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I've got a 2002 F150. My gauge cluster seems to have an intermittent connection issue. When I turn the key on, the gauges and lights flicker and the fuel pump doesn't come on. I tap the right side of the cluster, the gauges sweep, then it will start and work as normal.
I took it out and inspected the plugs and I looked for cracked solder joints on the board. Found no issues.
Do you guys have any recommendations for a cluster repair company I could send it to? Thanks
fuel pump doesn't come on. I tap the right side of the cluster, the gauges sweep, then it will start and work as normal.
I would check the wiring diagrams to see where the power comes from for the pump and the cluster. I'm not 100% on it but I don't think that pump power runs through the cluster. Your taps on the cluster (I assume you mean the upper dash since the cluster is inset) might be affecting the true power supply problem. Maybe a loose fuse in the fuse panel or in the GEM or the ignition switch. Actually, ignition switch or its connections seems likely.
You jumped to cluster problem but haven't really confirmed it beyond tapping on something.
I have the 03 diagrams and might check it out for fun later. Good luck.
If you read the full post you'll see that what he describes is not the typical odometer problem.
The pump and the cluster lose power and get powered at the same time. By the words he wrote anyway.
And if you read between the lines it won't start either. That's not the typical cluster problem. PATS might even be involved. From a power supply perspective. PATS needs power too.
If you read the full post you'll see that what he describes is not the typical odometer problem.
The pump and the cluster lose power and get powered at the same time. By the words he wrote anyway.
And if you read between the lines it won't start either. That's not the typical cluster problem. PATS might even be involved. From a power supply perspective. PATS needs power too.
When I turn the key to the on position, the gauges and indicator lights flutter rapidly. The engine will start, but only for a few seconds because the fuel pump isn't on. However, when I tap or thump the face of the instrument cluster the gauges do a full sweep and reset, the fuel pump primes and it will start and run as normal. The problem is intermittent...only occurs about one in every 8-10 starts. Ambient temperature changes also seem to make it better/worse at times.
Periodically, it happens when driving. Sometimes when hitting a bump, the gauges/indicator lights will go crazy but it doesn't effect the fuel pump after it's running, so it doesn't die. I can simply tap on the face of the cluster and the gauges go back to normal.
I don't think I'm tapping the cluster hard enough to effect other components in the dash. It's fairly gentle so that's why I suspected the cluster itself.
Also, I have to tap on the right side of the cluster face. Tapping the left or center doesn't work.
Looks like you're probably right. The fuel pump power is after the IC, apparently. And there's a microprocessor in the IC. A computer in the gauge cluster.
No ideas for a solution except to remove it and hope you find a broken circuit. Good luck.
Looks like you're probably right. The fuel pump power is after the IC, apparently. And there's a microprocessor in the IC. A computer in the gauge cluster.
No ideas for a solution except to remove it and hope you find a broken circuit. Good luck.
Thank you for the information. Unfortunately, I didn't find a broken circuit, but I'll look again under magnification (my eyes aren't as good as they used to be).
In the event that I can't find it, do you know of a good place that repairs these? There's a lot of places online, but I thought I'd ask around before sending it off blind. I'd rather not get it back in worse shape than I sent it.
Thanks for the replies. It's about right, I usually don't get easy to solve problems. I dislike electrical issues most, which is why I've procrastinated on fixing this for 2-3 years. But the truck is extremely clean and relatively low miles for its age (I'm the original owner), so I can't stand something on it not working correctly.
Solved. Before sending the cluster off, I decided to take one last look at it in hopes of identifying any bad solder joints. After squinting and staring at it until my eyes crossed, I went to Harbor Freight and picked up a magnification headset thing with an LED light so I could actually see. Then I found a joint that looked different than the others.
I've attached a pic under magnification that points out the joint.
It's one leg of a capacitor located in the middle/right side of the board. It had noticeably less solder than all the others, and under heavy magnification I could make out what appeared to be a crack all the way around. I used a really fine tip on my soldering iron to re-solder the joint.
I've now driven the truck several times over the last couple weeks and the problem is gone. This repair saved me a couple hundred bucks and at least a couple weeks of down time.
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