Hello. We have a 1999 Blazer. The odometer will not light up on the dashboard. However, everything else does light up. We cannot see the mileage and need to. Please help. If you have any idea what the problem could be we would be very grateful. Thank you.

 

Could be as simple as a loose connection at the instrument panel. There is a large connector on the backside of the panel...could just be loose.
Worse would be a problem with the BCM not sending the odometer numbers to the display.

 

Thank you for your reply. Sorry I am so late on my response, but I have had some other problems I had to deal with. Anyway ...
Hopefully it is just a loose connection, and not a BCM issue. In my research, I found that it could also be a fuse, but the speedometer works (and usually they share the same fuse). I read that it could also be a bulb on the back of the cluster that lights up the odometer in the dash. Hopefully it is something that simple.

Unfortunately, after starting and running the car for ten minutes to keep up the charge on the new battery, I looked down and found a very large puddle that looks to be radiator fluid. But the cap and engine did not get hot. So now there is another problem that must be addressed before it can be driven. But I guess that is an issue for a new post. But it you have any ideas on the problem, I would appreciate it.

 

There is no bulb that illuminates the odometer, it is a display module. Do check fuses by pulling each out and looking at it or better use a continuity checked.
As far as the coolant puddle...where is the puddle? If in the interior...oh boy!!....heater core. Easy to bypass for the summer months to get by. To replace requires the dash to be removed. Not overly difficult, just takes alot of time and making notes as to where all the bolts go.

Later,

 

Thanks again for your replies. As for the odometer, I checked some videos and there is only one fuse for the whole cluster. And since everything lights up on the cluster EXCEPT the odometer, than I wouldn't think it could be the fuse. Hopefully, it is something as simple as a loose connection on the back of the instrument panel.

As for the radiator leak, the puddle is on the ground in the front on the engine, mostly on the left side. (We can't look inside the radiator or add any fluid though because we cannot remove the cap. It is stuck!) Any other ideas? Thank you.

 

The Blazer's radiators have aluminum core with plastic tanks on both ends or sides. I am on my third radiator now; all have leaked at the gasket between the core and the plastic tank.
Your leak could be the upper hose which is on the left side, or one of the fittings for the oil cooler, or the plastic tank gasket.
The good news is that these radiators are cheap and pretty easy to replace yourself....messy, but easy.
Getting the wire clips off the oil and transmission lines is the only difficult part. Just takes a small screwdriver to lift each one off. Access to the lower one, right side is very limited, but do-able. New clips usually come with a new radiator.
Do not worry about getting the radiator cap off, just use a flashlight and look on the left end/side for orange coolant.

Back to the odometer; might also be a cracked solder joint on the instrument panel. Also a cheap (free) fix if you know how to solder. If you guys were near Tucson, be happy to help.

Later,

 

We will certainly check into all your suggestions. Since my son and I know almost nothing about auto mechanics, all suggestions are appreciated. My brother owned a car repair shop, but he passed away last October from cancer. My father who also knew auto mechanics, also just passed away in February from dementia. My 91 year old mother and us are heartbroken over their passing. (Actually, my brother and father were the smartest people I have ever known, and seemed to know about everything).
It was very kind of you to offer to help if we lived near Tucson. But we live on the southeastern coast of Florida. Actually, we did live in Tucson when I was age four to twelve (now 65). We all loved living there. But thank you anyway for your offer.

 

Do you have a 2 door or 4 door; 2wd or 4wd Blazer?
Will be able to talk you through getting the instrument panel off as well as swapping-out the radiator or whatever turns out to be leaking. All of us here enjoy helping others work on their Blazers.

 

Thank you so very much for your kind offer! We may just go ahead and get a mobile mechanic for this car. But it they end up being too high, we may try to do it ourselves. Thank you again. We will let you know soon.

 

If you are driving a 99 Blazer, it's probably because:

1. You are a car nut and just love these vehicles.
2. You can't afford a newer car.
3. You inherited it and can't afford a newer car.

I'm in Boat #2, myself. I'm guessing you are #2 or #3, because if you were #1, you probably wouldn't be asking about the coolant leak. The odometer, yeah, but not a simple coolant leak. (That's not meant to be a slam, just an observation. Not everybody is a car nut and works on their own vehicles.)

That being the case, I'm pretty sure the mobile mechanic is going to be too expensive. So....

We're glad to help!

First thing to do is grab a flashlight and look for that coolant leak. You may need to add water (yes, I said WATER*) to see it actually leaking. That means getting that cap off. A large pair of water pump pliers should help. Tap it firmly a few times with a hammer, first.

Worst case, you'll break the neck off the radiator. That's really not that bad, because the chances are very high that it needs a new radiator, anyway, so....


*Yes, water, not coolant. This time of year you don't need freeze protection in Florida, and it's going to leak out anyway. Why spend money on expensive coolant just to look for a leak? When you get it all fixed, then you add coolant. Not now.