7.3 Instrument Cluster Tachometer

[E350]

Keeping the cross pollination going:

by Y2KW57
"Keep in mind, that swap was a 1999 F350 cluster. The 1999-2001 are dumber clusters than the 2002 to 2003. In that other thread, carringb mentioned 99.5 to 2002. The 2002 will not work the same as the 99.5 to 2001. This is the important distinction I've been trying to articulate in my earlier posts on this thread.

So, if no other easier way to obtain tach info appeals to you other than an IC swap, then be sure and stick with a 1999-2001 F-Series donor cluster, even if you have a 2003 van."

"To the extent that the other poster on the other forum got his to work (without cruise control indication). With your 99-01 donor cluster, you will not have to contend with the HEC microprocessor and networking protocols that Ford upgraded the 2002 instrument cluster with in the F-Series. "
from:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/11263 ... st14130991

[carringb]

An easier way to think of it is matching odometers: Analog has to stay analog, digital can go digital, but you still have to match PWM or CAN-Bus, so don't pull a cluster from a TorqueShift equipped truck to put in a 4R100 van.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by carringb

An easier way to think of it is matching odometers: Analog has to stay analog, digital can go digital, but you still have to match PWM or CAN-Bus, so don't pull a cluster from a TorqueShift equipped truck to put in a 4R100 van.

That's another great observation!

However I now wonder if the digital display odo from '04-05 isn't still much the same as its predecessor with LCD or similar indicators in place of the motor-turned wheels/dials?

Good gravy what a pile of musings this is!

[E350]

Originally Posted by carringb

Wont work. The 2014 cluster (all '05 vans or '04 PSDs) use the CAN-BUS to send info to the cluster, which has its own controller to break-up the CAN-BUS data stream. '97-'04 clusters have individual circuits for each gauge and they are PWM controlled.

You need to find the same generation F-series cluster, which would be '99.5-'02 with the same type of motor (diesel, V10, or V8) otherwise the pulse count for the Tachometer won't match unless you also add a signal converter.

[JCTex]

Okay, my 1999.5 E350 7.3 cluster is about to call an F2/350 7.3 cluster and they'll do lunch (or whatever clusters do together; it's hard to know hidden behind that dash, and all).

The F clusters are readily available on the net, both OE take-outs and rebuilt. What's the group recommendation regarding which is better? Are the rebuilt's safe, considering all the electronic problems discussed above?

There are lots of clusters available from Excursions. Donno why. Does anyone know if a 2001 Excursion cluster is the same used by the 2001 F pickup?

Assuming we can get the wires and pins out of the backs, I intend to use the plugs off my 1999.5 cluster to do the repining for the donor F cluster. This seems to be the way to satisfy Shenrie's caution that the plugs don't match. Anyone see any problem w/ my doing this? I've never tried to remove wires and pins from the back of an OE plug.

I thought I had this thing figured out until carringb's caution about matching transmissions. Oh, brother! I'm not sure I even know what a Torque Shift equipped Ford pickup is, much less how to tell if an instrument cluster was fitted to such a truck. Someone want to tell me how to check this? Until that obstacle, I was ready to get on line and buy a F2/350 2001 diesel used cluster.

We'll be pulling my dash next week to begin its customization, recovering, and so on. Swapping the instrument cluster will be among the mods and adds. I'll be moving the climate control module and dials lower to make room for a big Alpine higher up where I can see it better. I'll add some higher power USB plugs and an AC plug that will be wired directly back to my pure sine inverter. Then, there's all the gauges and switches, both of which seem to be like rabbits--when I think I've got them all listed, need for another one shows up.

Assuming the group answers my concerns above, I'll get the F cluster bought and put in by the end of the month. Needless to say, I take pix and notes. Hopefully, I can repeat Shenrie's success.

[ON EDIT] I think I just answered one of my own questions. There are no pigtails coming out of the backs of the clusters, are there? The A, B, & C plugs attach directly to the back side of the cluster, don't they? So, I've got it backwards above. What I need are F truck plugs that need attaching to the wires that formerly were going into the backs of the E van plugs (which I throw away), correct?

[ProfessorPaddle]

What a cluster truck...

[ProfessorPaddle]

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

Way off topic now, but have you used Torque Pro? It looks very promising, and not that you need a Nexus 7, but I even have a Nexus 7 gen 2, and I passed my gen 1 to my son. I currently have a Scan Gauge connected to my OBD port, and while Torque Pro performs the same functions and more, I'd be very hesitant to get rid of my ScanGauge as I prefer a dedicated monitor that I can look at any time, rather than swiping between apps on my tablet while driving. I do like what I see of Torque Pro for troubleshooting though.

Any recommendations on a Bluetooth OBD dongle?


Herb

I run torque off my stereo and phone. Its actually great I love it.

[shenrie]

Originally Posted by ProfessorPaddle

What a cluster truck...

^^^ totally, lol. sadly, some of it is my fault

Originally Posted by JCTex

[ON EDIT] I think I just answered one of my own questions. There are no pigtails coming out of the backs of the clusters, are there? The A, B, & C plugs attach directly to the back side of the cluster, don't they? So, I've got it backwards above. What I need are F truck plugs that need attaching to the wires that formerly were going into the backs of the E van plugs (which I throw away), correct?

im very sorry, i wasnt clear. the plugs are the same, BUT the diagrams name them differently. so plug a on the van is the same as plug c on the truck (<--- example only, i didnt reference diagrams).

also, there are no pigtails coming out the clusters. what needs to happen to make this work is de-pinning the van plugs and moving the wires around and repinning them into the truck locations. does that make sense?? so no need for truck plugs. the van ones work fine.

[carringb]

TorqueShift = '04+ 6.0 PSD or '05+ gasser.

So pulling an '01 F-series diesel cluster should work for you.

Also, here's another thought:
http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.c...=cat/cat69.htm
More expensive, but also more customizable. And they look neat.

[89srule]

Oh if only someone would do this in the 92-96 vans. I have debated it myself but not so sure I could pull it off without a writeup.