A few weeks ago I had a strange issue with my gauge cluster in my 05’ F250. I fired up the truck, and put it in 4-low …as soon as I shifted the transfer case into 4x4, the display on the gauge cluster popped up a TBC error fault, the check engine and wrench light came on, the odometer read “- - - - - - - - - - - -“, and the speedo and tach went dead….but the truck still idled and ran just fine. I shut it off, restarted the truck……..and everything worked fine. I scanned the truck for any fault codes, nope…nothing, no faults of any kind. I tried shifting the transfer case into 4L and back into 2H again…worked fine, no issues. I figured it was just a fluke…..

Fast forward a week….and I’m at the campground with my family last weekend with our camper. I fire up the truck in the morning, the dash display instantly does the same thing….TBC fault display, no odometer, tach, speedo, and check engine light. Crap! Well, I let the truck idle for a few minutes…..all of a sudden, the TBC fault clears, and everything starts working again. Never had a problem the rest of the day.

I’ve checked the plugs going into the gauge cluster…nothing appeared to be lose. I might try calling circuit board medics and see what they think….but I’m sure they will want to just rebuild the gauge cluster….because that’s what they get paid to do.

So does this sound like the common gauge cluster problem…..or something else? The thing about it doing it as soon as I shifted the transfer case into 4low doesn’t make any sense to me…..along with getting a TBC fault, that’s odd also.


Thoughts?

 

 

Nope....haven't added any gauges, and haven't changed any fuses. Just happened out of the blue.

 

You checked the plugs going into the cluster,,,,,did you also check the big one by the parking brake, just above the kick panel??

 

No, didn't check the plug under the kick panel, but I will do that tonight!! Thanks !

 

imq707s,

We're sorry to hear you are having issues with your truck. My first thought is that it sounds like your cluster is losing CAN communication somehow. The symptoms you are having align with that pretty well. The TBC fault can show when the cluster isn't communicating with the TBC properly. The signal for both the tach and speedo come through CAN. It would also make sense why your CEL is coming on and just dashes showing on your odometer because the cluster is not communicating with the PCM. I would probably check your wiring coming into the cluster first since it seems to have issues communicating with several different modules (Pin 6 - black wire & Pin 7 - white wire on the blue plug of your cluster). If the wiring checks out, then I would probably look at the cluster itself as the possible issue. If you determine that the cluster is likely the issue then please let us know, and we can figure out how to help serve you in the best way. Please let us know if you have any other questions or need any further assistance.

 

Thanks for the detailed info, I really appreciate it!! All of that makes great sense....I'll check all of the plugs and connectors, and if I still keep having the issue I will get the gauge cluster mailed in to you. Would it be a good idea to put some dielectric grease on the connector terminal pins before I re-connect them? Or can that cause issues?

Thanks again!!

 

I know that a lot of guys use it, but its main benefit is to prevent corrosion. It is not conductive so it's not really going to help a lot with the connections, but it shouldn't cause any issues.

 

Well, after a week with no problems......today I fired up the truck, and about three seconds after the engine fired up.....the gauge cluster did the "TBC Fault" on the display, the speedo and tach went dead, and the odometer and trip counter went to " - - - - - - - - ".

So this time, I let the truck idle and I pulled off the dash cover so I could get to the gauge cluster plugs. I wiggled them around, tapped on the gauge cluster, and also wiggled all of the plugs up under the dash...nothing changed. I shut the truck off, restarted it....after a few seconds of the motor firing up, it did the same thing. So this time I shut it off, and just turned the key to the "ON" position and left it for a minute...everything was fine. I scrolled through the odometer and trip counter...and all the numbers were there.

Shut it off, tried to start it again......good for 2-3 seconds, and then did the same thing....TBC fault etc, etc..... I did a system scan by hitting info and reset....and the first thing it popped up was "engine sensor error", then it went though the other stuff just fine. I'm guessing that when the gauges die, it's not communicating with the PCM? It's not getting any info from the motor? Is there a specific plug on the PCM side that I should check also? Any other connectors under the hood that could be lose?

