2003 ford f150 xlt 5.4 when truck is cold while starting all gauges peg out all the way to the right then back to normal any ideas

 

Mine did that. Then I replaced the battery and it went away. Starts up quicker now too.

 

I believe its an indicator of low voltage. Does it crank over well? How old is the battery.

 

Yep I had same thing, replaced battery and it has not done it since.

 

Everyone, clean the cables and post first and try it.
Then if there is still a problem replace the battery.
Good luck.

 

I hate the thin metal clamp that Ford puts on their battery cables. Every Ford I own I always cut them off and buy the solder ones. I have a system and have never had one corrode up or break.

I fill the clamp with solder at the bench using a vice and propane torch. Then take it to the battery with a set of vice grips and heat it just enough to shove the battery cable in. Then put two layers of heat shrink tubing. Make sure you use resin core solder, acid core will corrode over time.

I usually upgrade my cables to 0 guage between the battery and silenoid. I have never had a power issue, other than bad batteries, since doing this the past 20 years.

The felt battery washers under the cables help too to keep the connections clean.