My 98 F150 starts and runs fine but...When I turn the ignition on, the fuel guage and bat indicator will slowly move up to reading(in about a second or two. When I engage the starter, everything goes to zero but right after the motor starts, every thing pegs on the top end of the guages for about a second. then to zero for about a second then to wherever they should be for each guage. Is this normal?
Thanks,
Tom

 

No, this is not normal.

It is an indication that the electronic cluster was reset due to low supply voltage.

Usually, this indicates a weak battery, but it can also be an early warning sign that you have a developing fault in the charging system (cables or alternator).

Steve

 

If the problem is a low voltage supply, ie weak battery, and I replace it, will the situation fix itself? Or is there something that will need to be reset?

 

Once the low power fault is corrected, the system will "fix" itself. Nothing will need reset.

Steve

 

Get a new battery, it will stop doing the full sweep. You don't have to do anything else.

 

Werd. Also, have your alternator checked too. You wouldn't want to drain a brand new battery because of a bad alternator.

 

New battery installed and guages now work properly, thanks for the advice.

 

Make sure that the alternator is working, or you'll be having the same problem again in a few days.

 

Wow, I was hoping I'd find a thread about this problem. I'm having the same problem on my '99. However, I'm also experiencing a couple other strange issues and was hoping that someone could help me out.

In adition to the problem discussed above, my truck has also had a couple times when I've started it up, the gagues sweep and then the odometer never comes on. Also, about a year ago, I shut my truck off after a short trip and the HVAC blower kept running. Couldn't get it to shut off without just shutting it off on the selector switch. It did that fore a couple days and then it went back to working correctly.

Are these issues also related to possibly a bad battery and or alternator, or am I possibly looking at two different problems? The battery and alternator should be easy enough to test (a quick trip to Autozone will cover that), but I don't want to waste my time if I'm barking up the wrong tree. --DIY

 

DIY, I would start by replacing the battery, it is the easiest and cheapest way to go. I would also test the charging system.

 

Yeah, that sounds like a good place to start. Plus I can get access to a battery tester to test it out. Thanx.--DIY

 

had a similar problem with 98 heater/radio stayed on and airbag warning lights on at first then progressed to engine trying to start with key off. Would improve between rains the worsen the day of a rain. Cause - leaking windshield dripping into fusebox. Finally fusebox cought fire.

 

Oh good! Just what I don't need -- another reason for my truck to have an electrical fire. lol I'll checkpn that leak, but it's only done this once and I haven't noticed any other signs of a leak. Thanks for the warning, though!
--DIY