need assistance.

[ssgjohnson]

My truck is blowing the fuse for the gauge cluster repeatedly... at first, no big deal and i just kept popping a new one in. now its getting old. and on top of all that, the other day i let it stay out for awhile and was running errands. all of a sudden, every electronic device in my truck slowly lost power, and then the truck sputtered and died. i have it towed to a shop where he tells me its the alternator... cool beans, thats what i figured. then an hour later, he calls me and says that he popped a new fuse for the gauge cluster, and all of a sudden, the alternator was working properly again. the mechanic is stumped... he called three other mechanics that he knows, and then called two Ford dealers, and no one knows what the hell is going on. any of you got any ideas?

[UTAHFORD]

Have you ever done anything with the gauge cluster?

[ssgjohnson]

nope... i havent really done too much to the truck at all. i have run a lot of accessories through the power outlets... but thats all. and i stopped doing that anyway. PO had some lights and other things wired up, so im going to look for a short, but i dont know how to do that.

[Bdons-SD]

You have an aftermarket stereo?

In my f150 I threw my aftermarket deck in for a couple days after I pulled my subs and everything before I sold it and could get a new stocker and I forgot to ground it and it kept popping the fuse for the dash lights and gauge cluster. I dont know why but it did. I know the wiring for the superduty is similar to the 03 and prior f150s but i dont know if its exact. Could be worth a look if you have an aftermarket deck.

[ssgjohnson]

its a factory stereo... it has the CD and Tape so i dont feel the need to upgrade since i can use a tape deck adapter to play any devices that have an audio jack. all i have done is drive the damn thing. i havent even had a chance to beat on it yet. I plug in my Ipod, or my Droid with a dock... but that cant be anywhere near enough to cause anything like this. I know the PO had more going on with it as it appears there was a drop down screen adn there is a toggle switch that goes nowhere. I just need to get into it and look for anything that may cause a bad ground. my buddy thinks it could be the voltage regulator on the alternator stuck open, but im more or less at a loss.

[Bdons-SD]

Yeah... its probably a short or a bad ground somewhere. I dont think your plugging in anything big enough to pop a fuse.