qdude,

I would take a close look at all of the solder points. If any of them show any sign of being loose or not perfect, just lightly touch the soldering iron tip to them.

Good luck!

Tim

 

Check the other connections, But I don't think you will find a problem there.

 

Okay, I've read completely through this post as well as another forum where the same problem/fix is documented. But most of the posts reference 99 models. Mine is a 2001 super crew cab. Has anybody tackled this model? Is there anything different from the excellent instructions that I need to be aware of before tackling this. Soldering on a circuit board is not something I'm real comfortable with but am willing to tackle it.

Thanks

 

I just did it with my 2000 Exp the other day ... I never had Soldering Pencil in my hand before that day or even tought of Soldering. But after doing all this i say its EASY AS HELL

 

KLbonzo, I have the same problem with my 2001 supercrew and from what I can see in my repair manual and from what I have been reading through in these forums myself, the dash cluster is exactly the same. Mine is still under warranty but the dealership will not replace it until I come in with the odometer blacked out. Should be soon as it is dissapearing more and more everyday, just comes back on whenever I turn into the dealer driveway, go figure!

 

That's what happend to Me ... everytime i went to the Dealer they said they can't Notice it ... but when i Drove off same thing was going on ... Finally i got PISSED so MUCH ... that i took it apart Followed every Step and now it WORKS like a CHARM ... been a WEEK now it STILL did not TURN off even Once ...

 

my 2001 SC had the display go blank about once a week for a few minutes after starting motor. took the dash out this weekend. very minor crack in the solder ont he same pin dakota was talking about. didnt have much of a magnifier and would not have found it if i didnot know where to look from this post. not a difficult job, took about an hour total. if you have never had a dash apart it a little bit of a challenge, but not difficult. make sure you get all the screws out, one behind the light switch panel. the instrument cluster has several screws, two wire plugs, and the gear selector block to slide off. again, not difficult, but a little more of a challenge than dakota mentioned. back together now and everything works. mine was intermittent so it will be a couple weeks before i know for sure.

 

This worked perfectly. I really appreciate dakota_Viking and this website. I saved hundreds and hundreds of dollars because of all the posting how-to's here.

 

Been planning to do this...
I understand the bulbs for the inst. cluster is 194, can somebody please tell for certain how many I need? I figure, while I'm in there, I might as well replace the bulbs with SYL LL and hopefully be set for a long time. I have 92k on my odo so it's reasonable to think that one of these days, any of the bulbs for the displays might go out.

Thanks in advance.

 

Well my sons 1999 F-150 ext. cab 4x4 5.4 was doing this also and I did exactly like dakota _viking said and it was identical to dakota_vikings. The one on the right was real bad and the far left was not as bad but resoldered anyway and it works awesome THANK YOU very much dakota_viking.

 

I'm just glad I could help!

Tim

 

Great thread. I'm having this with my Expy. I'm glad it's something like this and not a bad component.

 

I appreciate the info. My local dealer was wanting to charge me $400 for the new instrument panel plus $85 to program it plus labor! All that to repair something that was faulty from the factory. Has anyone raised cane directly with detroit or has everyone just dealt with dealers?

 

i did not have to program it. all i had to do was solder. it still works great. "don't let the green light blind you when you are done"

 

I fixed mine this past Wednesday, working great. They only have to program it if they replace the instrument panel. They have to put the mileage in so the odometer is accurate.