I did a quick review of the board via the search function and didn't see anything already covering this so here it goes:

I have a 2000 Xterra SE that has intermittent problems with the dash cluster (speedo/tach/odo) stop working for a few minutes. The cluster appears to have power since the backlighting still works, however the speedo/tach/gas/temp/odo guages all stop responding. At times they'll freeze in place, other times they'll drop to zero. On either occasion, the odometer/trip meter will blank out and only show the words in the left corner (Odo/Trip A/B) but even that will slowly fade out to a blank screen. After a few minutes everything seems to come back to life. I havn't been able to find any sort of pattern to how this happens (ie. certain speeds/hitting bumps/etc) nor does there seem to be any rhyme or reason to when it comes back to life (ie. speed/bumps/hitting the dash/etc.) Any thoughts on what could be causing this or how to resolve? I thought maybe it was worn/dirty contacts on the back of the cluster, but if it's still getting power for lighting, I dunno how that could be. Any help is appreciated.

Sounds like a short to me. Where is a good question though.

Sorry I can't be of more help. :-(

-G

There is a PC board in the dash that controls the gauges, odometer, etc. If it fails, it can cause the symptoms you describe. There have been a number of prior threads about this problem. Happened to me while still under warranty. Speedo and tach froze at weird places, odo stopped working. I did a quick search too but couldn't find any of the prior threads. Maybe got lost when the board crashed. Good luck. Might be an expensive, dealer fix.

If the instrument cluster fails, it won't have to be taken to a dealer; any competent shop can replace it, but it might take a shop more geared towards electronics to diagnose it.

But yeah, the instrument cluster itself is probably the most likely point of failure. It could also be wiring issues, power supply, or a bad BCM, but my money's on the instrument cluster itself. Something simple you can check is the battery voltage and inspect the terminals for looseness or corrosion. Good luck.