Car had this problem on used car dealer lot. Their mechanic "fixed" it, so we bought it. Days later the dash cluster goes out AGAIN. Banging on dash can make it work again, as can wiggling the wore bundle that feeds the cluster, but that's the duct tape "repair" as your just causing a cold solder joint to temporarily reconnect.

The real problem is crappy soldering at the factory!!! I've soldered for many years professionally, and have also had a lot of experience taking apart dashboards (two-way radio business, where I turned a crap ton of Crown Vics into police cruisers), I yanked the cluster (which, BTW, is needlessly convoluted to do), re-flowed every damn solder joint on the cluster circuit board, and put it back. Has worked PERFECTLY since. While it was out, I also took the opportunity to clean all the available contacts as a (then) 16 year old car has had ample time to crud up any and all contacts unless is was mostly parked in a temperature and humidity controlled garage.

Since getting in there is such a huge PITA, please for the sake of your sanity, just replace every damn light bulb in there while it's out and accessible. I put mine back in and got it all together (properly screwed in and secured) only to have my wife (the primary driver) complain about burned out bulbs! ARGH! Two years on, they're still burned out as I don't have the patience to yank that things again short of a major issue like NO GAUGES. :) My local jobber has them for about 35 cents a pop, and there's only about a dozen total, so it's a few bucks to save you a huge pain.

I have no reason to assume this problem does not also plague Dodge and Chrysler counterparts of the same vintage and would be surprised if it was limited to the '98 model year. After a decade in the electronics industry I can assure you that a company who makes one batch of badly soldered boards is highly likely to repeat the event in the future unless wholesale changes in procedure and quality assurance are made. This is Mopar... doubt it! Besides, they can make good money selling everyone new body control (my fender needs a computer? Poor name choice folks!) modules. That you don't need. And may need a mortgage to afford. Because the computer that controls most of the functions has no way to circumvent a physical defect in the panel!!!

We had to replace the battery because it had finally given out. When the new battery was connected, the gas gauge stopped working, dashboard panel lights (for rear defrost, read wiper, etc.) started flashing, and the headlights stopped working. We thought it was a fuse, but inspected ALL fuses and they were fine. The mechanic I consulted stated it was the body control module going bad and needed to be replaced to fix these problems. The cost was $700 for the part and another $100 for labor (cannot DIY or use neighborhood mechanic since it had to be programmed by the dealer). We ended up wiring around it for the headlights and living with the rest until a new car can be bought. We have to pay attention to miles driven since the gas gauge isn't working.