Information Display

[Texpedition]

I am on my second Expedition - my first, a 1998 EB, was such a good vehicle that when it came time to buy something that didn't have 300,000+ miles on it that I went with another, a 2009 EB. One of the things that I do not and have not liked about this version is that the information display on the instrument panel is either poorly designed or is defective. During hours of sunshine, the only way to read the display is to hold my hand in such a position as to create a shadow over the display. I'd like to be able to see the information such as miles, average MPG, trip odometers, etc.

To those of you who who know about such things, is there a setting that I am missing, an adjustment that I can make or is this just, as I suspect, a design flaw? Other than this and the windows not going up and down, which seems to be a popular subject here, after 50k miles on this one, it has been almost as good as my '98. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Trainmaster]

I have an '08 which replaced my '00. The information display on mine sucks as it does on yours. Fine in most daylight but in the sun you can't read it. Make sure your headlights aren't on.

 

[bloodhound]

It is a common issue with no clear fix. There is a light sensor on the dash, that controls the auto headlights but it also dims the info display in low light. Make sure it is not obstructed by anything. If you turn your headlights on and roll the dimmer switch (left of the steering wheel) all the way does the info display brighten?

 

[Texpedition]

It is a common issue with no clear fix. There is a light sensor on the dash, that controls the auto headlights but it also dims the info display in low light. Make sure it is not obstructed by anything. If you turn your headlights on and roll the dimmer switch (left of the steering wheel) all the way does the info display brighten?

It does not brighten. I've tried that on a couple of occasions wondering if it might help. Nope. Nada. Nothing. Turning the headlights off doesn't help either.

What I am reading here is that this is, as I expected, a design flaw.

 

[Anchorclanker]

FWIW. My 08 Limited display is readable in broad daylight regardless of the dimmer setting. That being said, when the lights are on (auto or manual) it will sometimes go to full bright for a few minutes and then back to the dimmer display. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to it, just randomly changes.

 

[JExpedition07]

FWIW. My 08 Limited display is readable in broad daylight regardless of the dimmer setting. That being said, when the lights are on (auto or manual) it will sometimes go to full bright for a few minutes and then back to the dimmer display. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to it, just randomly changes.

Yep there is no design flaw, people just have papers on their dash covering the sensor lol. I’ve never had a problem reading it.

 

[2012XLT]

Yep there is no design flaw, people just have papers on their dash covering the sensor lol. I’ve never had a problem reading it.

That is definitely not the cause. I have never had any "papers" on my dashboard and experience the same problem on my 2012. I cannot stand to have anything on my dashboard, so other than a little dust, nothing is blocking the sensor.

 

[Trainmaster]

Let me put this out there: The overhead Excursion, F-150 etc. 2000+ readouts had a problem with their resistors' pc board and pin connections corroding at solder connections, causing readout dimming. The fix was remelting a patch of solder at each connection. If you're ambitious you can look this up and see if the circuitry construction on the Expedition readouts is similar.

My '08 has always been hard to read in sunlight. Just thought they were all that way.

 

[Goofy173]

My 2011 is just as bad. Poor design. Ford knew it. My brother worked at the Louisville assy plant. They knew it when installing them. Ford absolutely knew it was a design flaw.

 

[dgouch]

I too have a 2011 EL Ltd. The display used to be nice and bright when the lights were turned off (day or night). But for the last few years it stays very dim in the daylight - even without direct sunlight. Display looks black unless I cup my hand as others have said.