Cluster problems

[2.9._ranger]

I have a 89 2.9l 5spd and I went to start it and a plume of smoke came from behind the cluster and now only my temp gauge works and the rear anti lock light came on for some reason I think I’ll just end up replacing the cluster but I just wanted more opinions and some advice on if there are clusters that I should use from another truck or if I should just try and find a direct replacement

 

[2.9._ranger]

Nevermind my temp gauge is acting up now I pushed the brake and now the temp gauge is reading hot

 

[2.9._ranger]

Also turning either blinker on makes the temp gauge bounce

 

[2.9._ranger]

I think my issue is wires touching somewhere

 

[KaHOnas]

It does sound like you had an electrical short or something.

Did you ever figure this one out? That's a wild batch of symptoms.

 

[2.9._ranger]

It does sound like you had an electrical short or something.

Did you ever figure this one out? That's a wild batch of symptoms.

No I haven’t figured it out yet I’ve tried moving things around but nothing seems to fix the problem

 

[KaHOnas]

If all seems right, maybe trying to source a replacement cluster is the next step. It could be in the circuit board. Have you pulled the cluster to see if there's any heat or smoke damage?

 

[2.9._ranger]

If all seems right, maybe trying to source a replacement cluster is the next step. It could be in the circuit board. Have you pulled the cluster to see if there's any heat or smoke damage?

Yea I’m thinking it’s just the cluster now because behind the tach there’s a part of the circuit that looks burnt and I think it’s what’s causing all the problems

 

[KaHOnas]

It seems a bit odd that it would just fail.

Is it an "outside truck" or is it garaged? Could it possibly be mice or water intrusion that caused this?

 

[2.9._ranger]

It seems a bit odd that it would just fail.

Is it an "outside truck" or is it garaged? Could it possibly be mice or water intrusion that caused this?

It’s an outside truck I think it could be water but what cause it was I was replacing a broken speed sensor and after replacing it and plugging everything in that’s when the smoke showed up and everything broke

 

[KaHOnas]

Dang. I hope you can figure this out! Good luck.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Sounds like an electrical fault somewhere. Probably time to pull out a multimeter and the electrical diagrams and start checking everything behind the cluster to find the culprit. You will need a newly used cluster probably if it’s got scorch marks.

I’m also going to bump this down to the gauges and such, might get a little more help there…

 

[2.9._ranger]

Sounds like an electrical fault somewhere. Probably time to pull out a multimeter and the electrical diagrams and start checking everything behind the cluster to find the culprit. You will need a newly used cluster probably if it’s got scorch marks.

I’m also going to bump this down to the gauges and such, might get a little more help there…

Yea when I have time I’m gonna have to do a deep dive