Ford Superduty Instrument Cluster Issues

Pretty common issue on the 2002-04 Superduty and Excursion where the cluster is erratic and the windows and radio also go out. Here I explain the issue and what the fix options are and how to change out that cluster.

[michaelspencer]

really appreciate this video. I took my 03 F-350 V10 in and paid around $400.00 and they changed out my battery cables and called it good couple days later it was still doing it. I originally thought it was my overdrive button on the shifter lever. I'll just be driving and all electrical power and engine, power steering everything shuts down. I believe tour video just answered my problem. thanks.

[Julian-edfo]

EXCELENT my 03 SD had this in 2011 and this weekend..im origional owner and after googling, figured out this issue. your video is PERFECT as it confirms issue, and very good dash removal...thank you

[horseshine]

Was driving my 04 f250 6.0 diesel today, looked down, no instrument panel. Thank you so much for posting this! I thought it might be a fuse or maybe my trailer wiring harness messed something up.

[hugavet]

Once again, you've helped me greatly. This is my issue exactly. More like the H.E.LL cluster

[orcoastgreenman]

On my 2003 7.3, all I had to do was melt the solder where the relay legs went through the circuit board, and it has been good and solid for three years since. Besides getting the dash open, the cluster out and disassembled, and digging out my good temperature controlled soldering iron, this job took about 30 seconds.

The issue is, with the power for so many things (headlight relay, radio, interior lighting, window motors, and dash illumination and whatever else I missed) running through the tiny pins of the miniature relay, they get warm... which, over time, through the differential thermal expansion of the two metals/alloys, causes thermal stress cracking between the solder and relay pin. This leaves the pin in a sleeve of solder without a solid, "melted together, " physical connection.

When a decent load is going through the circuit, and thus through the no longer soldered joint at the relay pin, arcing happens with vibration, each time there is any connection and disconnection, making the contact poorer, the connection more and more dirty with soot, getting hotter in operation when there is a connection, and also looser around the pin. This is why it becomes steadily more intermittent over time, and responds less and less to pounding on the dash, until one day... it doesn't.

My guess is that in somewhere between 99% and 99.9% of cases, the relay it's self will last a number of years more, if the solder remelt is performed. You can pull the relay and examine for melting of the plastic housing near the load side/switched pins, and where the pins pass through the bottom of the casing. If there is no melted plastic, the relay is likely to be fine, and outlive the rest of the truck. Rebuilders just replace it because it is a cheap, though not easy for the inexperienced to find, part, and insurance that a damaged, or close to failing relay, does not cause them a costly come-back on the repair.


NOTE!: If you go the "get a used one" or "junkyard pick" route, it would be a REALLY good idea to do the solder remelt proactively, as some amount of thermal stress cracking will be invisibly present, on any cluster that has been in service for a reasonable period of time, and gone through many heating and coolong cycles between times of use and disuse.

If you are not able to solder, and don't have a friend with soldering experience, any electronics repair shop, should be able to do the solder remelt for you. If you have the cluster open, and circuit board open, most good small businesses, will not feel right charging you more than their minimum service fee, or anythng at all, for what will take 30 seconds to accomplish once the soldering iron is hot.

Some auto repair shops will also have a tech who can perform the soldering part of this repair for you, if you bring them the whole cluster. They will love you even more, if you bring them the bare board.

There are good videos here on youtube on how to open up the cluster and remelt the solder or replace the relay completely.

This is a common problem in electronics, anywhere a "small for the load" pin, carries high current onto or off of a circuit board, or connects a device that uses a lot of power, or gets especially hot, to the board, and over the years I have seen it with everything from the flyback transformers running the built in displays on the original tombstone case macintosh computers, to a much more visually evident example, on the protection relay for one 240V, 7000 watt element, on a 4 element tankless electric water heater. That example was much more interesting and visually obvious, as when it finally completely failed, after a period of increasing intermittence, one of the 240 V switched relay contacts was literally vaporized off the circuit board, along with the surrounding trace material on the board, and the soot extended 3/4 of an inch on the board in all directions. Not being able to find that model of relay, and not knowing how to look up a replacement as the manufacturer of that relay had gone out of business, and not able to get a replacement circuit board for over a week, I got out my Dremel tool and ground away the plastic of the case until there was enough of the pin exposed to solder on a solid wire leg down to the circuitboard. Then had to add solid wire legs, of suitable length to the other 5 pins on the DPST relay, and was able to solder it back in place, and it worked again. In fact, even though I got a circuit board in the mail a week or so later, my repaired circuit board stayed in service for about a year and a half with no issues, other than it's UL listing being void. LOL!

With that and a couple of other failures over the previous six years of living with the tankless electric water heater I bought the house with, I learned the main drawback of electric tankless instant hot water heaters, which is that when you have power, yes you have hot water heated instantly, but when the power goes out, you also instantly have no hot water. After the third or fourth electronic side or plumbing/housing leak side problem with that tankless electric, I switched to a tanked water heater.

