Focus Mk 1 instrument panel

[alanwithamotorbike]

My instrument panel went down the other day on my mk 1 focus diesel. I have no speedo, rev counter fuel gauge or odometer.

I have the choice (in my mind) to either find a replacement, not having any luck finding one at a reasonable price. Or. getting mine fixed.

 

So the first option , i have this question. If i find an instrument panel, will it just fit or does someone need to reprogram it in for me.

Second option. i have had a phone round and come across some really shifty sounding people that      'do it all the time' but dont know how much the repair is likely to be.      So if this is a simple whip it out , send away, then receive and put back in the car, can someone recommend someone who does this type of repair

[unofix]

1 hour ago, alanwithamotorbike said:

Second option. i have had a phone round

Third option and much safer just get it repaired by @rd457 who specialises in IC repairs.

Just send him a private message if he doesn't pick this up in the next few hours.

[alanwithamotorbike]

Thanks for the pointer unofix. have sent a message

 

[StephenFord]

1 hour ago, unofix said:

Third option and much safer just get it repaired by @rd457 who specialises in IC repairs.

Just send him a private message if he doesn't pick this up in the next few hours.

 

33 minutes ago, alanwithamotorbike said:

Thanks for the pointer unofix. have sent a message

 

Just posting to confirm this member has a stellar feedback on Ebay, check it out yourself... (Oh, it's the same guy you just PMd LOL)

[rd457]

Unfortunately I've only ever had one unit from a Mk1 Focus and it didn't work out. They'd reported battery and engine warning lights, and gauges not working. I found a bunch of corrosion spots where there are connections from one side of the board to the other. I've encountered these before on early Mk2 units, and just as with those, I checked them all out and didn't find them to be causing any problems. I temporarily de-soldered and removed a bunch of components to check for any underneath them. I scrubbed over the entire board with WD40 (a solution I'd read about other people sometimes having success with). I reflowed every single solder joint on the entire board and scrubbed the board clean with IPA afterwards. And I even replaced the electrolytic capacitors. Unfortunately the customer reported after receiving it back that all this work hadn't fixed the issues and they were now even worse, the fuel gauge had been the only one working and now wasn't. (Issues rarely show up for me when I power on units on my desk).

I have had a handful of Transit units of similar age/design and doing similar with them has largely been successful.

One problem is that I can't be certain that the faults described are even necessarily down the the cluster itself. There could be wiring/connector/sensor issues at play elsewhere in the vehicle for all I know.

FYI in the odd rare case of doing a full reflow of all solder joints, which takes a lot of extra time (there can be upwards of 1000 joints!), I've been charging a flat £60 extra on top of my standard service fee (£55.99 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314393033915).

[LarsfromNorway]

6 hours ago, alanwithamotorbike said:

So the first option , i have this question. If i find an instrument panel, will it just fit or does someone need to reprogram it in for me.

In my previous Focus 2003 1.6 petrol i just replaced it witout any programming. Didn't bother with getting the kilometers fixed as it was a higher mileage than the stock one.

[alanwithamotorbike]

Thanks for all of your replies.An interesting cross section of answers.

I think the first thing to do is to remove the instrument cluster and have a quick look at what i have and see if their is anything that looks iffy. It runs out of mot very soon, so it looks as if i will have to take it off the road for a while until I can overcome the problem. Last mot , the mechanic said their was beginning to be a rust problem underneath, so it might be time to call it a day. Shame its a cracking car