The odometer in my 2000 F-150 will come on fine when I start my truck in the morning, but by the time I have made the 20 minute ride to work,the odometer is blank.Sometimes it will fade and be barely visible and I'll tap on the gauge panel cover and it will come back on.Other times I'm driving along and it blinks out completely,and wont come back on at all.I've looked at my Haynes manual and it doesn't cover odometers specifically.I dont want to take my truck to Ford.Is the odometer itself going out? The truck has 145,000miles on it but is in excellent mechanical condition.Any info or help would be appreciated.Thank you.

 

My guess is that you have a bad printed cir on the odometer and it's not making a good contact for it to operate.If you pull it and look close you may find were the solder is melted.I would find a truck and get the odometer out of it for a replacement.Had this happen on a 89 chevy,it would drop out and you hit it for it to start up again.Pulled one from a wrecked truck and fixed it up no more drop out's.

 

This is a common problem with these model pickups. I have it myself, but I'm not sure if I'm skilled enough to do the repair to fix it.

Check out this post, it explains what is wrong and how to fix it.
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...ttent+odometer

 

It has not been moved to a sticky yet, but this could be what you are looking for :

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...light=odometer

Don't try the swap, the PATS info is in the HEC in the cluster. The truck won't start, and would need a NGS / WDS or PDS to reprogram the keys.

 

I had this EXACT same problem. Since you have a digital odometer (miles are stored in the computer) and not a dial display you need to switch out the entire cluster, and can do it with out haveing to send the old one in get the miles calibrated. I know it sounds like a pain, but there is probably a short in there and a fire will be less fun than switching it out. If you dont feel confident doing it your self (remove some trim and unscrew it, there is a normal eletrical attachent in the back that you disconnect) then take it to an automotive electric specialist, it should cost a few hundred dollars. Of course the dealership can do it for twice the price.

 

KDOT engineer,Thank you for the link you posted for my odometer problem,at least I know where to start.your time and info is greatly appreciated,Vincent Tocci

 

Yep, the fix in that thread is the ticket. Took me no more than an hour from pulling the first panel to turning the key back on. In fact I did it on my lunch hour at work one day. If you don't know how to solder, I bet someone in a TV shop would do it for a couple bucks. (I know I would have when I used to work in a TV shop).

 

What a form I found something new about the PATS info being in the HEC in the cluster,In ten years things change alot on vels.I find somthing new all the time on this site.Hope you get it fixed without costing lot for you.Now too remember all the stuff I read on here when I need it for my truck.

 

You can do a search in here for more tips, but really it's easy. Just bare in mind be careful disassembling things and especially be careful not to loose the screws, you'll know what I mean after it happens once or twice or...... The problem does come back in mine once in a while, usually a tap relights it.

 

Blue20004X4,Thank you for your post.I'm looking at my Haynes manual right now to see how to disassemble the dash to get to the instument cluster.It doesn't look difficult, just time consuming. Thanks again,Vincent Tocci.

 

I am adding my name to the lengthy list of successful Odo repairs. My wife thinks I am a genius....However, I know I owe the genius to the pioneers like Greg who take chance most of us rather not.

I am selling my 2000 F-150 and hated having to tell a prospective buyer..."yeah, everything works fine except the odometer." The first thing they think is you are messing around with the milegage or BIG repair cost.

Again, a huge THANKS!!!