I drive an '02 F350 Power Stroke 4x4 with auto trans. Have had her since new. I have had a recurring problem for probably two months now (maybe more).. Have not been able to relate the problem to any specific weather, conditions, etc. I have also trolled through the forum here and found all that I could that may relate to my problem, but none were identical to this issue..

The Instrument Cluster seems to "reboot" which causes the radio to temporarily turn off. This could happen at any given moment and for no reason at all. It may happen multiple times in a row and multiple times over a short trip, and then sometimes it doesn't occur for a few days. The truck runs fine when this occurs and there are no dummy lights on.

From all that I've read on the forum, the Instrument Cluster would reboot if power was lost or was low.. and if the cluster reboots, the Accessory Delay Relay would probably cut power to the radio... The threads that I've read also indicate that this may or may not be caused by a bad cluster connection or water in the General Electronic Module. Possibly the voltage regulator or alternator too. Maybe a battery issue as well. None of these items have ever been replaced before.

I have switched out fuses 35 and 41.. although they appeared fine. I pulled the Instrument Cluster harness and it looks really clean and lightly greased inside. Before I continue playing POE (process of elimination) with all of these parts... If anyone can shed some additional light on the possible causes of this problem and what the next step may be?? Appreciate it! Jeff

 

I had a similar problem about a month ago after installing a new stereo into my ’86 bronco. If I was idling in park everything was fine, but once I started driving the radio would start skipping and once in a while completely reset. It would do it on AM/FM or the CD. I couldn’t narrow it down to any certain scenario. The engine would run fine. After a lot of troubleshooting and reading through the forums here, I tried running an additional ground wire and that took care of my radio problem. It also helped to make all of my interior, dash, signal and reverse lights brighter too.

First off, before running the additional ground, make sure both of your battery cables are clean on both ends and the cables themselves seem to be in good order. You can use a 10 gauge wire and run it from the chassis and firewall down to the bolt on the block where your primary ground cable attaches too that returns to the battery. You don’t want to attach it directly back to the battery terminal itself, because incase your primary ground cable goes bad, the 10 gauge cable will act like the primary and may burn under the excessive load.

Good luck

 

Is the radio factory or aftermarket? And are the battery terminals clean? You could also check the alternator and wiring.

 

Thanks for the input..

The radio is the stock unit. Tonight I pulled off all 4 of the battery terminals. I wire brushed them, then hit them with some baking soda solution. They didn't look bad, but I cleaned them up anyway. Also pulled the grounds running to the block and cleaned them up with a wire brush.

I am keeping a log in the truck now to see when this occurs.. and this morning after warming up the truck for 5 minutes I headed out and within 2 miles it did it for the first time while driving along. Then in the Lowes parking lot while idling it did it again. It has been very cold around here but no rain to affect the wiring.

Going to run her tonight and see if there is an improvement.

 

any update, I am having the exact same problem

 

That was 10 years ago and he never returned to this site.

 

he Jeff did u ever find solutions

 

Geez, that was SEVENTEEN years ago! He still hasn't returned.

smh

 

^^^^At some point this will sink in-----hard to tell when though huh?