guage cluster plug

[shortbox1ton]

hello i have a 1979 4x4 short bed ranger. i am trying to replace the idiot light cluster. but i cannot find 1 that fits. the pluge is way smaller than the 1 in my 78 f250 and smalller than the one in my 73. i thought ford only had 2 plugs in the 73-79 trucks? whats the deal? any info would be great?

 

[Mil1ion]

Warning light cluster 14 pin

Gauge cluster 18 Pin

You need the corresponding wiring harness as they are different and cannot be substituted.

There were different sizes and IIRC the 73-74 are different,it changed in 75,BUT because of the detail, you need the one for the 78-79

 

[Evan's f250]

I have an idiot light cluster in mine as well, I had the same problem. So I went with some aftermarket gauges.

I now have a idiot light cluster thats 100 mph cluster(I believe its out of a 1976), would this fit right in place of the one that's in it now since it has warning lights also(mines a 78)? I mainly would like it for the 100 mph speedo. Or would it be simpler to swap just the speedo into my current cluster?

Thanks

 

[shortbox1ton]

mil1on if thr wires were properly trace via diagram. could the plug be swaped out with out changeing the whole harnes. i have a dash plug out of a 78 with guages. i figured i should ask b4 chopping at the harnes. btw thanks for the pix where did you find them?


evan'sf250 it is not hard to change a speedo. i just did it yesterday. u unbolt the rear of the cluster and then you take the 2 screws out of the rear of the speedo if you are handy is is real easy to figure out

 

[Evan's f250]

mil1on if thr wires were properly trace via diagram. could the plug be swaped out with out changeing the whole harnes. i have a dash plug out of a 78 with guages. i figured i should ask b4 chopping at the harnes. btw thanks for the pix where did you find them?


evan'sf250 it is not hard to change a speedo. i just did it yesterday. u unbolt the rear of the cluster and then you take the 2 screws out of the rear of the speedo if you are handy is is real easy to figure out

Ya, I saw that there looked to be just two bolts holding in the speedo, but was wondering which would be better. To put in the whole cluster if possible or just swap out the speedo.

I noiticed the 100 mph cluster has the the light for the"brights of the top right of the cluster, while my 85 mph cluster in my 78 has the "brights" light above the speedo.

I'm very capible of cleanin up the 100 mph lens and installing it in my truck, but I'm just wanting to know if it requires the same wiring harness as my 78 has before I clean everything up and take the truck apart. (both are warning light clusters)

Thanks

 

[shortbox1ton]

if the wires were properly traced via a diagram. could the plug be swaped out with out changeing the whole harnes. i have a dash plug out of a 78 with guages. i figured i should ask b4 chopping at the harnes. btw thanks for the pix where did you find them?

 

[Evan's f250]

I would imagine you could get another cluster plug off of a truck that had the gauge style cluster (leaving enough wire coming out of the cluster plug to use it later) and connect the wires you cut to the correct color of wire of the new plug.(Plz correct me if I'm wrong)

Your oil pressure,temp,amp gauge would still not work with this done.

You would then need to get oil sending unit, temp sending unit, and find out if any kind of resister is needed to make the amp gauge function.

and for the pics, Dennis has about any kind of diagram for these trucks, He's A dentside/Ford expert.

 

[Mil1ion]

You can't just swap in the cluster without having more problems. You have to have the proper wiring harness because of the difference in wiring.

 

[shortbox1ton]

i got a compleat wire harnes form the local pic and pull yard. any tips on swaping the hanrness? mine has a/c and it looks alot more complicated than the one i did in a 80 k5 nnon a/c

 

[73F100Shortbed]

I would take some pictures of how the old one is routed and follow the routing or maybe lay out the harness over the engine following the current one while it is still in there. And follow how it is behind the dash. That's about all I can think of.

 

[BKW]

hello i have a 1979 4x4 short bed ranger. i am trying to replace the idiot light cluster. but i cannot find 1 that fits. the pluge is way smaller than the 1 in my 78 f250 and smalller than the one in my 73. i thought ford only had 2 plugs in the 73-79 trucks? whats the deal? any info would be great?

Same cluster/printed circuit as 1979/86 Econoline, 1979 F100/350 & Bronco.

The printed circuit used with idiot lights is different 1976/78.

Be aware that the cluster backs used in: 1975/79 F100/350's, 1975/80 Econolines and 1978/79 Bronco's were made from a composition material that can TURN TO DUST before your very eyes!

In 1981, Ford began installing hard plastic cluster backs in Econolines. These replaced the crap cluster backs used on the earlier vehicles.

E1PZ-10848-A .. Cluster Back-Use w/oil & amp gauges: 1975/79 F100/350, 1975/91 Econoline, 1978/79 Bronco.

E1PZ-10848-B .. Cluster Back-Use with Warning (idiot) Lights: 1975/79 F100/350, 1975/86 Econoline, 1978/79 Bronco.

Some of the crap cluster backs have been replaced, some have not.

 

[Mil1ion]

Things must be slow on FTE ?

 

[BKW]

Was on FTE 11PM/6AM...then took a nap till 11AM today. Haven't been on since I woke up, but that's gonna change pretty darn qwik, cuz (sadly) there ain't that much for me to do here.

I could spend 24/7 on FTE, and prolly never get "caught up." And, as you know, I only spent about 3 hours -total- on the net: 6/19-6/27 cuz I was busy doing other things.

 

[CaFordDude]

Glad to see ya posting again Bill.

Hope your wife made it home safe from her trip and your house is back to normal.