The problem was with the soldered pins on the big connector on the left. I sucked the solder off the pins and re-soldered them using plenty of flux. Lamentably you cannot see the problem with a scope or magnifying glass. The pins may appear good but are actually not soldered properly and probably never received enough heat at the time of the factory soldering process or the pins were a little scummy. Either way, some of the pins lost their connection inside the solder joint over time from heat expansion and vibration of the car. The bigger on-board resistors can form a solder crack also and it is worth the time to add flux and new solder to both ends. Solder problems on PC boards have been a plague ever since PC boards were invented. I have spent hundreds of hours re-soldering defective factory soldering. This is nothing new. There are numerous ways that factory soldering is done. Some of the processes are better than others but neither of them is 100% perfect. I guess we're just going to have to live with it. It creates jobs for repair people.
The problem causing the light to stay on has been diagnosed since. Turns out a capacitor on the actual board behind the cluster is acting up due to low solder flow. The fix is to resolder capacitor 821. Pretty simple fix once everything is taken apart.
Thank you Sir, I had looked at a few videos. Yours was short and to the point. I had the same issue, i spider both ends of 821 and that did the trick!!!😊. Thank you for your valuable video.
The empty pins thing depends on vehicle options. On the big connector, 7 is always empty. 19 and 23 are only empty if you DO NOT have remote keyless entry. 20-22 are always empty. 25 is always empty. 30 is always empty. On the little connector, 1 should always have a pin in it (for the button that controls the message centre in the dash) 4 is always empty 10 also goes to the button that controls the message centre 11-14 are always empty.
Simple fix. Add a 5 volt source to the dark green / yellow stripe wire on the left connector. I used a 12 volt source with a reducer to 5 volts. The problem is in the circuit board not the connector. Easy fix and only removing covers.
Re-solder the header pins at the left and both ends of the bigger surface mount resistors on the upper left of the PC board. Wet with good flux and use proper irons with the correct heat so you don't destroy anything. That's all it took to fix both problems in my cluster. If you feel uncomfortable doing that you may need to look for some help to be safe. Watch all the videos about cluster repair.
at 0:57 you can see on the display window its showing the fahrenheit symbol and the mileage. im sure the dome light and the door ajar sound does not work either.
I noticed that when I pushed the connector slightly away from me the light went out and when I moved it slightly towards me the light went on, so I put a small piece of rubber between the connector and bezel to hold it out ever so slightly and the light remained out.
Before you do all this bullshit, pull the E-brake lever, and while holding it open, lift the E-brake pedal with your foot so the pedal is resting at the highest point. This should trigger the switch and turn off the light. If not, then you probably have to do this BS.
When I bought the used F150 I noted that the emergency brake light stayed on. I kicked the lever around trying to get it to work. I thought the switch was bad and it would be an easy fix. If I had investigated further, I would have discovered that some other lights did not behave properly and would drain the battery overnight. Unfortunately, the Ford dealer did not bother to tell me the whole sad story (which I'm sure they knew) and I was stuck with repairing the cluster on my own after the purchase. They did, however, repair the door latches and the window switches because these problems were obvious. Yes, getting down to the instrument cluster and repairing it is BS but that is the only thing that can be done. Thanks a lot FORD!!
I had to learn the hard way. Spent extra money. Watched a lot of videos. I'm glad my video helped you. It is too bad the age of electronics has invaded cars to such a degree. Very frustrating. @@db-ro6ui
Bro I almost did all that B.S…….. then I seen your comment I’ve watched like 4 videos they all said the same shit. So I tryed what you’ve recommended and it went off instantly lmao….. your legendary
You can replace the circuit board but your mileage is retained in the board and the new one will have different mileage. You may get into legal issues, especially when selling the vehicle. I'm not sure but I think the dealer has to get involved. I bought a used cluster on eBay for comparison testing and parts. It worked but I could not fix the mileage issue.
You may still a soldering problem in the instrument cluster usually in the upper left area. Likely the solder has turned loose on one of the bigger surface mount resistors in that area. You can send it off to a rework repair place for a full repair and upgrade. There may be other soldering problems lurking on the board. Resoldering the board should be done by a qualified tech.
I have no idea. If one pin is problematic then other pins may be also. I suggest you unsolder the connector from the board, remove it and reinstall it with fresh solder. You will need a solder sucker of some sort or risk damaging the traces and a hot enough iron to resolder them. The problem may actually be on the bigger surface mount resistors at the upper left hand corner. Resolder them also. If you cannot do all the above then send it out for repair before other problems begin to happen.
The problem was with the soldered pins on the big connector on the left. I sucked the solder off the pins and re-soldered them using plenty of flux. Lamentably you cannot see the problem with a scope or magnifying glass. The pins may appear good but are actually not soldered properly and probably never received enough heat at the time of the factory soldering process or the pins were a little scummy. Either way, some of the pins lost their connection inside the solder joint over time from heat expansion and vibration of the car. The bigger on-board resistors can form a solder crack also and it is worth the time to add flux and new solder to both ends. Solder problems on PC boards have been a plague ever since PC boards were invented. I have spent hundreds of hours re-soldering defective factory soldering. This is nothing new. There are numerous ways that factory soldering is done. Some of the processes are better than others but neither of them is 100% perfect. I guess we're just going to have to live with it. It creates jobs for repair people.
The problem causing the light to stay on has been diagnosed since. Turns out a capacitor on the actual board behind the cluster is acting up due to low solder flow. The fix is to resolder capacitor 821. Pretty simple fix once everything is taken apart.
