Intermittent electrical fault on dash.

[OldskoolUpNorth]

Afternoon all,

Got hold of a 61 plate 110ps Connect Limited.

All's well apart from I just found out that when your on a motorway doing 70 the clocks seem to lose all power and then come straight back on.
It happens constantly but back on A roads doing 50 it stopped happening....

I can't see it being a loose connection if it's not doing it at all speeds.
Is there a known fault that I might look for?

Its due to go back to the dealer I got it from on Monday to be looked at but I don't have much faith.

Its only the second time I've had dealings with them.
The 1st time they snapped the bleed screw in a brake caliper then made me stump up half the cost of a new caliper which they'd fitted before telling me.
They tried to make me pay the full amount until I argued it out.

It'll be the 2nd and last time I deal with them now.

Anyway, any ideas guys?

Cheers as always,

Neil.

[Frag]

Any battery warning light issues ?
I'd check the charging rate,the cluster tends to go crazy or shut down if voltage is too high,
And connects of all ages have 'issues' with smart charge wiring.

[OldskoolUpNorth]

Cheers Frag,

There's no other issues. No warning lights, no cutting out or loss of power.
The cluster is shutting down but immediately coming back on. But it does it quite a few times a minute.
Faulty 'smart charge' wiring sounds expensive..... grrrr!

Neil.

[Frag]

It may not be that,but ive seen clusters do this before.
As for the wiring,the smart charge wiring on later connects is part of main battery pos to starter / alternator lead.
(Tho if you find a broken wire its easily repaired)
Sometimes,when disconnecting smart charge 3 pin plug from alternator (which reqs a 'knack') you lower the wiring and water runs out of the loom,and when that's got a greenish colour to it also,its a sure sign of rotten wiring.....

Grab a meter and monitor charge rate,if not correct (usually too high) unplug 3 pin conn. at alternator,this plugs in at a square 4 pin plug on left hand lower edge of battery tray,check the 3 wires for continuity,(red,blue and grey I think)
The 4th wire,slightly thicker is starter trigger wire.

[OldskoolUpNorth]

Thanks again for the advice.

Whats an acceptable charge voltage, do I need to check amps as well?
I'll get out in the morning and have a look.

Hopefully it's a straight forward wiring fault on the alternator loom but I don't usually get anything to be straight forward.

Cheers.

[nardi]

On my 59 Connect I had the similar problem ,fixed the chafed red wire from the smart charge but is doing the same thing after 30min drive when engine rich the temperature .I'm struggling to find the reason for it and seems all the rest haven't gone to the bottom of it.
Waiting to find out if anybody found the solution .

[OldskoolUpNorth]

Done a lot of research on this now.

It could be down to a few things but most likely it is the cluster itself.
Ford apparently know of the fault and would replace the cluster for £99.00 but that has now finished.

Trying a few fixes and will post results if and when I have some.

Neil.

[Graham Taylor]

Done a lot of research on this now.

It could be down to a few things but most likely it is the cluster itself.
Ford apparently know of the fault and would replace the cluster for £99.00 but that has now finished.

Trying a few fixes and will post results if and when I have some.

Neil.

If it is the cluster then you can get it repaired for less than £99. Google Ford Connect Cluster repairers and hopefully you'll find one near you and maybe repair it while you wait.

[nardi]

Done a lot of research on this now.

It could be down to a few things but most likely it is the cluster itself.
Ford apparently know of the fault and would replace the cluster for £99.00 but that has now finished.

Trying a few fixes and will post results if and when I have some.

Neil.

If it is the cluster then you can get it repaired for less than £99. Google Ford Connect Cluster repairers and hopefully you'll find one near you and maybe repair it while you wait.

I'm afraid that you can't replace it because the immobiliser is built in to the cluster itself .And many tried repairing but no luck.It must be something else.

[Graham Taylor]

I'm afraid that you can't replace it because the immobiliser is built in to the cluster itself .And many tried repairing but no luck.It must be something else.

Not really sure I fully understand what you have said but yes the immobiliser is part of the cluster but that doesnt stop you having it repaired or replaced. Any replacement cluster must be coded to the ecu as they are not plug & play like earlier models.

[OldskoolUpNorth]

Evening all,

I seem to have worked out the fault by chance. Hopefully.

After testing the output of the battery, alternator on idle with no load, alternator on idle with load and under load at medium revs I found no fault.
Voltage seemed OK.

Removed cluster as they are apparently known for dry solder joints on the PCB 32 pin plug sockets. Re-soldered each one.
No improvement.

Driving around with lights on, heater on, heated screen = No fault for last 2 days.
Starting to sound like I may be getting voltage spikes from voltage regulator.

May just be coincidence but it usually happens at least once on each journey, until there was a decent load on it.
Will swap out the alternator and report back.

[Frag]

Could you not wire meter up,so it can be seen in cab and monitor it while driving,
So you can see what happens when it faults..?

And then again with load on...

If there's any fault (even intermittent) with the battery reference voltage supply,to smart charge connector,you will get spikes.
It's the red wire in the 3 pin plug from memory,should show battery voltage at alternator.

[OldskoolUpNorth]

Could you not wire meter up,so it can be seen in cab and monitor it while driving,
So you can see what happens when it faults..?

Cheers Frag, I was actually thinking of getting the meter in the cab and checking what happens to the voltage when the cluster goes off.
Definitely worth a try.

I forgot to mention originally that when it's running the backlight on the stereo can be seen to flicker slightly. Definitely on idle but maybe when driving, I don't remember.
Another reason I think there's an issue with the output of the alternator.

But I suppose if the alternator isn't not getting the square wave from the PCM it'll cause voltage problems?
I'm going to split the loom to check the condition of the alternator/ battery tray wiring and back to PCM. I'll check continuity with a meter as well.

[japiedog]

I had a similar problem recently.
It was traced to a break in the live feed between the engine and instrument cluster.
As the engine twists under acceleration and deceleration, the wire bends and straightens, eventually causing a break.
Don't ask me where. This is what the auto electrician told me !