BigGreyBox

My 2006 f150 went in for an oil change monday. Normally I'd do it myself, but its a company vehicle. When it came back and I went to use it later that day, the odometer background lit up green, but nothing came up on the digital display. No odometer or trip meter. I don't know if its related to the oil change at all or just a coincidence.

Sometimes it will come back on for a minute or two when i start the truck, flicker a few times, then stop working again. It is still keeping track of my miles even when its not working though.

I guess my question is, has anyone had this problem and fixed it without replacing the whole instrument cluster?

Mod (Ret.)

The only thing I can suggest is to remove the cluster cover, and check the two large wiring connectors to the cluster. They are on the top and easily accessable once the cluster dash cover is removed.

I did a write up on cluster removal (not needed for your check) awhile back. If you don't want to search for it, removal of the cluster cover requires you to first remove the lower steering column cover (two bolts at bottom of cover), then pull this cover off. You will then see the upper bolts that hold the cluster cover; remove them. Now lower the steering wheel (tilt it down), and pull back the cluster cover.

You can now access the two large wiring connectors on the top of the cluster. Make sure they are firmly plugged in. They both have a sliding "lock" to hold them in place (left to right), but giggle them to be sure they are making good contact.

I'm sure the oil change was just a coincidence to your speedometer failing.

BigGreyBox

Thanks I'll give that a check. I figured the oil change had nothing to do with it unless there was a sensor underneath the truck somewhere. But there's no check engine light so I wouldn't think its a sensor anyways.

Mod (Ret.)

Jacksonville? I'm currently in the Orlando area (my "real" home) for the holidays.

BigGreyBox

Yea, Jacksonville, where shorts and flip flops are christmas attire. Orlando isn't known for its snow either though haha

Mod (Ret.)

Ah yes, my kind of Christmas weather. Although it is cloudy, and expected to cool down a bit with rain by Friday.

Definition of "cool down" in Florida: 60's to 70's during the day!

g_spyder91

I had the same problem on my 05 Screw XLT, I had to have the entire cluster replaced with a new one. I lived with the problem for about 6 months and just couldn't take it anymore, nobody had a solution except "replace it". Never being able to check my fuel consumption/mileage or being able to log my mileage for work was becoming a real pain in the ***. Hope you have better luck finding a fix.

KenM

This a revival of an old thread, but the symptoms described here (other than the part about the oil change) are EXACTLY what the odometer in my dad's 2006XL is doing.

He is retired and living on SS. There is NO WAY he (or I) can afford the $650 that the dealer wants to replace the whole unit.

Please tell me if there is a reasonable fix for this condition. He is not able to get accurate mileage for oil changes but the most-pressing issue is that of being eligible for a low-miles-per-year discount on his insurance.

I've done a search but couldn't seem to find anything definitive about fixing it and retaining the original mileage. Since it occasionally flickers with ever-increasing numbers, we know that internally it is still recording the miles. We just need to have it actually [iDISPLAY[/i].

Thanks for helping if you can!

BigGreyBox

There is no fix. We didn't bother to fix ours because it was 650 dollars at ford and its a dealer only part. You can take the dash apart and see if your connection is just loose, but chances are the odometer part of your cluster is just bad.

Rick's 06

I don't know if it's similar or not, but many older Explorers experienced the same problem and the fix for many was to replace the speed sensor on the differential. Typically it's only one bolt that holds them on so it's not to bad getting them off. Just have to crawl under the truck. It might be worth pulling it off and just cleaning the gunk off the end of it and see if it comes back to life. At least it doesn't cost anything.