is the instrament panel on a regular fuse or fuse block

Sadly, you probably shorted out the circuit board or even the motors that move the guages... Is there anything else that doesn't work? Do the lights behind the gauges work when you turn on your headlights, and only the gauges don't respond?

Very often the gauge cluster will go dead on 03-06 Silverados due to problems inside the gauge cluster. You shorting out the battery cable might actually have caused this but it was probably going to happen eventually due to bad solder joints inside these gauge clusters. There's a good chance it's still repairable. If you'd like to learn more about the problem and how to get it fixed please visit our site at www.drspeedometer.com Thanks, Fred Dr.Speedometer