97 Expy 5.4 4x4 speedometer problem

[Diamondtron24]

Hello everyone! I have been lurking for awhile while waiting to buy my Expedition. I finally bought a 97 Expedition yesterday from a family friend. Other then some minor issues it ran great!
However, on the way to the in-laws for the holidays the speedometer suddenly "floated" to 40MPH and stuck there. We shut the vehicle off and the gauge "floated" back down to 0.
When we started it up again before moving the speedometer floated back up to 40 and stuck there again. After about 10 min it started working normally for 10-15 min before floating back to 40.
the owner claims ignorance on it and I am not sure what it could be except to say the speedometer is broke lol. Again it does move but seems to stick and ignore the actual speed of the vehicle. The cruise control and odometer both still work fine. Any tips to fix this cheaply? What would be involved with fixing it myself? Do I need a new cluster? (I hope not) Has anyone seen this before?

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Thermo]

Diamond, based on what you are describing, it is a problem with the instrument cluster itself. If it was another issue, you would be having problems with the cruise and also the ECM would be giving you trouble codes as the various parameters the ECM looks at would not be matching up.

I wish the news was better, but that is how things are looking.

 

[jrjr]

A very common issue with our clusters is cold solder joints. Here is a link on how to remove it and the last photo shows what needs to be checked and/or re-soldered to fix it. May or may not be your issue but at least it's a place to start.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/377317/Expedition

I have had varied input on these clusters. Some say the dealer needs to flash it if you install a used one but I haven't checked with a dealer yet. The tach doesn't work in mine and I just haven't followed through yet. 97 may be old enough as to not need that flashing.... can't say for sure yet. I have also heard that 97 is different than all the others. Ebay has many available for around $100. I also understand that the odometer is easily reset by the average user to whatever value you want. The real mileage is stored in the ECM though so at inspection time the tech will see that and if it varies from the odo a flag should fly.....

 

[Diamondtron24]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I spent the better part of the day on it but I managed to remover the cluster, reheated the solder on all the joints then plugged it back in. After that it started working again like it was brand new! I did break he headlight switch trying to put it back together, but I have a used one with warranty coming via E-Bay for 32bucks.

Totally beats trying to find a used cluster and have it flashed by Ford! Now to tackle the drivers side window and install new spark plugs (if I dare!) LOL


Thanks again everyone!