Dash Light Problems
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Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 3,258
Likes: 1,320
From: Pryor, OK
Dash Light Problems
When I got my truck a couple years ago, the battery voltage was not working. I removed the gauge cluster to find that the printed circuit was burned. I went to the local jy and got one from the same year and with the same gauge set-up. After install, the dash lights would only work on the left half. After a quick bang on the dash, it switched to working only on the right side. It will keep doing this, from one side to the other, and sometimes none of the dash lights work. All the gauges work and the blinker lights work at all times. This is a tough one for me to troubleshoot. Is it the printed circuit, the voltage regulator, the plug its self, or what?
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,505
Likes: 339
From: Wildwood Pa
Clean all the areas on the PC where the light sockets make contact. A pencil eraser works well for this.
Clean all the contacts on the light sockets themselves. Sometimes you have to bend the contacts on the socket out a hair so they make better contact with the PC.
Make sure the socket holes in the white plastic body are solid & not crumbling. You want the light sockets to be tight in the body.
Replace all the bulbs in the light sockets with new ones.
Test all the lights & sockets with a battery before you install them to make sure they work.
Clean all the contacts on the light sockets themselves. Sometimes you have to bend the contacts on the socket out a hair so they make better contact with the PC.
Make sure the socket holes in the white plastic body are solid & not crumbling. You want the light sockets to be tight in the body.
Replace all the bulbs in the light sockets with new ones.
Test all the lights & sockets with a battery before you install them to make sure they work.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 3,258
Likes: 1,320
From: Pryor, OK
I have removed the cluster a hand full of times trying to figure it out. I know the plug is fully in. All the light bulbs are new. When I got the "new" printed circuit, I did eraser the whole thing before I installed it and did again one of the times I pulled it out. I am wondering if the voltage regulator isn't working or if the plug is just worn out.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,505
Likes: 339
From: Wildwood Pa
The voltage regulator doesn't power the lights, just the gauges. The lights get full battery power.
The sockets themselves can cause issues. Clean the contacts on the sockets, try & clean the contacts inside the sockets too. Test each socket before you install it. Put battery voltage to each contact on the socket & see if the bulb lights. Some sockets won't work no matter what you do to them.
Clean the contacts on the plug, if you haven't all ready. If any contacts look like they are pushed in, you can gently pry them out a hair.
I clean up, test & refurbish these clusters, 15 or so a year. I have old plugs with 6" or so of wiring left that I plug in & use to test the lights & gauges. If you have an old plug you can use, it can make it much easier to test the cluster.
The sockets themselves can cause issues. Clean the contacts on the sockets, try & clean the contacts inside the sockets too. Test each socket before you install it. Put battery voltage to each contact on the socket & see if the bulb lights. Some sockets won't work no matter what you do to them.
Clean the contacts on the plug, if you haven't all ready. If any contacts look like they are pushed in, you can gently pry them out a hair.
I clean up, test & refurbish these clusters, 15 or so a year. I have old plugs with 6" or so of wiring left that I plug in & use to test the lights & gauges. If you have an old plug you can use, it can make it much easier to test the cluster.
Ford Parts Specialist
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 88,826
Likes: 785
From: Simi Valley, CA
F4UZ-13B765-A (replaced C8OZ-13711-A & B) .. Instrument Cluster Bulb Socket / Available from Ford ~ MSRP each: $2.32
Misc. applications: 1970/91 F100/350 / 1970/96 Econoline / 1978/91 Bronco.
Misc. applications: 1970/91 F100/350 / 1970/96 Econoline / 1978/91 Bronco.
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