instrument cluster powers off and on when started, and after!

[Johnuk]

I have a 2002 Ford Explorer V6 explorer. I have been having an issue off and on over a couple of years, most recently it is out of control. When starting the vehicle, the instrument cluster powers on and off for a while. It used to only do it a few times every few weeks, this last week, its been going bonkers! This week it has stopped after the car warms up, but it also does it on occasion while driving, even after its been running for a half hour or so. The dash cluster poweres off and on, something clicks under the dash. I have a video of it but it doesnt seem i can add it here for some reason. The defroster stays on, the instrument cluster and radio always go off and on. I always thought it seemed more problematic in wet conditions, this week it has been cold and wet.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1KdjhU8c7k&feature=youtu.be]

Any info would be very helpful, this is driving me insane! Thank you

 

[BigRondo]

Here is the Troubleshooting Steps from my shop manuals:

https://app.box.com/s/flci7tnkg9csaxtz37s7d1dp60xe29n3

Let me know if there is anything else you need.

Good luck getting it sorted.

Please keep us posted as feedback helps others reading this post looking for a fix to the same or similar issue!

 

[tomclair178]

Mine Too

It seems that a fairly large percentage of Explorers of that Era have similar problems with the instrument cluster. Mine did a similar thing. It started with the gas gauge not working. Then it went to the odometer blinking. It progressed through the speedometer and tac fluctuating, to fully cutting out power to the radio, cluster and all windows. Turns out they are all connected to the Cluster. Basically your cluster is going(gone) bad. I have a 2005 Explorer Sport Trac. I have asked advice from a number of places, but they are all different. My local Ford dealership wanted $1200 to put in a new cluster. That sounded ridiculous to me, so I found a brand new one on E-bay and put it in myself. It was really simple. With the brand new one, however, I did have to take it to an electronics company to re-set the mileage. In that process, I found out that I could get the old one repaired and certified. In retrospect, that would be my advice to you. There are a number of places on line who repair cluster, just like yours. The cost is generally around $ 120 - $150, in my experience. Most of these places will get it back you within 2 days, so you should have something else to drive. You should also be able to check out the worlds best "How To" manual(Youtube), and find someone taking one out and putting it back in.
Bottom Line, it is your instrument cluster. Get it repaired and install yourself. You will save a lot of money.