1999 odometer goes blank, then comes back

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G

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my wife and i recently bought a 1999 expedition. however, pretty frequently the odometer will go blank for a few minutes and then come back on. why does this happen?
 
OP
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G

Guest

Nope. It doesn't go out at any specific time either. Sometimes we can hit a bump and it will go off. Other times we will just be sitting at a stop light and it will go off. Also, it comes back at random times as well.
 
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G

Guest

In case anyone was wondering, this problem is in the instrument cluster. I ended up taking it in to the ford house and they checked it out for me. Just an FYI, they're wanting 350 bucks to replace the instrument cluster. Maybe I can find one at a local junkyard.
 

99 xlt

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my 99 xlt has peoblems with th eodometer going blank but mine is usually out most of the time. im not sure what you mean by sweep but my guages are not correct. it seems like they get stuck in places like the speedometer will stay at 35 until i get to around 50 then it jumps up. the same with my rpm guage. what causes this and what would fix it? thanks in advance..
 

gazbold

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Poor connections

my 99 xlt has peoblems with th eodometer going blank but mine is usually out most of the time. im not sure what you mean by sweep but my guages are not correct. it seems like they get stuck in places like the speedometer will stay at 35 until i get to around 50 then it jumps up. the same with my rpm guage. what causes this and what would fix it? thanks in advance..


My Wife's 99 Navigator has the same odometer problem. Shop says its the instrument cluster at fault. Caused by just age, poor connections develop over time and cause intermittent problems. They said if I felt cheap.. and adventurous I should remove it, trace the connections and clean and reassemble. If I felt rich I should let them do a swap out !

On my 98 EB Expy I had hit and miss usage of the screen wash button, plus, unreliable pulse wipe speeds (it would run several wipes together on the slowest setting when it felt like it) Jostling the stick a little would stop it.
Once I got fed up of it I disassembled the contact block at the base of the stalk and carefully cleaned up all those little brass bits, applied a little wipe of dielectric grease for luck and reassembled. Its worked fine ever since !

It just goes to show what a rubdown with an oily rag can do for you when you're getting old :D
 

seeker

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Try this first before you spend $

On the back of the instrument cluster there is a place where i believe four brown wires connect to the back of the cluster. These wires are held in place
and make a connection in a V pinch type raised area. With the battery disconnected and power off, push each wire down a little more snug. I use a small screwdriver. I have fixed my expy and 2 f-150s (friends trucks) doing this. One was quoted $800 for a new cluster. This may help you.
 

99 Expy

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This is a frequent problem with the 97-03 ford trucks. My expy does the same thing. The problem is that one of the connections on the back side of the odometer is broken and you have to take the gauges apart to get to the connection and resolder it. I want to do mine but I have never gotten around to it. It is fairly simple before and I have done it on another vehicle before. When the odometer goes off, it does track the mileage.

Check out this link. hope it helps.
http://www.f150online.com/forums/articles-how-tos/373598-intermittent-odometer-repair.html

Zerick
 
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