vicious_customs

Hey guys, I'm new :-) I just picked up a 2005 V6 for my son's first car, and mechanically it's in great shape, but the instrument cluster is all sorts of screwed up. I've read plenty about the stepper motors, so I figure that's the issue I'm facing. Ultimately the gas gauge reads empty all the time, the temperature gauge reads maxed out all the time, and the speedometer is pegged.

Initially I was going to pull the cluster and send it out for repair, but my wife's car is down waiting on parts and I'm using the stang until that's fixed, so I thought I'd buy a replacement. I was familiar with the PATS being tied to the cluster in the 10th gen F150, so I started looking to see if that was the case here. After doing a bunch of digging I got conflicting information, made a phone call, and I think I've been led astray. I found a used cluster and called and was told it is no longer tied to PATs, which appears to be the case, and that I could just swap the cluster. I bought the cluster, and kept digging. That's where my info is all over the place. I've read plenty of "it should work" and just as many that say it's tied to the speedometer, and if it's not the same it won't work. Well, it's obviously not the same.

So, can anyone tell me what's accurate here? Did I just blow money on a new cluster I can't use? Is it simply plug and play? If not, can it be reprogrammed? If it's not plug-n-play and can be reprogrammed, what's the best way to go about it? Sorry if this has already been answered, I checked the FAQ and did a bunch of searching, and that ultimately got me more confused.

Thanks in advance!

08'MustangDude

This is debatable, I needed programming because my car, and yours, does not have ABS or
TCS. I did not need any PATS programming. This was done an an Acura dealer, they do not
have any ford programming tools there. They just swapped the cluster, and sent me on my
way with MILs on.

I had a cluster installed, and the ABS, BRAKE, and TCS lights were on. SO, took it back for
another one. They "said" they installed a cluster from another V6 car that did not have ABS or
TCS, but when they installed it, those lights were on again. So, they sent me to FORD, and it
was programmed, and all was fine. I was there far too long for this simple thing...

You can get the GT cluster that has the two extra gauges, and then you need the
INFO/SETUP/RESET buttons:

The wiring harness is back there, at least to 2008, mine is there, but I did not get the
six-gauge cluster..

However, as far as a swap, they are a direct swap, so if you don't mind those dash lights
being on, if that should happen, then you're fine.

You would also need to have the odometer corrected, which is $150+, or, you need to go
to a dealer and have them tag the door so you're not committing fraud should you get a
cluster with lower miles. They put a sticker on the door jamb that indicates what the
miles was before the cluster, and what the cluster had on it at installation. If you do not
get the tag, and you sell the car, even IF you tell the person, they can come back and
sue you for fraud simply because the tag is not there.

JimC

You made an assumption on his car. Depending upon the options selected a V6 could have a 6 gauge cluster and ABS and TCS. So the buttons aren't necessarily a "GT" - he may have that already in the V6. The OP doesn't tell us which cluster he has (4 or 6 gauge).

vicious_customs

Thanks! I have the standard 4 gauge cluster, and the one I bought is supposed to be coming from another base model. Like you, it's what they "said", so who knows. I definitely don't know that it doesn't have ABS or TCS, but that doesn't sound like it's a huge issue. As long as I can swap it in, I can deal with the MIL later. As far as the mileage is concerned, there is a place on our titles here in Oklahoma that it can be specified as "incorrect" which I think should cover it. I will definitely keep it in mind. Thanks for the info!!

My apologies for leaving info out. I'm definitely in a fairly base model, and don't have those buttons. It may be something I look into in the future, but it doesn't seem necessary to me at the moment.

Thanks again, guys!

08'MustangDude

I made no assumption, that's what happens when people don't say what options they have.
I even said, YOU CAN GET the six gauge cluster. I was 100% willing to bet your paycheck
he doesn't have a 6-gauge, and you would have lost... I covered all the bases, for whatever
he had, but in the end, I was right...

08'MustangDude

I knew what you had anyway... People love to create drama, everywhere...

TO check for ABS, look for the ABS pump in the engine bay, but you had to order them
with ABS and TCS.

