So I was on the way to work this am, about 4:15 or so. I was doing about 60 on cruise control, and had been driving for about 15 minutes. Suddenly all the lights on the dashboord light up and all the guages go all the way to the left. Then the lights went out and all returned to normal. The only difference pre and post incident is that my average mileage was reset. This has never happened before. The engine never stopped running, and the truck ran like normal. I don't know if this is an indicator of a problem or not, it was just strange.
This is an 09 screw XLT with about 42K on the clock. No other issues since I bought it.
Any thoughts on what may have caused this?

 

Do you have any third-party electrical add-ons installed? Alarm, remote start, etc.? If so, something could be hosed up there.

Otherwise, these trucks are very picky about electrical issues, thanks to all the computers involved. There have been several threads recently where seriously bad behavior (transmission not shifting, etc.) was explained by a bad battery. I would take a thorough look at the electrical system - battery voltage, ground cables, etc. to see if you have an issue there.

 

My truck is bone stock - nothing has been added.
The battery is OEM. I'll run over to Autozone tonight and have it checked.
Thanks for the tip!

 

It's just a thought, but I know when I was driving a borrowed 02 Mustang, the battery started goin out one day and every time the engine was cranked over and the ignition returned to the RUN position, the gauges would do a full sweep. Warning lights stayed off, but gauges did sweep. Almost a halfway done self-test of the cluster or something. I would check and clean the battery connections before I tested anything.

If you ever did want to see a full-on self test of the cluster, hold down the odometer reset (with the key off) then continue holding it down while switching the ignition to RUN (don't have to start, but you can if you want to play with the secret digital RPM readout). Keep holding the button down til you see the gauges sweep. Now let go of the button, and push/release it once to step thru each check of the cluster. It will do a gauge sweep test (again), a warning light check, then it will show you some different information each time you press the button. Fuel level, volts, dashboard dimmer **** position, RPM, speed, some other codes I have no idea what they are... and to get out of test mode just turn the ignition off again. Next time you start it will be back to normal.

EDIT: well I don't know about on the newest trucks, but the 05 we have at work will do the self test that way. It's a base model with NO options! YMMV.

 

I just did the test. Like you, it provided a lot of info that I don't know the meaning.
I did a vehicle health report on Sync. I don't know how extensive that test is, but it came back with everything ok. Guess I'll just watch it for a while. I'll be on vacation next week, so it's going to sit idle for several days. If the battery is dead when I get back, then I'll have eliminated a possible problem.

 

Hope its something simple. When I worked at a private repair shop, I saw so many electrical glitches caused by nothing more than simple corroded terminals or a bad battery. Good luck!