Focus ST170 - No dials, will Ford fix it?

[Greg-]

Hello,

My Focus ST170's instrument cluster has failed, a really common problem with Mk1 Focuses I know! I found this Which? article that says Ford will fix and replace it for £99 : http://www.which.co.uk/news/2008/04/ford-takes-act...

Anyone gone for this deal from Ford? If not I'll do it myself as it looks pretty easy but I'm worried about the odometer reading going to 0. I want to get rid of the car soon as I think that will make any future buyer nervous.

[Viperz888]

Mk1 Focuses are probably a bit old to be taking to a main dealer, so the offer you've found may not be available anymore. Having said that it's always worth a phonecall.

If you're replacing the clocks with a new set (probably expensive as I think they are different on the ST), then the odo will go back to zero, yes. if you're putting in a secondhand set, they will remember the mileage from the car they came out of. I'm not sure that you can change this at all.

The best thing you can do is document the change properly - if you have a garage do it, they should be able to give you some paperwork showing the old mileage, new milegae, and date of change. Then it's just a case of explaining this to a buyer.

[AlexRS2782]

The article is from 2008 so I think you'd struggle to get a main dealer to pay / contribute towards a change nearly 8 years later.

I only say this as there have been a few Mk1 FRS owners that have suffered similar dial failure over the years and Ford have never been interested apart from quoting full retail on a brand new set of dials.

The owners either fixed it themselves, or via a specialist, by swapping in a set of clocks from another car that was being broken for spares or had been written off.

[Peanut Gallery]

Just to say I have a Mk2 focus, my dials decided to stop working randomly, fortunately while under warranty. (small dealership).

They removed the dash and posted it to someone who found a dry joint in the the dash, fixed it, posted it back, and it has worked fine since.

[Greg-]

I tried to fix it myself, but I wasn't able to get plug at the back out, got a bit worried I'd break so I gave up. There is a small Ford Dealer not to far away for me that seems to be alright, I'll give them a go and if it turns into silly money I'll go find a specialist or give it another go myself!

Car was parked up for so long not been used the battery died as well...All in all not a good week!

[AdamIndy]

You can send them to a specialist to fix or buy a 2nd hand set. The mileage can be altered to the same as the original clocks if you want to go down that path. Plenty of auto electricians can do it providing you have the correct paperwork to back up the original mileage.

[AlexRS2782]

Greg- said:

I tried to fix it myself, but I wasn't able to get plug at the back out, got a bit worried I'd break so I gave up. There is a small Ford Dealer not to far away for me that seems to be alright, I'll give them a go and if it turns into silly money I'll go find a specialist or give it another go myself!

Car was parked up for so long not been used the battery died as well...All in all not a good week!

The bit in bold could have caused the dial problem. It's not uncommon if the battery is allowed to drain completely to the point it's dead, that when a new battery is connected, or if the car is jump started to get it running, that it can spike the electrics.

I've seen a few Mk1 FRS owners that have allowed a battery to drain completely and when the car was next fired up either the dials wouldn't realign / settle correctly after the first sweep when the key was turned, or more commonly the alarm module was spiked causing the alarm to sound continuously and you'd have to replace the module / reprogram the alarm.

[p1stonhead]

AlexRS2782 said:

Greg- said:

I tried to fix it myself, but I wasn't able to get plug at the back out, got a bit worried I'd break so I gave up. There is a small Ford Dealer not to far away for me that seems to be alright, I'll give them a go and if it turns into silly money I'll go find a specialist or give it another go myself!

Car was parked up for so long not been used the battery died as well...All in all not a good week!

The bit in bold could have caused the dial problem. It's not uncommon if the battery is allowed to drain completely to the point it's dead, that when a new battery is connected, or if the car is jump started to get it running, that it can spike the electrics.

I've seen a few Mk1 FRS owners that have allowed a battery to drain completely and when the car was next fired up either the dials wouldn't realign / settle correctly after the first sweep when the key was turned, or more commonly the alarm module was spiked causing the alarm to sound continuously and you'd have to replace the module / reprogram the alarm.

I had this problem on a MK1 OP.

Turns out it was athe vehicle speed sensor down near the gear box (not sure exactly where it was sorry!). Cost about £50 all in I seem to remember.

It was nothing to do with the actual cluster on mine but not to say its not whats wrong with yours.

Edited by p1stonhead on Monday 18th January 10:34

[Greg-]

Cluster sort of recovered after new battery, but is back to it's usual non-responsiveness, dials were a bit jumpy for a bit. Given that the temp and fuel dials don't work I think it's the whole cluster rather than a dodgy sensor.

Daron Ford on Hayling Island gave me a quote for a new one, which was stupid money, but kindly told me a couple of indie places that can fix it for me, so I'll give them a go.

EDIT:

AlexRS2782 said:

The bit in bold could have caused the dial problem. It's not uncommon if the battery is allowed to drain completely to the point it's dead, that when a new battery is connected, or if the car is jump started to get it running, that it can spike the electrics.

I've seen a few Mk1 FRS owners that have allowed a battery to drain completely and when the car was next fired up either the dials wouldn't realign / settle correctly after the first sweep when the key was turned, or more commonly the alarm module was spiked causing the alarm to sound continuously and you'd have to replace the module / reprogram the alarm.

Reading what you said there again Alex, yeah that's exactly what it did, alarm turned off and is fine though.

Edited by Greg- on Monday 18th January 20:00