board from flexing.
cumminsforum.com link:
www.cumminsforum.com/forum/3rd...

[@davepeterson3860]

This was great. three years and two clusters later and works like new now. THANKS BIG TIME

[@sfcmcgan]

Great video.. I have found (on 4 separate clusters so far) that re-flowing the solder has been unnecessary. I just use 2 rubber grommets or O-rings on the 2 screws as spacers. All function as they should now! Your video was what got me started so thank you!!! Keep the vids coming!

[@CodyPatt1]

Followed your directions to a T and low and behold, my 06 3500 is showing RPMs again. You the man!!

[@willjohnson2449]

7 years later and you just saved me some money! I greatly appreciate the detail you put into it. Thanks!!!

[@billlibbers7576]

My tachometer was not at the correct idle. It would fluctuate and fall to zero. Took my cluster out and checked all the solder points but couldn't find any issues. I did the electrical tape spacers like you did and it fixed the issue! Thank you so much for posting this video!

[@MrNickthedick28]

HOLY SHIT! Thank you thank you thank you! I’ve been plagued by this issue on and off for 2 years. I finally came across this video and followed your directions. I just finished up and guess what? Problem solved!

[@joesweeny3928]

Seven years since posting and it’s still helping out others.

[@explorewithjosh]

RAM tachometer issue solved after following your instructions. Thanks so much!!

[@JeffinTD]

Great job! A lot of folks don’t cover shimming the mount holes. That slight flex of the pcb, plus vibration and hot/cold cycles is likely what caused the original solder to let go.

[@JeepAddict]

Just did this to my 06 Mega Cab Cummins and it worked! You are amazing! I even accidentally bridged three of them together when my arm slipped, took the iron back to them and used a tooth pick to separate and reshape and cant even tell I did it. THANK YOU SIR!!!

[@rareearthfab5511]

The tach on my dash spun all the way around and the needle rested against the back side of the pin. Been there pretty much for a year. Performed the instrumentation check and tach ran backwards through the movement. I watched this video and followed Marc's instruction. Took about 45 minutes from start to finish and worked like a charm!!! Thanks Marc for posting!

[@4worleys]

Rich Lynch Hello Rich Lynch. I have the same issue w/my 2006 Dodge 3500. My tach needle spins all the way around and gets suck on the wrong end of the pin. Did you simply remove the instument panel and manually spin the needle back? If that's the case, I'll follow the instructions and give it a shot. Thanks, Mike

[@rareearthfab5511]

mike worley No, not quite that easy. It requires you to be able to re-solder a couple of chips on a printed circuit board. If you watch Marc's video it is extremely detailed as to what you need to do. If you don't feel that you can handle the soldering part of the job there has to be an electronics repair place locally that could handle the soldering for you. The video demonstrates the removal of the instrument cluster in detail and the whole thing including the soldering took me maybe 45 minutes. It's nice to see the tach doing it's job again after the last year of looking at it pegged to the back of the stop.

[@tonycook6817]

@@rareearthfab5511 this is EXACTLY the problem I'm having/have had for many months now. I'm going to give it a shot next time I take the time to pull is back out. Thank you so much for specifying the problem you had. I'm going to save this so I can respond with (hopefully) good results.

[@rareearthfab5511]

Tony Cook Repair still going strong! Truck now at 180,000!

[@cliffivie6808]

Great video, thanks for all the detailed instruction. Just finished doing my truck and the tach works like a champ. Thanks again.

[@hbprop]

This was an OUTSTANDING instructional video and best of all is that IT WORKED!!!!!! I followed everything along with the video including using the iPad as an inspection tool. I can whole heartedly recommend this to anyone with the same problem. Thanks Marc, I would gladly buy you a beer and say "thanks"!

[@wossname1952]

just found this today and followed it for my 2006 ram. Thanks soooo much for what you took the time to do!!!

[@chrischerm2354]

Thanks Marc!!! My tachometer has not worked since I owned my truck. I followed your video and I now have a working tachometer.Thanks again for saving me $$$.

[@jetskiertx]

Just finished my '06 and I appreciate it! Worked perfectly and followed your instructions exactly! THANKS!!!!

[@teledunc]

Awesome!! Just did this on my 6spd 2006 mega cab, everything went just as you showed and now I finally have a working tach for the first time!

[@callie6460]

Hats off to Marc. Thank you very much sir for sharing this information. I performed this fix and it worked perfectly. I did have to drop the steering wheel on mine to get instrument panel out. Four bolts loosened about 1/2 inch, no worries. 2006 Dodge Ram Diesel Mega cab. Thanks a lot!!!

