I went to look at an ’89 F250 that I am considering buying. The truck (5.0 / auto) looked to be in good shape with minimal rust. One problem it did have was that the gauge cluster had been replaced due to the old one being smashed and now all the dial lights were out on the new one. The current owner thought it was something simple but didn’t feel like messing with the truck any more since he knew he would be selling it soon. Unfortunately, I am not that familiar with Ford trucks. Are chances are that this is a simple fix? Is it hard to get to the wiring at the back of the cluster to troubleshoot this problem?

<O</O
I also noticed that the dash lite indicator for the 4x4 operation was reversed. When I shifted it into 2H the lite came on and when I shifted it into 4H the lite went off. The current owner thought that the two-prong switch connector was probably just put on backwards. Make sense?

Any feedback would be appreciated!

<O</O

Cheers!

 

I would be wary of the whole thing. An instrument cluster being busted out should not mean electricial problems that need to be traced. If you chose to commit to this I recommend you get a signed bill of sale that states the vehicle will pass your state inspection otherwise it's a no deal.

 

The dash backlighting bulbs get their voltage from the headlight switch. The bulbs are mounted on individual sockets which twist into place on the instrument cluster circuit board.

The cluster can be pulled out in 10 minutes once you've done it before. No special tools just a torx screw remover, pull the cluster out a little, remove two electrical connectors, a small white wire and then pull the speedmometer cable off the back of the cluster.

There are two 4x4 indicators located on the right bottom of the cluster.
4x4 for 4hi and a indicator for 4lo. The switch is screwed into the transfer case. When the transfer case is either in 4hi or 4lo, one of the switch contacts is grounded.

This provides a ground for one of the bulbs and that bulb lights. If the two pin connector were switched 4x4 hi would light when the shift lever was in 4lo and if the shifter were in 4lo, the 4x4 hi indicator would light. There is no indicator for 2hi.

If you look at the bottom right part of the dash cluster from right to left the indicators are right turn signal indicator, 4lo, 4x4/4hi and anti lock brake indicator.

Do all of the gauges work?

My guess is the truck has wiring problems or the wrong cluster is installed. Also note the vehicle mileage is contained in the dash cluster.

Used dash clusters for that year are on E-bay pretty often. The usually sell for around $35.00.

 

Gotcha! With the lights out and the 4x4 indicator not working correctly it sounds like there is some kind of electical / wiring problem. I guess the problem could be in the cluster itself or be something more serious. In any event, I guess it is a course for concern.

Are these dash pods interchangable for a wide range of years. Would installing one from the wrong year give you these types of "qwirks"?

Thanks for the great advice!

 

87-91 dash clusters from F150-F350 and full size Bronco's should interchange. There are a couple different kinds.

No tachometer, manual trans. (no letters for PRND etc.. .
No tachometer, auto trans. (letters for PRND etc..)

With tachometer manual trans. (no letters for PRND etc...
With tachometer auto trans. letters for PRND etc...

I'm not positive you could get a tach with an auto trans. from the factory but some people have swapped a cluster with a tach in place of their cluster that didn't have a tach. and say it works.

Only other thing I can think of is some clusters had a real oil pressure gauge which got it's input from a sender screwed into the engine block. The other clusters oil pressure gauge was really basically a idiot light.

Go here to see some pictures of the cluster for a 87-91.

http://www.ebaymotors.com Type in F150 dash cluster and click the search button.

 

Thanks F150!<O</O

Do you think its pretty safe to assume that troubleshooting the dash illumination and 4x4 indicators should be pretty straightforward? I’ll be getting a set of manuals with the truck. Since it seems easy to pull the dash I would imagine I could check the pins for voltage and work back from there, if need be. It doesn’t sound too complicated and the seller is willing to drop the price another $100 to cover my troubles. If the problem is in the dash pod itself it looks like I can get a replacement easily enough from eBay for about $40.

Make sense?

 

Sounds like a good deal if he knocks $100 off. Should be easy to trouble shoot the back lighting and the 4x4 indicator problem. Note if you're getting the Helms service manuals which are the manuals the dealer techs used, those alone cost around $80.00 when new.

There were two blue colored books covering the basic truck then an emissions manual that covered the error codes, a book covering the specs. of the truck and also you could purchase schematics.

If you have a voltmeter you should beable to find out what's going on.

If you purchase the vehicle, when you're ready to troubleshoot the problem, repost if you need help on wire color codes.

 

I have a fuel guage out on mine do you know a simple diagnosis prior to replacing the cluster panel??

Randy

 

Done deal! I should have the truck tomorrow.

Thanks for all the help! Its given me the confidence to tackle this project!

 

You need to provide more information such what year is the truck and does it have have dual tanks?

If you have dual tanks and only one tank doesn't display the proper fuel amount, the sender or float in that tank is bad.

This is info. for a 88 and 89. 90-91 is probably similar.

When the fuel tank is empty, the resistance of the sender is around 15 ohms.
When the fuel tank is full the resistance of the sender is around 160 ohms.

If you were to pull the connector on top of the tank off (if you get to it) and turn the ignition switch to on and the flip the tank selector switch to the tank you pulled the connector off, the gauge should read full. If you were to place a jumper wire across the two pins used by the sender on the connector, the fuel gauge should read empty.

The connector has 4 pins. The fuel pump uses two pins. 12 volts on one pin and the other pin is ground.

The sender uses two pins 1 pin is the resistance value sent to the fuel gauge and the other pin is ground. If the tank is plastic, there are only 3 pins.
The ground for the pump and fuel level sender share the same ground pin.

I would guess from what I've seen, the sender inside the tank is bad or the float has a pin hole leak so it never moves and the gauge will always show empty or low.

Problem for 88 and 89 is Ford only sells the sender and fuel pump as a unit.
Cost was around $125.00. Latter years I believe they would sell the sender only.

I doubt your probem is the gauge in the dash cluster.

 

All righty then, I will see what I can do to get to the connection and check as you describe. Thanks so much, this site is so awesome. You all are great. Merry Christmas


Randy