Strange cluster behavior

[Aria]

Greetings, first time posting on this fourm.

2003 Ford Expedition FX4 5.4

My trip odometer randomly flashes to 932 miles then occasionally back to zero, counts up again, then flashes to 932. Vehicle odometer is stuck at 194542 and won't go up. video here since I can't post MP4s here

Everything on the cluster works except the odometer. It just displays a static number of 194542. I can switch between the two and force the 932 to reset to 0 by holding the button, but that's about all I can do with it.

Was wondering if anyone had any ideas or has seen this before. I'm a relatively new owner to this vehicle. Do I just need to replace the cluster? is there some computer miscommunication going on?
Any advice to assist diagnosing would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[whtbronco]

I would say yes you have a computer issue. I believe you're gonna need a scanner that can at least read the UBP bus and SCP bus to troubleshoot this most likely. Scanners that can do this cost several hundred dollars and up. Mine was $1100 I think, bought 6yrs ago, but it has paid for itself many times over now.

UBP supports the following modules: EATC(Auto Temp Control), 4WD, PAM(Parking Aid), ASM(Air Suspension), DSM(Driver Seat), CCSM/Driver(Climate Control Seat), CCSM/Passenger, VSM(Vehicle Security) and IC(Instrument Cluster).

SCP supports the following modules: PCM, ABS, LTPM(Low Tire Pressure Monitor) and the IC(Instrument Cluster).

Without being able to scan try to reseat the connectors at the IC and transmission and check them for corrosion. Though if the speedometer works it's not likely a transmission related issue.

 

[Aria]

Yeah, and it's not like the Odometer doesn't count up either, it does while in trip mode, at least until it flashes to 932 then resets to 0 and starts counting up again. It's clearly reading the mileage traveled, the Odometer display itself just isn't counting up for some magical reason. Unless another module stores the data for Odometer??

And buying an 1K+ Scan tool is more than I paid for the vehicle

 

[DieselMonk]

I would think the problem is in the cluster, since it cannot tally any mileage. Makes me also think maybe someone tampered with it to program a lower mileage and screwed up. Taking the dash out taking it apart and having a look doesn’t hurt, if you know someone that is good with repairing these.
I don’t recommend you taking it apart yourself as I get constantly stuff to repair that some handyman tried their best and ruined even more, making an easy job more complicated. Could be as easy as a cracked solder joint too…

 

[Aria]

That was my original assumption as well, I just thought I'd ask if there was some strange known issue or quirk before trying to tamper with it or replacing it. Because it very much seemed like a software failure to me given how literally everything else functions as intended. Even the trip odo kinda works as it still counts up. It just randomly resets.

I repair electronics like various game controllers and phones myself, but no experiences with clusters, though if I knew what I was looking for I think I could avoid breaking the cluster.

I was just going to grab one from the Junkyard if they aren't program/vin locked to the vehicle, I don't really care too terribly much about the odometer accuracy, I just need to know when to change my various fluids lol.

 

[DieselMonk]

Repairing clusters isn’t bad. Problem is if it is your first old cluster. The plastic becomes brittle… give it a shot. Maybe watch some YouTube vids first. Thing with clusters is that you may need a stack of programmers.
If you just change out the dash, you end up not being able to start the truck (anti theft).

 

[Aria]

I've seen people repair the first gen clusters, but those clusters are all being repaired due to poor solder connections, and the failure mode for that is just an unilluminated/flickering display.

I wasn't able to find any repair videos or any documented issue at all about a 2nd gen cluster behaving this way. Which is why I was hesitant to do anything with it. Just a video of someone replacing it which I already know how to do.

And yeah, that was my concern too, I am not very sure how "secure" these cars are, I come from Mercedes so I'm used to absolutely everything needing to be programmed/mated to the car.
I am unfortunately not too terribly familiar with Fords. I'm not sure what will/won't work without the correct handshakes through the bus.