[@scapflci]

Did this last weekend, so far totally fixed my truck. Fantastic video thanks!

[@Jboden5636]

Wow, the re-soldering was easier then I thought. It worked for me. Thanks for the video.

[@chas6444]

Great video. Plan to do this on the weekend. Problem has been driving me nuts for years!

[@Daparooo]

man, i’m 17, 06 Dodge Ram is my first vehicle and my tachometer has been funky, it had me scared as I know little about vehicles and vehicle maintenance. Even my friends that work in shops didn’t know what was going on, this video was a real lifesaver!!

[@bradmeltzer2276]

Thanks for the tutorial. I put up with this problem for about a year. My tack would either sit at 0 or bounce up to about 4k. Sometimes it would drop back to 0 and other times it would go all the way around and be pegged. Which way it dropped seemed to be temperature dependent. After watching your video, I had it fixed in about a half hour. Works perfect now.

[@victoriabroughton381]

This is what mine is doing!!! Okay now I know what to do thank you so much!!!

[@broncoazvideo]

I used this video today to repair my tach. Thanks!

[@jstohrer]

I just finished doing mine. My tach hasn't worked since I bought the truck so I just went by my edge ct display for RPMs. I am happy to say this fix worked like a champ. I made sure to push in the odometer button when I turned the key on to calibrate the gauges and ensure we were all aligned.

[@BearE9090]

My tach hasn’t worked for 4 years now. Started to drop to 0 and back up to normal for a while, then at high revs it would whip around to the underside of the pin. I had to rev it up to about 5500 rpms to get the needle back to the normal side. Then it just stayed on the wrong side of the pin. I removed the cluster and reflowed the solder on the pins on both chips. I used double sided tape (1/16 thick) for the shims which worked well. I had the same issue with the engine light as radman 00 did but removed the neg. cable for a minute and off went the engine light. Thanks for the video, great job.

[@bobhumphries3998]

Thanks, Marc. Just did mine, but it was the odometer. Used the same process but reflowed the solder on two different chips and added the shims as you suggested. It worked perfectly and only took me about an hour start to finish. Thanks again.

[@jeffdmello]

Very helpful video - thank you. I do recommend using a no clean flux if you are soldering otherwise you risk creating cold solder joints. Also, I resoldered every part on that side of the PCB and did not use any spacers as they should not be needed if a cold solder joint was really the problem. If they are it’s either a internal PCB defect or a missed cold solder joint. All is now working great!

[@danashley6507]

I am so glad I saw this video. My 06 Ram is wrapped all the way around to 0 . I will definitely follow your instructions. Thanks

[@318wolfy]

Just tried this on my '06 2500. Worked like a charm! Thank you

[@mk2supra84]

Just did this on my 06’ 1500. Followed the video exactly and the tach works again. Thank you!!

[@lancestopherj3170]

Great vid! I never post on stuff like this but just completed the task in 30 mins and now my tach is working like it should.

[@thereelangler2391]

You just saved me $140 + shipping to get my cluster fixed. Thank you.

[@puresoundquality]

Thanks, I just did it and it worked like a charm. You save me a ton of money, the stealership wanted me to take a loan out for the repair. Thanks again.

[@Omgl0lwtf]

Another fixed tach thanks to you! Instructions were very clear, thank you

[@slamerand]

Worked like a charm and saved me 200 bucks. Thank you so much!

[@michaelcroteau6665]

Thank you, Thank you my 06 was having this problem at idle the tach read 0 RPM . Followed your video now my tach works like it should. you saved me a bunch of $$$$$ Thanks again

[@mikereisinger8093]

This worked. I followed these instructions yesterday and it took me about an hour. Much better than paying and going through replacing with a new cluster.

[@johnhuntington3800]

Here is a much better, quicker fix - insert a bent piece of safety wire through the trip reset hole, and turn the tachometer needle counterclockwise until it rests on the correct side of the needle stop. No screw removal, no solder headaches, did mine in less than 30 seconds - now my tach works perfectly.

[@ChrisfromGeorgia]

This weekend I'm going to take your suggestion to fix my tach using your method. Currently the needle on my tach is all the way around the bottom below the stopper at 0 rpm. This happened when I reset my instrument cluster when my tach was resting at 0 rpm. How it made it's way all the way around, I have no clue. At this time, my truck seems to be shifting fine. It's crazy because the tach will sometimes go backwards for a moment when it shifts into overdrive. Thank you for the advice!👍

[@Ifyoucantdodgeitramit]

Did this on my '06 1500 to fix my jumpy tach that liked to spin all the way around to the back of the little stopper. Worked for a while, then started happening again. After watching your video I realized I neglected to add any kind of shims to help relieve the tension on the board. So gotta do it again, lol.

