Dash board questions

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Jun 2, 2005 | 12:46 AM

raysvan

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From: Tennessee

Dash board questions

I have not owned my truck very long, about 2 weeks. It has all aftermarket Sunpro gauges and none of the dash gauges work and I was told by a few other Ford owners that the 87-96 Full size had dash issues. I like my Sunpro gauges and they look fine but wanted to know more about why the others dont work. I wish they did.
Also, the Sunpro gauge for the alt. is not wired up, I want it to work but am no electriction by any means. What whires should I hook them up too? I have them mounted at the bottom of the dask below the ash tray. Any help would be very

Jun 2, 2005 | 01:13 AM

pfogle

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Joined: Feb 2003

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From: Oak Harbor, OH

Is it a volt or amp meter? If it's volts, it need to be wired like so, black is (-) ground, red is (+), a switched source with the key. And the white wire is the light.

Jun 3, 2005 | 11:10 PM

Rotor

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My 88 has all stock instruments and they work just fine. Over the years I have seen people who add unnecessary gauges or go to J.C.Whitney L.E.D. readout crap and in the process usually butcher the wiring harnesses. Your gauge issue is probably due to someone who did'nt have a clue what they were doing. The only way to make sure it's right is to gut the whole mess and start over.

Jun 4, 2005 | 12:08 AM

raysvan

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From: Tennessee

First my appoligies for the poor spelling in my first post, I work long hours and often sleep for a second while I am posting, but there is no excuse. I also use another forum and they allow editing at anytime and this one does not.

I have heard from co-workers that there was a recall on the problems from the dash board and that they are the first thing to go when the trucks were new. Any truth to this. If I plug in the fuse to the instrament panel the gauges peg out and so I imagine there is some problem there. It is practicly my daily driver and I cant shut it down long so the aftermarket gauges was a fast and easy fix for this problem. They look good as well. I dont like the dead dash board though.

Jun 4, 2005 | 11:25 AM

MustangGT221

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From: Topsfield, MA

Maybe I can straighten a few things out.

The "dash" is simply considered the structure infront of the passangers, all that plastic stuff. The gauge cluster is infront of the driver. The speedometer in the gauge cluster is called the PSOM, Programable Speedometer/Odometer Module. It's known to go bad here and there, the fix is either a junkyard part or new from Ford. That may of been what he was refering to, other then that...no dash/gauge issues.

The stock voltmeter gauge must be plugged in/working for the battery to be charged by the alternator. One time I removed my cluster and drove w/o a gauge cluster, found out hours later when my truck died.

My suggestion would be to take out the gauge cluster and see what was done with the wiring behind it. I hope the wires didn't get screwed up. That's the first step in getting it to work again. There is an article in our tech articles section (link above) about installing a tach, it shows you how to take the stock gauge cluster out.

Jun 8, 2005 | 08:52 AM

raysvan

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From: Tennessee

I finally got some time off to check some things, first was the gas tank selector valve that I was lucky enough to get straighted out. Second was the psom, I can disconnect the cable at the trans and spin by hand and it works, so I am assuming it is the gear inside the trans. The SunPro is a amp's type gauge and is still not hooked up, maybe soon!
I am lucky enough to have a second vehicle and although it is a Saturn it is a good car, when I am in it I wish I was in the truck.
Sorry it took so long to reply but I have a job that requires about 14.5 hours including drive time and I work 4 on 4 off so I am sleeping about the entire 4 days when not at work. Have a great day and thanks for the replies.