Nissan Repair: instrument panel and check engine light, nissan altima, tank light

Question
Hi,

I have a 2000 Nissan Altima.

Recently my speedometer, odometer, RPM, and temperature gauge would simultanouesly stop working.  After a few minutes the gages generally come back one. My Odometer comes back on with the correct milage as well.  

I have noticed that if I turn off the radio just when this starts occurring, my gages will return to normal.  This has also occured when my cruise control or lights were on.

Additionally, my check engine light has come on for the third time this year. Can this be related to a faulty instrument panel? I have already replaced spark plugs and gasket. The second time another dealer reccomended I wait to see if the light goes off as it could be due to a loose cover on the gas tank (light went off after ~7, this was 3 months ago).

Questions:

1. Is the instrument panel problem related to using the radio, lights, and/or cruise control? How can it be fixed? My dealer was not optomistic about looking into it, and this probelm is now happening more frequently.

2. Is there a possibility that my check engine light is related to this problem? Any other thoughts?

Answer
Lyn,

The check engine light could be related since the computer picks up the vehicle speed from the same line as the speedometer.  If It were my guess I would say the connector to the instrument cluster is loose.  I would remove the cluster and clean the connections and put the connector back on and reinstall the instrument cluster.