[@0wiseone]

Thank you so much. I thought I would have to deal with the defect or spend a lot of money. I well be doing this fix soon.

[@erikp1308]

Worked great! Thank you for making this video.

[@kevanoregan6216]

Thank you , I helped helped a friend fix his. Re-soldered the 2 ICs, ( Some of them were not well soldered to begin with. Thanks again.

[@brettammons7091]

Just did this fix last night, and tested it at lunch today and it worked! Now waiting on replacement lamps for the backlights to get them all working. THANKS! I would note that the trim around the radio/hvac controls on my 2006 1500 SLT MegaCab truck have two screws through the bottom. Either my mechanic broke them the last time he got into dash or I did pulling it of. Not a big deal though. Should have read the Haynes manual.

[@bmwdud]

thanks marc , i watched your video and fixed my 06 1500 ram tach just like you said , great job on explaining :)

[@darrellkidd5177]

I bought my truck used about 6 years ago, and the tach has never worked. I contacted the salesman that I bought it from, and he said that the cable was probably loose; I don't know if he was really that big of an idiot, or if he thought I was. I've tolerated the problem for this long, probably because I was intimidated by taking the dash apart (and possibly breaking something), but recently when I started installing a new radio, I decided that maybe now would be a good time to fix the tach too. I followed the instructions in this video, and the comments below, and fixed mine in about an hour; it almost made me mad that I had waited this long to do it. I checked the leads on the ICs, using an LED headlamp and a magnifying glass and my cell phone, but couldn't see any obvious signs that the leads were not touching. I decided to try just adding shims and not completely tightening the screws on the tach side, and I'll be darned if it didn't work! Thanks for all the help and the beneficial comments too.

[@ratcity10]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Followed this to the letter, and it worked perfectly!

[@DavidJohnson-ck9qi]

Fixed mine using this! Fantastic instructions!!!

[@failingdisciple938]

Great job on this vid. Just did mine and worked great! Thank you 👊

[@mikedunkle3100]

Great video! My 06 was also spun the whole way around and the re-flowing of the solder did the trick. I didn't have to remove my cup holder as others had to but there was 2 scews that could be accessed when it was opened. If you don't have steady hands for the soldering I'd suggest getting someone who does.

[@jimmoravec1326]

That’s the way to do it the right way. You can simply reset your cluster but that usually doesn’t work and doesn’t solve the problem to begin with. Do it right or don’t do it at all, good video 👍

[@JThought320]

Thank you for sharing this information, it made life a lot easier

[@rogercast75]

worked really well took about an hour and works fine! however if you have an automatic model dont forget you have to remove the lower console and cup holders etc get the radio bezel off. Other than that take your time when re flowing the soder.

[@brianbessey7914]

This is a great video. The hardest part is getting to the tac. I followed Marc’s instructions and was able to re flow the solder no problem. I suggest using a small tip for the solder iron and be careful like he suggests. Good video Marc.. You should give a class on how to make a informative You Tube video…

[@samharvey7538]

Worked for me on second try. Didn't hold soldering iron on long enough first time. Thanks

[@geothunder1971]

This really works! after being quoted 1k to fix tach I came across this do it yourself fix and fixed it myself! Even the wife was impressed

[@michaeldavis7921]

Thanks for the video, just fixed my 06 2500 today.

[@tenochtitlan51582]

Thank you for posting this video

[@danw.1878]

Fixed my ol 5.9 thanks for the help

[@mab4870]

Great video brother. Thank you and well done

[@billyyamahaboy]

thank-you so much saved me ton of money the only thing I must add is on my 2006 Laramie I had two more screws above cup holder couldn't figure it out then I finally found them thanks again

[@epsps]

Thanks so much for posting this. I fixed mine in about 1 hour.

[@dnm20101]

awesome video tried it and worked on my friends dodge thanks alot

[@namgorf2001]

I'd like to know the 4 people (at this point) that down voted this. What kind of idiot down votes an instructional video that was clear, concise and full of detail? Obvious morons in my book. Great video and thank you for your time doing it. I appreciate your help.

[@philliplenke2015]

Knowing those 2 screws at the bottom of the radio bezel would have been nice before they broke .

[@hessiejames4896]

Awesome vid. Thanks a lot. Worked for me. Done in one hour. The only thing to mention is that there's two screws on the bottom of the radio bezel. Be sure to remove these or you'll break the tabs of

[@overheadcamwalling4146]

Great job. Now I know why my tach runs low. Thanks.

