eddiep120
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2018
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
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- Vehicle Year
- 2007
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Transmission
- Manual
I've been putting up with this issue for over a year now, where the instrument cluster will go nuts after the truck has been on for about 30 minutes or so. What happens is, the gauges (spedo, tach, fuel, engine temp) will drop all the way down, all of the instrument lights will flash on, then the gauges will return to normal and the lights will go back off. Initially when it started happening it would only do this once or twice on an hour and a half drive, but became more and more frequent to the point where it looks like the needles are just bouncing and the lights are blinking.
I took note of when it started to occur and it seems to me that when the temperature inside the truck was warm or cold it would begin doing this. If its 40 degrees outside before you start the truck it wont do it until it heats up inside the truck. If it's 30 or 80 degrees outside it'll be doing it as soon as you turn the key in the ignition (even without starting the truck).
When the issue exists prior to starting the truck, when you turn the key it wont start unless you time it perfectly in-between when its flipping the lights on and off. (this is a newer development as this problem has gotten worse and worse). Additionally, when the car warms up for about 5 mins the issue goes away but comes back once it becomes warmer in the truck. When it does this while driving, it doesn't affect driveability or anything (cruise control, windows, locks, radio, lights all work).
I had been willing to live with this issue for a while but now that it's gotten so bad that I have issues starting the truck I've been trying to figure this out. After reading some forums I've checked the battery and alternator. The battery had full charge but tested bad at autozone so I bought a new one but that didn't fix the issue. The alternator tested good. I just got done checking for a parasitic draw but everything looks good (I waited 40 minutes or so to macke sure the antitheft and everything turned itself off and it came up 0s). I also tried jiggling the wires to the cluster and any other wires related to the ignition, tried jiggling the key cylinder as well and nothing seems to recreate the problem or resolve the problem.
Is there anything else that I should check out? At this point should I replace the cluster and see if that was the problem? Do I need to have the computer flashed if I install a new cluster? Is it necessary that I have a dealer reset the odometer on the new cluster?
I took note of when it started to occur and it seems to me that when the temperature inside the truck was warm or cold it would begin doing this. If its 40 degrees outside before you start the truck it wont do it until it heats up inside the truck. If it's 30 or 80 degrees outside it'll be doing it as soon as you turn the key in the ignition (even without starting the truck).
When the issue exists prior to starting the truck, when you turn the key it wont start unless you time it perfectly in-between when its flipping the lights on and off. (this is a newer development as this problem has gotten worse and worse). Additionally, when the car warms up for about 5 mins the issue goes away but comes back once it becomes warmer in the truck. When it does this while driving, it doesn't affect driveability or anything (cruise control, windows, locks, radio, lights all work).
I had been willing to live with this issue for a while but now that it's gotten so bad that I have issues starting the truck I've been trying to figure this out. After reading some forums I've checked the battery and alternator. The battery had full charge but tested bad at autozone so I bought a new one but that didn't fix the issue. The alternator tested good. I just got done checking for a parasitic draw but everything looks good (I waited 40 minutes or so to macke sure the antitheft and everything turned itself off and it came up 0s). I also tried jiggling the wires to the cluster and any other wires related to the ignition, tried jiggling the key cylinder as well and nothing seems to recreate the problem or resolve the problem.
Is there anything else that I should check out? At this point should I replace the cluster and see if that was the problem? Do I need to have the computer flashed if I install a new cluster? Is it necessary that I have a dealer reset the odometer on the new cluster?