I did some work on one of my vanagons this weekend and encountered that
same connector. It's easy to get off when you remove the four screws
that hold down the instrument cluster, which requires of course
unplugging the connectors hiding the front screws.

With the cluster out, try removing the black plastic guard around the
board supporting the contacts, the part on the instrument cluster body.
Now you can gently rub these with a pencil eraser to clean them. Then
the plugging-unplugging procedure has a better chance of working to
scrape clean the contacts inside the plug, which are more difficult to
get to.

Jim

On Jul 25, 2005, at 8:08 AM, Don in North Carolina wrote:

> On 7/24/05, John Reddick <SVYOLO@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I was fixing my odometer (again) and must have roughed up one of the
>> wires
>> that runs the tach as it no longer functions.  The other gauges on the
>> tach face function normally.  The big white connector still looks
>> good and
>> all the connections to it look undamaged.  Anybody got any ideas???  I
>> only pulled the instrument cluster, no other part of the van was
>> touched.
>>
>> John
>> 87 Westy SVX
>
> John,
>
> Before going too crazy, try unplugging your main connector plug on the
> bottom lower right side of the instrument cluster, and replugging it
> in.  The connection to the blue film is none too good at the best of
> times, and I have found just removing / replacing the plug to be a
> cure for many sudden "ills" in the cluster.
>
> Best of all, it's free to try (though it's a pain to get to with the
> cluster in place, I have done it...).
>
> --
> Don in Reidsville, NC
> 1986 Kawasaki Concours
> 1988 Vanagon GL (Sylvia)
> "Why do they call it a fixed income, if mine is always broke?"
>