[@fbenross]

Worked like a charm-Thanks

[@taylormiller7173]

thank you for an excellent tut I am mechanically and electronically inclined so it was no prob first try. on my truck I had to remove the cup holders on the floor and 2 other subsequent panels to get to 2 screws on the bottom of the radio panel. also I suggest using no clean flux on the chips to aid in success of the project

[@7DiceGaming]

I use this video to fix mine.. 100% worked! saved me $300.. cost of fix 0.45 cent.

[@ahmedsaidu-kamara6760]

Very informative video, thank you. How did you know what pins to work on? With you addressing the spacing with layered of electrical tape. How come you only did it on one side? Thanks again for a very informative video.

[@wjguerrero2747]

Gracias por que compre muchas cosas y no arreglaba el problema ahora ya funciona perfecto my 06 Dodge Ram

[@spaniky73]

On my 06 Cummins Manual there are two screws on the bottom of the radio bezel that you have to take out all the plastic around the stick to pull them. I cracked one of them before I figured it out. Other than that, GREAT video. Thank you!!

[@taylormiller7173]

this guy is right pull cup holders and all subsequent panels out to get to 2 screws on bottom of radio panel

[@radman006]

Amazing, it worked! Only thing is I had not unhooked my battery leads. When I started the truck it showed the motor indicator on and a warning tone. Easy fix, just unhook the leads for 20 minutes. That resets the error and light goes away. My bad I know better. Thank you for the tip!

[@beqabarnabi5004]

Hi, did you have a check engine on after you fixed the problem? Once I fixed the tach which works great now check engine popped up and doesn't go away

[@MrBoyRc]

This was so helpful thank you sir

[@ixdjxl1]

Works for me. Thank you so much!

[@keithdaniels1994]

Was actually looking for the site to send my pod off. Instead found this vid and my extra pod laying on top of my soldering gun. Thanks!

[@courtneyglenn1123]

Thank you for making this how-to! I plan on doing mine this weekend. Did you use a certain wattage iron, or is any iron okay?

[@cad974]

Thank you so much for this video 👍

[@jitterbugvan]

Damn been 2 years with a funky tach..fixed it in 30 mins..it was so easy I did it while I was higher than giraffe snatch...that's how easy it is

[@Bigjake912]

Did this on my 06 Dodge Ram 5.7 crew cab and it worked great. Not difficult at all. My tachometer was all the way around on the underside of 0. You can see my before on my videos.

[@carburando77]

amazing really work I due in my 2006 3500 diesel now work exellent

[@ioanardelean1936]

Hello awesome I did it and it worked well perfect, wonderful. Works like new.

[@juanmaldonado3281]

WAW. SUPER. AWESOME. NOW. I WILL FIX MINE. BLESSED BE SIR

[@GlenHarmer]

Great video, thanks!!!

[@MetalManiac95]

Awesome video!

[@jrjones437]

Great video

[@ThEMarD]

Just an addendum, I performed this repair and it fixed the tach for me as well... But I seem to have tripped the security module lol as my truck wouldn't run for longer than 5 seconds and the remote unlock/lock stopped working too. I had to disconnect the negative terminals on my battery for 20 minutes and then everything worked again

[@avilesautoparts]

Thanks you my tachometer is working now

[@nonyabusiness3528]

worked great on my mega cab 1500

[@markk9875]

Awesome video. thanks

[@keithdaniels1994]

Excellent tut, I have an extra gauge pod in case one of them gets hosed. time to go to work!

[@patrickolearyoesvp]

Thanks for the video!

[@tomcisneros5965]

How bout that, it worked. Thanx for the help.

[@skippysbro]

Hi Marc, is the repair still holding up? Ive been needing to dive in and do this job on my 06. Thanks!

[@SCGmovies]

My problem is that my backlight went out, and im not sure what I could solder to try and fix it. As a matter of fact, I cant really be sure where exactly the backlight/s is located, I believe its somewhere in the clear plastic square area.Do these chips also relate to the lights I wonder?

[@aaemmons]

How did you know which chips to reflow solder on? My odometer and gear indicator displays both show garbled characters. 2003 Ram

[@alfredorhs]

I did it, now rpm works perfect, but since I fixed it now the battery will discharge me every 3 days, check the fuses and when I disconnect the number 11 which is the IOD-CCN / Radio / WCM, the battery no longer discharges, do you think that has something to do with the (cluster) tachometer, is damage ?

[@mikespencer4866]

thank you quoted 700 from dealer watched the 2006 Dodge RAM video 1/2 he later it was fixed 0$

[@miguelvilla3600]

I have the same truck as yours exept a 3500 also a diesel. My fuel gauge just stopped working. Any insight for me? Thanks

[@christiancook66]

Dude this fixed my ram!