kjohns

I have a similar problem. My problem just started one day when I cranked my truck about two weeks ago and has not been intermittent. Once I crank it, the engine light, brake light, ABS light and battery light stay on. My information center shows all dashes, and the speedometer, tachometer and temperature gauges don't work. The gas, voltage and oil gauges are working though. I have checked and "reset" all fuses and relays. I have taken the instrument panel out and re-installed it twice. The alternator has been checked too. I'm really trying to avoid replacing the instrument panel because of the cost. I would love to know what worked for you, Code 7. Thanks.

one1

I have the same issue as well. My radio, cluster, dome light, etc..... all go dead and then come back on after a second. I know the comfort relay is cutting off and back on randomly, but I cannot figure out why. I have suspected since the door trigger seems to not be working it might be shorting out and confusing the body ECU since it tells the comfort relay to turn off and on.

hinoon

Code 7, I am currently having the same issue as you. Could you forward me any information you have on your ultimate solution? Thanks!!! noonp@rpi.edu

Dsherman

How about posting the solution here so others can follow along and solve this?

ford fanatic

iTrader: (1)

Having similar problems...bump for anyone who can help.

hinoon

After reading through some information from Roger (Code 7) and working on my own truck, it appears that the root of the issue is a loose connection between the instrument cluster circuit board and the LCD message center (odometer, compass, etc.).

Last week I disassembled the instrument cluster far enough to remove the LCD. The LCD just pulled right out, it is connected to the board by a number of pins (sorry, I really wish I would've taken pictures, doh!). In my case, the female connection for these pins was a bit loose (if you pull off the black plastic rectangle that accepts the pins, metal connectors will be revealed underneath). I used a small pliers to squeeze the metal female connectors a bit, to ensure a tighter connection. I also tweaked all of the pins on the LCD a bit to put a slight bend in them to try to ensure a better connection.

Since I reassembled, I have driven my truck approximately 8 times, probably about 500 miles, and I have not had any issues so far. My fingers are crossed that this solved the issue for good!

Getting the instrument cluster out of the dash is quick and only takes 15 min or so. Getting the LCD out it a bit harder, it requires you to pop of all of the dials (make sure to mark their zero position with a pencil before you touch them, or it will be a pain to calibrate them again! If someone finds a quick easy way to calibrate them let me know!). Then remove all of the screws to pretty much completely disassemble the cluster to get to the LCD. Overall I think the process took me about 1.5 hours. If you have questions I can try to provide some help.

Roger feel free to correct me if I misinterpreted anything or add any additional thoughts.

-Paul

ryno311

I have read through all the responses here and googled this problem and can't figure it out...

I have a 2008 screw xlt 4x4
I am having this same problem... But usually mine occurs after it rains
Randomly upon startup, (or sometimes just driving down the road, even when not raining) my truck well ding like it has low fuel and then all of the warning lights will come on. The speedometer and tach will then "go dead" and not work. The odometer will be illuminated but no numbers will be displayed. The a/c will not blow cold. If I turn off the truck the radio will stay on.
But if I drive it for a while (usually 20-30 min), the dash warning lights will go off, the tach and speedometer and odometer start working again and the a/c will start blowing cold. I can turn the truck off after that and restart and everything work fine. The truck does not
Run "rough" or act funny other than gauges not working correctly...

Now I am wondering if a connection somewhere is shorting out until it dries out...? Does this problem sound familiar to anyone?
Truck has 56k miles on it... Figured it would be too early to be having a problem like this...

Does it sound like a problem behind the instrument cluster? Is there a connector that could be getting wet somewhere that would cause this?

Any help would be appreciated!

hinoon

Ryno, for me it seemed like the lcd display connection was loose and that caused the issues. Don't ask my why that being loose would affect the whole dash - I would think it should just be a display and no other electrical signals would be routed through it, but it did have a number of pins, maybe there's some sort of controller built into the lcd board also. But, it's been nearly a year now since I played with it and I haven't had the issue since, so unless I bumped something else and get luck without realizing, I think solidifying that connection did the trick for me.

Before pulling the whole dash apart I did notice that if I gave it a good enough wack my gauges came back... More support for the lose connection theory I think.

ryno311

At first I did not think we had the same problem... but I guess we did! I pushed on those pins and haven't had a problem since. Thanks for your help!

2007xl

I've been fighting this issue for a while. Messing with the pins on the LCD display helped a lot but mine still isn't fixed. I pulled the oil, temp, and speedo needles and was able to get to mine. I'm tempted to take it all the way apart and solder some jumper wires in place of those flimsy pins.