Gauges and shift needle -dead! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Gauges and shift needle -dead!

regulaTe

New Member
Joined
June 11, 2009
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City, State
Los Angeles
Year, Model & Trim Level
'04 XLT Sport
Hoping some of you can help me out here.....

I have been driving around with a faulty shift needle and gauges for quite some time. Money is a bit tight and so far the odometer and gas gauges are still OK.... but am wondering if anyone has experienced this in their Explorer? My shift needle at first wasn't lined up properly and now its stuck on 2. If I shift all the way down it will move to the right , but wont move back up to P(ark). Once in a great while it might move up a gear or two.. but unless I pay attention Im not sure which gear I am in. ALso, my temperature and battery gauges (right side) are completely gone. They arent even on any part of the meter... just kind of dangling there like they need some viagra.

Is this a quick (cheap) fix or am I going to have to shell out some major cash for this? Think I had a Ford mechanic look at it once and he said it was like 4 bills to take care of the entire gauge cluster. Sound accurate? I am fairly handy and love to DIY... fwiw.
 



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the gages say you need a replacement cluster, but first i try to fix it, it might be only a lose connector.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218636
he talks about the shift needle, its really just a small cable.

after you read that post, you might want to replace it yourself, i have seen replacements on fleabay for like $50, just be sure you get the right year to make it easier.
 






First off, your gear position indicator is completely manual, the others are electric. So it have nothing to do with the other problems.

Did this just all of a sudden happen one day?

Ebay is your best bet to get a cluster and put it in. Save yourself $300 - $350.

This is very easy to do.
http://www.rampslides.com/explorer/gauges.html
 






Thanks for the links. I may just have to try it myself! The gear selector needle went first,...then the oil level gauge..then the battery indicator. I figured the needle was either a cable or spring of some sort. What can be done to fix the gauges? Am I better off having a mechanic check that out?
 






No sense in trying to fix them
 






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