01 Sport Trac Speedo / Cluster / Electrical Issue

[redhill]

Hi all,

Have an 01 ST and the speedometer is acting up. It gets "stuck" at 50 MPH and won't go any higher. Then, when it drops, it hovers around 20. It flutters at times. The other gauges on the cluster seem to be working fine (the odometer and cruise control both work, etc). Due to this, I don't think it's the speed sensor as I think that will also cause both of those to fail.

Also, something is draining the battery and I'm wondering if a short somewhere or the speedo motor could cause this? I unplugged fuse #11 (#15, #25, and #33 are all listed as cluster related but I'm not sure of the difference) and I think the drain may have stopped (generally the truck won't start the next day after having had to jump start it the day prior). Maybe I just got lucky that it started today ;]

So what do you guys think? Should I just replace the instrument cluster? Is there something obvious I might be missing?

Any insight appreciated as I really need to make the repair myself.

 

[redhill]

So I did a parasitic draw test with the multimeter set at 10A. With all fuses in place, the reading was .3. Removing either fuse #25 (Generic Electronic Module, Instrument Cluster, Securi-lock) or fuse #26 (Battery Saver Relay, Interior Lamp Relay) will cause that reading to drop to .015 or so. Does anyone know how many milliamps that is? Confused as to how to read the meter. I'm thinking to just replaced the instrument cluster but still not sure. I know I'm replying to my own post at this point but any insight would be sincerely appreciated.

 

[redhill]

Thanks for the help everyone! It was incredibly useful.