Yeah, the second replacement was said to come from a model that also, did not have ABS
or TCS, and the lights were still on. They sent me to their ford dealer, which is what the
ACURA dealer should have done in the FIRST place. I didn't pay anything though, it was
all covered as I just bought the thing then... Stupid, as I got the car from Smail Hyundai,
they sent me to Smail Acura, twice, for the repair work but to ford for the Trans Fluid
service, to end up at Smail FORD in the 4th time for the cluster programming. I got a free key
out of the deal to, so now I have three keys. They racked up $1200 in labor and repairs, and
I got the car for $5813, trade in value was $4200 or so, so they lost...

danzcool

Some people have simply put some electrical tape or black sharpie over the lights (TPMS, TCS, ABS) that don't apply to them. You cold peel up the overlay sticker and put the tape behind it on the ones you know might be lit. For others in the future, when ordering a used cluster, just try to get one that is close in miles to what your car is, otherwise a lot of the ebay vendors have the ability to program it to the exact mileage you have for an extra fee.

08'MustangDude

Sure, but mine had the BRAKE light on too, and you kind'a need that to indicate
low brake fluid, ER brake on... I would have just removed the bulbs for TCS and
ABS or covered them, but ya need the brake light. TPMS was not standard in
cars till 2008 sell year, which is any car sold after September 1st, 2007 had to
have TPMS be it indirect, or direct. Phase-in started in October 2005 with about at
20% of USA cars having them, and then it reached 100% for models produced after
September 2007.

Mine was Brake/ABS/TCS no TPMS light.

vicious_customs

Wow! Seems like they did lose. I know this one does have TCS, but haven't had the chance to check to see if it had the ABS pump. If I have a light that's on that shouldn't be, I'll run it to the dealer and have them look at it. I guess my next question here is, if I have TCS, but the new gauge isn't set for it, will I have any problems?

I did buy from ebay, and there was decent communication, but they didn't say they could program the mileage, and I didn't ask. Is that something they can pull from the computer after it's been changed if I take it in to be programmed?

Thanks again guys!

08'MustangDude

IF you have TCS, then you have ABS, because TCS is controlled by the ABS pump.
When a wheel slips, it is braked by the ABS pump on the wheel that is slipping.

Mileage can be programmed, for a fee, OR, you can remove the chip from your cluster, and put it
in the replacement. It's not something everyone can do, but it can be done. This would also
have all the data for your car... They did not give me my faulty cluster back, or I would have done
that. I have the equipment to desolder chips... The dealer can only program miles into a NEW
cluster, not a used one. It is a small EEPROM serial chip, that the software will only write to if it
is blank. The places that write the miles hook a PC up to the chip manually, and write it, they
pull it and use an EEPROM reader/programmer, which I also have for EPROM, EEPROM, PROM.
Since they know what to look for and change, the charge is mostly for the labor in removing, and
soldering it back in. Or, they have a way of hooking it up without removing the chip... It is not the
same chip that has your car's options stored in it.



You can also buy servo kits on eBay. Mine was a faulty temperature gauge, and had to
go through ALL that crap to replace the cluster. I should have just bought a kit and replaced
the servos. IF these clusters were equipped with a stop pin for the needles, I would not
have to have replaced anything. The TEMP gauge would keep shifting position, counter
clockwise, never started at the same position.; so, if there were a stop pin for the needle, it
would have not kept on moving counter clockwise every time I shut the car down.

I had two keys, but only took one with me when they took it for the 3rd time, at the FORD
dealer. They said they had to make another key for some reason, AND they went through
two keys getting the 3rd one to work. They said someone tampered with the ignition
cylinder, because, the keys are double sided; meaning, you should be able to put the key in
any direction. Mine, I have to have the ford logo on the key face the front of the car; if would
pull the key out, turn it 180 degrees and put it back in, it does not turn the lock cylinder.
SO, I have three keys, one of which I am going to use for a remote starter. Gonna cut the
key blade off so all I have left is the head with the transponder in it for the remote starter.