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.
@charlessmith8333 жыл бұрын
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.
@drunkennewfiemidget4251 Жыл бұрын
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.
@user-oh5fg2bs8s Жыл бұрын
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.
@weiner198 ай бұрын
Great job Charles! Many thanks for this video.
@joseorlandopicazo8285 Жыл бұрын
gracias por tu vídeo me sirvió de mucho porque cambie unos cables i ya no sabia donde iban pero con tu vídeo pude solucionarlo 👍
@charlessmith833 Жыл бұрын
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.
@jimsherman24775 ай бұрын
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.
@danielmena9744 Жыл бұрын
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
@charlessmith833 Жыл бұрын
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.
@braddahjon96179 ай бұрын
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.
@kronodace12 жыл бұрын
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
@algallucci93368 күн бұрын
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.
@charlessmith8338 күн бұрын
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.
@sliderray27811 ай бұрын
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?
@charlessmith83311 ай бұрын
I watched some other videos for the dismantle process. Look around for them.
@jeffers7176 Жыл бұрын
Great video. Thanks
@johnsadventures67832 жыл бұрын
My son's 14 F150 is having this same problem. I'll investigate this method of checking the pins.
@loniehoppmann37812 жыл бұрын
Very helpful. Where is the best place to get replacement pins? What crimping tool works best for them?
@charlessmith8332 жыл бұрын
Go to the junkyard and look for a similar cluster.
@braddahjon96179 ай бұрын
thats not the original cluster for that truck. that could be the issue too.
@rashestlynx77433 ай бұрын
What if it doesn't turn off when I move the wires?
@charlessmith8333 ай бұрын
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.
@Laita_Snapp2 жыл бұрын
I'm having the same issue. Any recommendations on where to send it for repair? Replacing it is extremely expensive.
@charlessmith8332 жыл бұрын
Type in "F150 instrument cluster repair" and it will lead you to some repair sites
@longfang6027 Жыл бұрын
I have the same problem on my 2008 F-150. Which pin is for the parking brake light?
@charlessmith833 Жыл бұрын
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.
@drunkennewfiemidget4251 Жыл бұрын
Pins #2 and 3. Dark green/yellow, and tan/light green.
@BigVeliStayReady9 ай бұрын
Couldn’t I just save the time and replace circuit board?
@charlessmith8339 ай бұрын
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.
@jefferyrwalters10 ай бұрын
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.
@charlessmith83310 ай бұрын
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!!
@jamesstrawn608710 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@db-ro6ui10 ай бұрын
Bro!!! You saved me so much damn time and money lol. Golden, fixed it right away.
@charlessmith83310 ай бұрын
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
@aijmillionmiles57495 ай бұрын
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
@Steve08859 ай бұрын
Cluster issue
@TheKnceoincusa2 жыл бұрын
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?
@charlessmith8332 жыл бұрын
Probably has a bad motor. You can try swapping with another motor to see it that fixes it.
@tomcaldwell5750Ай бұрын
Way to complicated for the average person.
@charlessmith833Ай бұрын
You can pull the instrument cluster and send it to a repair facility for repair and upgrade. Search the net for a repair person.