Speedometer Issue
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 373
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From: Anchorage, Alaska
Speedometer Issue
A friend of mine is having an issue with his speedo and i am wondering if others have come across this issue. When he hooks up a trailer (either with brakes or without), his trucks speedo stops working. After the truck warms up or has been on the road for 5-10 minutes, the speedo pops on and starts working fine.
On occasion, the speedo just won't work at all. Then, the other day, he towed his bronco to Oregon (300 miles) and the speedo worked fine. He disconnected the trailer and went into town and his speedo started reading about 25mph too high. He truck sat for a day and tehn he hooked up to his trailer and the speedo worked fine.
The only time he has a problem with this is when has been towing. I am wondering if this is a common problem because the other day, I towed with my truck and the speedo stopped working when I hooked up. Does anyone have any ideas?
P.S. He has taken his truck to the dealer and the dealer said everything was fine.
On occasion, the speedo just won't work at all. Then, the other day, he towed his bronco to Oregon (300 miles) and the speedo worked fine. He disconnected the trailer and went into town and his speedo started reading about 25mph too high. He truck sat for a day and tehn he hooked up to his trailer and the speedo worked fine.
The only time he has a problem with this is when has been towing. I am wondering if this is a common problem because the other day, I towed with my truck and the speedo stopped working when I hooked up. Does anyone have any ideas?
P.S. He has taken his truck to the dealer and the dealer said everything was fine.
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 594
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From: New Jersey
Are you two guys towing the same trailer? If so something in that trailer wiring is probably causing a problem. Some people have had some speedo problems similar to what you describe but I havent seen any just relating to only when a trailer is hooked up. The other thing I see is that you have an '05... Do you have the integrated brake controller? If so, this is linked into your trucks systems regarding braking, ABS, speed sensor info etc. all of which could affect your speedo. I would definately make sure that your truck is shut off when connecting and unconnecting the trailer plug. I'm not sure that this is required or advised by Ford but my feeling is that with all the electronics in these things, it's just better not to take a chance in sending a surge or something through the system that could potentially damage something.
Last edited by johnnysF350; Nov 23, 2007 at 08:47 PM.
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 373
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From: Anchorage, Alaska
Yes, these are both '05s with the integrated trailer controller and yes it is was the same trailer that i had the issue with (he did have the same problem with a different trailer, but i have never towed that trailer). I don't remember if the truck was runnning when i contected the trailer, but i will try next time i heeok up to make sure it isn't running.
Is there any way to try to diagnose if there is an issue with the integrated controller or to solve this problem?
Is there any way to try to diagnose if there is an issue with the integrated controller or to solve this problem?
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,665
Likes: 164
From: Cartersville, Ga
Mine had that issue w/out hooking a trailer up. Ended taking it to the dealer and they replaced the instrument cluster. Problem solved. It sounds like, though, you may have a trailer wiring issue.
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 594
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From: New Jersey
I would definately get that first trailer checked out... It's possible that it caused a problem with both of your brake controllers or something else and that's why your friend is having a problem with the second trailer too. Also, I'm not positive but I think there were some issues with the brake controllers in the '05's but not sure exactly what they were. Good luck, hope you get it straightened out.
