Thanks for the great information. I will be attacking my 1999 F150 XLT which has the odometer blackout problem.

 

Mines been hit and miss since 125000 or so, now that it just rolled over 150000 and I lost my main set of keys for it with the aftermarket alarm remote I'm going to replace (Upgrade) the alarm/starter, Planned on it for a while anyway, and while I'm in there I'm finally going to tackle this.

A couple months back I took apart the electrochromatic rear view mirror in my 05 F350 King Ranch and fixed that, the dimming function was REALLY hit and miss, mostly miss, Now it is all hit; The only problem with that is that the mirror was not intended to be separated so now where the two halves come together it is all ragged, superglue worked though.

 

It might be a coincidence but the outside temp and compass readouts on the overhead console of my 2001 Super Crew are now gone. When I first noticed it, it seemed to be related to the intermittent odometer blackout because my "scientific" practice of hitting the dashboard got both to come back on. It seems like the issues should be unrelated (except maybe for cold solder) but has anyone else experience this? Thanks!

 

The only way to know for sure is to resolder the contacts in the cluster and then see if the overhead console stops blanking out as well. Ive had to replace many overhead consoles in the past. None ever came back.

 

I don't remember where I read/seen it but I remember seeing online somewhere about in the over head parts some kind of resistors or something would fall off (again Solder breaking) and you'd have to get new resistors (or whatever it was) and solder them on. Then again, It could also be as simple as a cracked solder joint like the dashes and my mirror.

 

I did mine in 2012, they are separate issues. Take your time removing the overhead console, maybe find a Youtube video because there are a few hard to get to fasteners IIRC. I re-soldered joints that looked OK and the blackout was fixed.

 

 

One of the links on the side of that video show a varieation of the overhead computer fix The link to it is below, There looks to be another person who did one but I didn't watch that one just this one, It shows the little 510 and 181 resistors (or whatever they are) that need to be fixed.

 

I just completed the odometer repair. Thanks sooo much for all the help. It only took a little over an hour from start to finish. $200+ saved plus I didn't have to give up my truck for more than a week.


Ford Truck Enthusiasts ROCKS!!!!

 

ooooppppppppsssssss

 

ooooppppppppsssssss, what?

 

X 2.. Did mine last night, little over an hour. Can't believe it is fixed, i have been pounding on the dash for over a year to get it to work.

I didn't see anything wrong so i just reheated all the odometer connections on the big board or the odometer board. I was putting it back together wondering if it was indeed fixed. Can it be that simple? Drove to work this morning and it appears to be brighter and no signs of it flickering. No more pounding !.

The longest part of the process was me sitting there drinking beer looking at the shift indicator assembly. Wondering how the heck that thing comes out. because the main assembly won't come out without unhooking it somehow. I reached in with both hands and pushed push both tabs on either side "outward" and it released. That was an assembly that i wasn't aware of that had to be removed and was tricky. But i just stared at it for a while and eventually figured it out, by luck .

Over 500 miles now.. No issues. Glad it is fixed. Thanks for this thread.

 

I thank you for this information. I just bought a 1999 F-150 and it has the same problem. The odometer works when the light is out and keeps adding the miles, but it is aggravating when it goes out and you can't see the miles on it.
I am going to attempt to fix it sometime this week. Maybe today.


Thanks again for this information. It's worth a lot!!!

 

I just purchased a 1999 F-150 XL 4x4 with a 4.2 engine and it had the same problem with the odometer going black after a while. I followed Dakota-Vikings directions and removed the dash assembly. It is a little hairy, but they were great instructions so it went well, even for a clutz like myself.
I didn't find any cold solder connections and looked really close. I did find a huge dead bug between the cluster housing and the printed circuit. I removed it and cleaned up as best as I could and so far the light is staying on. Thanks for the advice and instructions on this!!!

 

Hello there! Odometer dimmed out years ago but I just let it be since it was a minor issue. Now I found out the hard way that the gas guage has started to not be acurate. Ran out of gas when gauge still marked nearly half a tank. Are issues related? Faulty soldering on instrument panel? Fixes?? Anyone else have these issues?