Where I live we get strong winter storms and short blackout periods of usually a few hours to half a day are not uncommon during big storms, and it is a heating only climate. Having placed the tanked water heater in a heated space of the house, heat energy lost from the water heater is just less heat that our electric furnace has to provide to that part of the house, so sticking with a complicated tankless electric design that had repeated failures, just didn't make sense, and it has been much nicer having a tank of hot water during those times when the power does go out.

I hope my above ramblings, helps someone diagnose and fix their own problems, and/or someone else's. Thanks for reading, I hope you learned something, and have a great day!

[discusdog]

 don't even own a ford anymore but I still like watching these vids.
learn something everytime

[rogerdodger]

I was having the same problem with my 2007 F150. Pushing the trip odometer when it happened was a temporary fix until I was ready to hand over the money for the dealership to replace the cluster (a.k.a. dashboard panel with the gauges). I haven't had a problem since.

From what I have seen and read on the internet, this cluster issue is apparently fairly common, but the long-time intake guy at the dealer said he had never heard of or seen this problem before. I had to show him a video of the issue so he knew what I was talking about.

[tellrowland]

Thank you for the video...had mine out a dozen or more times and never knew the shift indicator came off like that. I've been unscrewing/unhooking the cable and pulling it up with the cluster...will save some time next round. This board is a pita to repair, even with the right relay. (Solder joints like to melt at operating temp) I'm now replacing every drop of solder on the board with silver 60/40 silver solder. Thinking about offering the service once I get it down 110%. Going to be uv shielding the whole board when done and test it submerged in water. If I'm gonna do it, might as well improve it.

[milesbrown]

I can’t believe that the first video I find where I was looking for a solution to this problem. I nailed it.
Everything that you described what was going wrong was happening to my truck and I’ve had it for nine years with no problems except now that it sits a lot because I don’t use it as much the battery tends to die and I had to charge it several times.
The truck was really dirty so I wanted to take it to the car wash it wouldn’t start so I use my battery starter to get it going everything worked great I drove it down there no issues on the cluster at all then the car was washed but they turned the engine off and when I went to start it it wouldn’t start so I plugged my charger back in it started but then as I started driving I realize nothing was working on the cluster I couldn’t lower my windows down I couldn’t adjust my mirrors and I thought something major was wrong. Of course this happens on the cusp of me wanting to sell this vehicle, just my luck.
I’m going to do as you suggest, take the cluster out and see if I can get it either fixed or exchanged or go to the junkyard thanks for the information it was amazing

[mattmayo]

This is invaluable information! This is what YouTube was made for. Thought my truck had a crazy electrical problem. I was thinking a ground to the chassis somewhere was bad, who knew? Contacting CBM tomorrow to get this done.

[green]

You's awesome main! These videos have made my life of owning a ford excursion/super-duty sweet and simple. Kudos to you and many blessings ! keep up the good work !

[vstabill]

Great. Broke the trim on the radio with the 'release tool'.... Now I can't get the damn radio out. Thanks Ford for putting the two bolts above the radio!

[dallen]

you are a lifesaver! I'm buying a 2003 f 350 king Ranch, the guy was describing this problem.. now easy fix...THX

[crashfields]

I was just about to do this and thought I would double check the fuses. Sure enough it was #35 blown, I love these fixes. It must have happened when I was changing the rear cargo bulbs.

[charleylyons]

Dang! was hoping it was going to be a fuse. Love your vids and appreciate your time Sir!

[goatm]

Have an 02 F350 in the shop right now, a buddys work truck. Dead cluster, .14 amp draw on battery tracked down to fuse 35. Also dead radio, came on randomly after 15min of key on while checking fuses etc. lastly and most importantly, alternator not charging. Which I think is also related to this. Will remove cluster later and do some more diag when i can get to the charge indicator wire. 2022 update. almost none in my local junkyards, still a few available on some dealer shelves (10 in the US or so) price $850. Rebuild services range from 200-300 it seems.

[JudgeGuns]

this an old video but i just had the same problems in my 2002 7.3 and I disconnected my batteries, turned on the ignition and the lights with batteries disconnected, also hit the odometer reset, there's an instrument diagnostic computer there. And WALLA! everything came back on! Wahoo! And I have to admit, I did say a prayer before I turned on the key :D

[PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Brian, quick question for you on these clusters: when the failure occurs, do the power door locks still function from the door switches? Thanks for the video!

[ngeltz]

Excellent video. I need to send mine out for a solder re-flow. Thanks for posting!

[flats-hopper]

I'm having an issue with fuse 41 blowing pretty often, causing radio, window, and visor lights not to work. Do you think the battery saver relay is the cause? Thanks in advance 05 f250