So I purchased a 2001 Ford Ranger about two months ago and the previous owner had swapped out the gauges. He installed a white cluster with lights behind them that can be switched between green and blue. It looks good and everything but shortly after I got the truck it started acting up. First of all the speedometer is 10mph off. Basically if its reading 50mph I'm actually going 40 mph.

This I can deal with but the bigger issue is that the lights randomly shut off. Then if I wait about 10 minutes then flip the switch to change the colors they kick back on. Then suddenly they will turn off again. Its really annoying and I don't know enough about electrics to figure out what the issue is. All I know is the switch is tapped into the fuse panel on the drivers side and then another wire runs behind the gauges. Any one have any ideas on what the issue could be and how I would go about fixing it?


Thanks in advance!

EDIT: There are pics of what I'm talking about on the second page of my cardomain. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3336636

 

Have to open them up to see how it works.

 

Sounds like there might be a loose connection somewhere.

Personally I would ditch the gauges. If you want white ones I would pick up a Sport Trac cluster.

 

Thanks. Is it easy to swap the gauges?

 

To swap the gauges yes. If you get a new gauge cluster you will have to swap/roll your odometer. This is an easy task too. Give me a few mins and I will give you the links to the how-to's for both of them. You may be able to peel off white overlays and use the stock cluster.

 

Odometer Swap/Roll

How To Remove Your Cluster