Warning lights flash, then gauges and instrument panel goes dead

[Crunch]

Just got a call from a friend who is out of town. The other day he was driving (with the AC on) and all of a sudden all the warning lights in the instrument panel flashed on and off for a few seconds, then the entire instrument panel went dead. He replaced the batteries because one tested bad, then went out of town yesterday. Now the same thing is happening again. It doesn't seem to affect the operation of the truck in any other way. I told him I would post here to see if anyone has seen this problem.

 

[Prairie Dog]

What year?

 

[Crunch]

He has an '03, too. 2500 4X4.