1989 Ford Thunderbird LX 3.8L V6 157,000 mi
Basically, over the last month or so I've been dealing with the digital dashboard being extremely dim. At first, a quick thump would solve the problem.

The thumping trick no longer works, and often the dashboard will not light up at all and the turn signals will not function. Turning the car on and off once or twice will give me back the extremely dim dashboard and turn signals, however, not always.

Any ideas of what could be causing this? And an estimate of repair costs?

Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like a main power circuit to the cluster is having problems. I always start by checking circuit grounds first. The power regulation into the cluster could also be a problem, especially if the positive circuits have a fusible link inline. An overload can easily make a half-burnt link erratic although not totally fried. In modern auto computers - voltage regulation can be as little as a fried computer component. I wold definitely backtrack the dash cluster and turn signal grounding points first, though.