Thank you Sir, I had looked at a few videos. Yours was short and to the point. I had the same issue, i spider both ends of 821 and that did the trick!!!😊. Thank you for your valuable video.
Great job Charles! Many thanks for this video.
The empty pins thing depends on vehicle options.
On the big connector, 7 is always empty.
19 and 23 are only empty if you DO NOT have remote keyless entry.
20-22 are always empty.
25 is always empty.
30 is always empty.
On the little connector, 1 should always have a pin in it (for the button that controls the message centre in the dash)
4 is always empty
10 also goes to the button that controls the message centre
11-14 are always empty.
Simple fix. Add a 5 volt source to the dark green / yellow stripe wire on the left connector. I used a 12 volt source with a reducer to 5 volts. The problem is in the circuit board not the connector. Easy fix and only removing covers.
Great video I have two problems brake light coming on and off and dome lights as well so I will look into it thank you so much great video
Re-solder the header pins at the left and both ends of the bigger surface mount resistors on the upper left of the PC board. Wet with good flux and use proper irons with the correct heat so you don't destroy anything. That's all it took to fix both problems in my cluster. If you feel uncomfortable doing that you may need to look for some help to be safe. Watch all the videos about cluster repair.
gracias por tu vídeo me sirvió de mucho porque cambie unos cables i ya no sabia donde iban pero con tu vídeo pude solucionarlo 👍
Cables, cables, cables. Los automoviles hoy son nada mas de un monton de cables y sensores. Un dolor de cabeza cada vez que algo pasa mal.
El mejor video que e visto y explicado, se un poco de mecánica y ver este tipo de vídeo me ayuda a mejorar mucho, gracias
at 0:57 you can see on the display window its showing the fahrenheit symbol and the mileage. im sure the dome light and the door ajar sound does not work either.
My son's 14 F150 is having this same problem. I'll investigate this method of checking the pins.
Great video. Thanks
Great Video! Any chance you have video showing what all you had to remove and how to remove dash panels to get to the cluster panel?
I watched some other videos for the dismantle process. Look around for them.
I noticed that when I pushed the connector slightly away from me the light went out and when I moved it slightly towards me the light went on, so I put a small piece of rubber between the connector and bezel to hold it out ever so slightly and the light remained out.
You are flexing the circuit board to make the bad solder joint connect. The problem is still there. It will probably come back in time.
thats not the original cluster for that truck. that could be the issue too.
Very helpful. Where is the best place to get replacement pins? What crimping tool works best for them?
Go to the junkyard and look for a similar cluster.
Before you do all this bullshit, pull the E-brake lever, and while holding it open, lift the E-brake pedal with your foot so the pedal is resting at the highest point. This should trigger the switch and turn off the light. If not, then you probably have to do this BS.
When I bought the used F150 I noted that the emergency brake light stayed on. I kicked the lever around trying to get it to work. I thought the switch was bad and it would be an easy fix. If I had investigated further, I would have discovered that some other lights did not behave properly and would drain the battery overnight. Unfortunately, the Ford dealer did not bother to tell me the whole sad story (which I'm sure they knew) and I was stuck with repairing the cluster on my own after the purchase. They did, however, repair the door latches and the window switches because these problems were obvious. Yes, getting down to the instrument cluster and repairing it is BS but that is the only thing that can be done. Thanks a lot FORD!!
Thank you.
Bro!!! You saved me so much damn time and money lol. Golden, fixed it right away.
I had to learn the hard way. Spent extra money. Watched a lot of videos. I'm glad my video helped you. It is too bad the age of electronics has invaded cars to such a degree. Very frustrating. @@db-ro6ui
Bro I almost did all that B.S…….. then I seen your comment I’ve watched like 4 videos they all said the same shit. So I tryed what you’ve recommended and it went off instantly lmao….. your legendary
I'm having the same issue. Any recommendations on where to send it for repair? Replacing it is extremely expensive.
Type in "F150 instrument cluster repair" and it will lead you to some repair sites
Couldn’t I just save the time and replace circuit board?
You can replace the circuit board but your mileage is retained in the board and the new one will have different mileage. You may get into legal issues, especially when selling the vehicle. I'm not sure but I think the dealer has to get involved. I bought a used cluster on eBay for comparison testing and parts. It worked but I could not fix the mileage issue.
What if it doesn't turn off when I move the wires?
You may still a soldering problem in the instrument cluster usually in the upper left area. Likely the solder has turned loose on one of the bigger surface mount resistors in that area. You can send it off to a rework repair place for a full repair and upgrade. There may be other soldering problems lurking on the board. Resoldering the board should be done by a qualified tech.
I have the same problem on my 2008 F-150. Which pin is for the parking brake light?
I have no idea. If one pin is problematic then other pins may be also. I suggest you unsolder the connector from the board, remove it and reinstall it with fresh solder. You will need a solder sucker of some sort or risk damaging the traces and a hot enough iron to resolder them. The problem may actually be on the bigger surface mount resistors at the upper left hand corner. Resolder them also. If you cannot do all the above then send it out for repair before other problems begin to happen.
Pins #2 and 3. Dark green/yellow, and tan/light green.
Cluster issue
Way to complicated for the average person.
You can pull the instrument cluster and send it to a repair facility for repair and upgrade. Search the net for a repair person.
depends on your definition of average
I got a new used cluster from ebay 2 and put that new one in and the rpm doesn't work. does it need to be flashed?
Probably has a bad motor. You can try swapping with another motor to see it that fixes it.