So my trucks had a few "issues" and I've known this since I bought it, but they never really affected anything, so I ignored them.
But the latest one kinda bothers me.

The meter that measures the Batteries, has never worked, it just sits there unless you smack on the top of the dash and then it'll slide towards full, and then reset to negative when turned off.
I presume the one in the bottom left is the oil pressure, as I've heard a couple guys on here talking about waiting for the pressure to normalize, then they take off. I just wait till the engine starts like making a different noise, almost like it drops a hundred rpm, and sounds fairly regular and I take off.
Those two never really bothered me, but the AMP light is irking me as the only time I've had it on was when my batteries were low, and my alternator was on the way out, it'd usually pop on if I had my rpm's to low and the batteries weren't getting charged. But since the swap it wont go away, all the connections are proper, the batteries are getting and staying charge for the first time since I bought the truck, but it still sits there on whenever the truck has power.

Any suggestions for any, or all of the problems? I'm not against buying a cluster, I would just rather eliminate the problems instead of buying a new one and having the same issues.

 

You may have a dab gauge, or just a wire came off somewhere, on your cluster the four to the left are top left is oil pressure, then to the right is amp, then the bottom left is your temperature of the engine then of course your fuel level.

 

Ah okay, didn't know the top left one was the pressure, it sits there in that position 24/7 when power is on, when it's just started, after warm up, and even when towing up hill, no variation.
My first guess was the PO when he took the dash apart to install the push button glow plug warming, that he damaged the cluster. But now with the AMP light on 24/7 too it doesn't seem like a good sign.

 

Top right gauge is Battery Voltage- not Amperage. See the 8 and 18 marked red on the ends. Volts should be around 12 with engine "Off" and around 14 with engine "On" and alternator charging the batteries.

 

I don't know for sure, but looking at the light coming past the needle it looks like someone was messing with it....

Anyone else think so?

 

It was like that when I bought it, which was why I figured he damaged it trying to take the dash apart to mount the press button.

 

Son of a biotch, so after my latest "new" alternator left me stranded after draining my batteries after a hour stuck in grid lock traffic. I pulled it out and it made a stomach curtling scraping noise when you turn it by hand I return it and they order me a new one (my fourth alternator in a month) it had a smaller pulley on it, and after the guy called the manufacturer, they said it should run better than the OEM pulley. the output with batteries disconnected was 26 volts, and suddenly my cluster is alive, and the AMP light is gone... what the hell?

Now after replacing my heating core, i messed up some wiper wires, they have two settings... Off, and Christine...

 

if you disconnect the batteries with the engine running, you will instantly smoke the alternator.
smacking the top of the dash to get the volt meter working is a common thing with the old body style trucks, as a lot of the the volt meters stick. it is not a big thing if you have an idiot light to warn you the charging system is working or not.

 

That goes against everything I've ever been taught, heard, or learned about diesel trucks. I was told from my uncle who's been working on fords longer than I've been alive, and used to run a ford dealership, what my step father the former military mechanic, and ticketed electrician says, and the fact that I did it and it ran the truck without batteries even turning on all the lights and trying to stress it, and it's still running phenomenally...
The reason diesels are favored over gas is cause in the event of a emp, and all the electrics are friend the engine will still keep running, and I can attest to that with my string of alternator problems, having had my batteries drain to nothing while driving twice. No headlights or any speed/rpm reportin in the dash aside from the sluggish shifting it still got me safely to where I could park it.
Not trying to sound like an ***, but that comment made no sense at all.

 

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LOL!
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you do not sound like an ***, because once apon a time, we pulled the cables off the batteries to see if the charging system was working. if the engine stayed running, the system was ok.

but that was 30 + years ago.
the batteries now days put a load on the alternator. when you take the battery cables off you remove the load from the alternator and the voltage regulator will not be able to handle the spike, which you saw was 26 volts on the unit you had, resulting in the fried alternator.

i have seen dozens of fried alternators over the years.
another falsehood is that if you have a dead battery due to a fried alternator, if you put a new alternator on it will charge the battery.
the dead battery will put to large of a load on the new alternator, causing it to burn up.
you need to charge the batteries before you put a new alternator on.
ask and check in the electrical forum here, and ask on other sites. they will confirm what i said.

not needing any power to run is a bygone era also, because just about every diesel built since 1996 is computer controlled injection, and without the computer it will not run.

the older mechanical injector pump trucks are the ones that will run with nothing more than a fuel can and coolant in the radiator.

 

Now if ONLY there was a good site dedicated to correct information on these trucks somewhere I could read up on...

I do understand that the batteries put a drain on the alternator, as having a crap alternator has caused them to die many o' time in the last month (Good ole Costco and their blanket 100 month warranties)
I'm still learning and I'll be the first to admit it, I put new batteries in before swapping the alternator, disconnected them and there was/is no sign of any frying to the alternator, and it's running strong with no sign of battery drain, running full lights/bumper lights/radio/charging cell/gps. Which used to kill them in under an hour of use.