After turning the truck off and on about 4 more times, the gauge cluster finally stayed on....and everything worked fine. I drove the truck around for about and hour with no issues. Every time I've had this problem...it's been right after I start the motor up....never while driving, or after it's been running for a while.

So at this point, does it sound like a wiring issue....or definitely something with the gauge cluster itself? Where is the plug that connects the trucks computer to the gauge cluster? Could that be an issue?

Since it's such an intermittent problem.....would you be able to test for the issues at your shop? Any additional info would be great!!

 

I've attached a wiring diagram for the Data Lines circuit. It sound like either a wiring issue or something wrong with the cluster. I would check wiring first. We don't see a lot of issues with these clusters just losing CAN communication; it's usually a culmination of different issues altogether. If it is wiring, I'm going to assume that it is at the junctions I circled on the wiring diagram or between there and the cluster. If you weren't having the TBC fault then I would say it might be something towards the PCM side, but since you are then that leads me to believe it's somewhere where all three of those units are tied together which would be at those junctions or beyond. We could bring the cluster in and put it on some extended testing. Basically, we have an automated test stand that sends all the signals to the cluster just like it's on an actual vehicle, and then we put our camera system on it to see if anything ever drops out or looks abnormal. If you check all the wiring and everything is looking good then let us know and we will get you set up to bring it in for testing.

 

Thanks again for all the great help!! I will check those connectors tonight after I get home from work.

 

Well, so far I haven't had any more issues. Maybe pulling apart those connectors did the trick. So far so good!!

 

Well...it's been about a month, and I've had no issues at all with the gauge cluster.....until tonight. I drove the truck around all day, parked it in the driveway for a couple of hours, and then fired it up tonight and at first everything worked fine....then about 4-5 seconds after I started the truck, I get the same TBS error, the tach, speed, trans temp, and engine temp gauges died, and I get the wrench and engine symbol.......but the boost, fuel gauge, and oil pressure gauges still worked. I wiggled some more wires, wiggled the connectors under the hood, and tapped on the dash/gauge cluster a few times as the truck was idling....nothing, still the same problem.

I turned the truck off, then restarted it after about 20 seconds. Everything worked fine again for about 4-5 seconds.......then the tach, speedo, trans temp, and engine temp gauges die....and the TBC error ops up on the gauge cluster along with the wrench symbol and engine symbol.

I ended up turning it of for a second time......fired it back up, everything worked good.....and didn't die after a few seconds. I drove the truck around, turned it on and off several times not a single issue.

At this point....I'm thinking it's got to be something with the board(s) in the gauge cluster. Right?? I figure that since when it does have this issue.......it's only after a few seconds after the truck fires up, and the gauges always work for a few seconds before they die. If it was a bad connector, or wiring issue...there wouldn't' be that several second delay every time. Right?

Does this sounds like an issue you have seen before? Do you think you can fix it if I send it in?

Thanks!

 

**UPDATE**
Well, I had the dead gauge cluster issues happen on me a few seconds after startup. But this time it just wouldn't go away. No matter how many times I shut the truck off and restarted it.....it just kept happening. I went through all of the plugs and connectors again...NOPE, the gauge still would die after a couple of seconds of starting up the truck.

Then....I decided I was going to use my TorqueApp on my phone to scan for any codes while the truck was running with the dead gauge (I already had the ELM327 bluetooth dongle plugged into the ODB port...I pretty much always leave it plugged in). Well, I couldn't get the phone to hook up to the bluetooth adapter. So I through I would reach down and unplug it, and then plug it back it.

As soon as I unplugged the Bluetooth adapter.......I heard a beep from behind the dash, and all of a sudden the gauge all came back on, and the wrench and check engine light symbols cleared. I plugged the adapter back in, it connected to the phone...and never had any issue with it the rest of the day.

Is there a good possibility that that bluetooth OBD adapter is what's been causing issues with my dash cluster shutting off??

 

Yep. Something similar happened to me. I posted a reply in your other thread.