I have purchased a 1986 Econoline E350 commercial step van. I am trying to figure out how to go about getting replacement parts for my instrument cluster. I have tested the cluster and the wiring. The wiring has power, but once plugged into the cluster it doesn't work. I believe the cluster or the circuit board is bad. I did test the gauges and the circuit board to see if there is continuity and there is, so this really confused me. I am not sure where the issue might be coming from. I will attach photos of my cluster. If there is any advise that someone is will to share I am happy to listen. Thank you so much in advance.

 

You typed in that your van is a 1986. Are you sure?
late 70's through to 1991 instrument clusters looked like this:


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Local auto salvage yard is probably the best place to start. Car-part.com is a great site to search local and across the country and they will ship to you.
If your van is a 1996 then there may be a chance that you can still find some of the parts new.
Did you use a ohm meter and check out each circuit on the circuit board? (I am editing my post so cant go back and read yours at the moment)

The male plug on the wiring harness that plugs into the instrument cluster will not have power on any of the terminals with the key switch off. With the key switch on, only some terminals will have power. The cluster lights will not have power till the headlight switch is on. Turn signal indicators until the turn signal switch is put in rt of lt position or you turn hazard lights on. Various other such as seat belt light and perhaps check engine.

Maybe someone here has a diagram they can share with you once you state what year you have.
All of my manuals are are from 70's through around 1990

 

I have a commercial vehicle. It is a box truck. I am100% positive the truck is a 1986.

 

Can you post a pic of your box truck when you get a chance. inside and out?

I have to run out for a bit but one piece of advice about checking the cluster. DO NOT apply 12 volts to any of the gauge circuits as all but the alternator gauge goes through the Instrument Cluster Voltage Regulator which reduced the 12 volts to around 6 volts. The illumination is different and is straight 12 volts.

The IVR should look very similar to this one and is on the back of your cluster. It controls the oil, fuel, and temperature gauge.

Hopefully someone here has a schematic. I will look through my info here but don't ever recall seeing a cluster like yours. Perhaps that is specific to a box truck. The principle and how it functions would be the same as on a standard van though, I would think.

What does work on it when you check it with a meter?
I have a 1985 conversion van and the connector on the back of the instrument cluster has 2 broken wires where the male plug plugs in to the circuit board. Most often, if you are careful, a broken circuit board can be repaired.
Without a wiring diagram, perhaps you could trace out the circuit board and identify which circuits match between the two connectors and make your own diagram. Then you would know what the wire colors on the male plug go to making it easier to trace them down.

 

Is this similar to yours? this is for a 1985
https://www.vanderhaags.com/detailvi...?part=25268163

 

Here are some more photo of my box truck. To the best of my knowledge I believe the turning signals light up, but none of the gauges move. I did use a meter to check the continuity and there was power, but when I plug in the mail plug in none of the gauges move.

 

Sadly no, My truck look completely different. Think more fedEx van/truck.

 

Thanks for the pics of your truck. What are the plans for your truck after you get it going?

I am not well versed in the step vans but your cluster does look like a ford style circuit board and connector. The fact that it uses a Ford style Instrument Voltage Regulator is another clue that the instrument cluster is Ford. So I am going to say that your cluster gauges are wired the same as any other van from the 80's.

Here is a page from my 1981 Econoline EVTM showing the gauge wiring along with a page explaining the basic system

If none of the gauges are working then I would start with power to the resistor wire that feeds the IVR

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Now here is a page from my 1988 EVTM showing the gauge cluster wiring. You can see that very little has changed over the years. That's why I believe your cluster should be very similar. Notice that both use a 8 to 9 ohm resistance wire that feeds the IVR. It looks like they both use the same wire color for the coolant and oil pressure. Hope some of this helps

 

Thank you for the information. I am definitely no mechanic. My day job is a nurse. Working on this truck has been my second least favorite thing to do. The truck had an engine swap from diesel to gas a few years ago before I bought it. The new engine is a F350. My truck is all kinds of screwy. Me and my business partner are turning it into a mobile refill shop. I really want to get the cluster working because I worry about the speed limit along with fuel readings. Luckily, I learned how to replace the fuel float if it is bad.

 

The instrument cluster shown as being installed on this step van could possibly be something propriety to whoever built the body and interior, Grumman, Utilimaster etc etc.

 

Thank you for the information. Are there any replacement parts that I might be able to exchange mine for?

 

While its possible Ford (or one of its sub-contractors) supplied the instrument cluster until its known who manufactured it other than contacting an online cluster repair operation there's no way knowing where to find or obtain something known to be working.

Its also entirely possible the cluster itself works fine but chassis wiring has failed somewhere along the line. I have zero experience with that chassis and especially the general year of its construction so can't really be too much further help.

Good luck with this!