Crat

I have a 2006 f150xl v6 manual f150. I've had lots of strange, intermittent issues withat electrical systems.

the first issue I noticed was that the odometer back light stopped working. This wasn't a big deal so didn't pay much attention.

second issue. My parking break light started randomly come on when it wasn't engaged. Now it's on pretty much all the time.

Third issue. Guages randomly go flat. They come back on pretty quickly. I don't normally have this happen when it's not cold. If I bang on the dash they will.come back on, otherwise they will come back on when the truck warms up. Today however, they turned on and off 5 times when the truck was warm, but this is the first day it's been under 60 degreen this week.

Fourth. ABS light spontaneously comes on. I have recently replaced my front pads and rotors and rear pads.

Fifth and possibly unrelated, my starter went out 5 months ago and as of 2 days ago started doing the single click on the first try. Now today I have to try 2 or 3 to get the starter to engage.

Sixth. Battery guage randomly jumps up for awhile and then goes back down over time.

I've been reading other posts on here and the best I can figure is that I have a loose connection or bad guage cluster.

I do have 2 13w lEd floods installed on truck and an aftermarket double den head unit.

any suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks for reading.

BadFish523

Ouch that many issues could mean your computer is going bad. Other possibilities could be bad gauge cluster, bad battery, bad alternator, or bad connection at any one of the items I mentioned. I would personally start with checking the battery and alternator. Then check and clean all the connections at the battery, computer, and gauge cluster.

Crat

Thanks for your reply.

The battery/alternator tested good last week when when I had my oil changed at a Ford dealership.

I will check all of the connections, clean terminals, etc this weekend. But I'm worried I'm looking at a larger problem as you suggested.

Thanks again,
Cody

BadFish523

Start with the easy stuff. Cleaning the connections. If it is the gauge cluster its not to tough to swap then you have to have a dealership flash it to your computer, it must also be from the same model (xl, xlt, lariat, ect) if it is the computer then that could be a bigger problem. Report back after you clean everything up and remember to disconnect the battery before you clean any connections on the computer.

gmb13

Take a close look at the connections and cables between the battery & starter. Also the ground connections first. With any luck you will find something there.

Crat

I'll try to check there today. I'm pretty sure I have a bad guage cluster. I checked all the battery, computer and guage cluster connections and they seemed to be fine. I had a bulb out behind my odometer. Since disconnecting the battery, none of the lights have come back on, but I've only driven about 5 miles. The guages did shutoff again however and I had to bump the dash a few times to get them to come back on.

I still need to check the fuses and starter connections but I think my issues are seperate.