Hi All

My 2003 Ford Focus 1.6 Ghia has recently developed an intermittent fault related to the dashboard. Either, the indicator bulbs flash randomly and all the dials flutter madly; or the whole display dies (including the digital mileage lcd) and I have no dashboard display at all. This seems to be worse when the weather is damp, but that might be a red herring. Then all returns to normal, the displays function correctly, the mileage readout is restored.

Having scoured the forum, I note that one or two others have seen similar problems, but as yet no-one seems to have nailed the source of the problem and/or come up with a solution. Does anyone have a working solution to this problem or have any knowledge as to what is causing it please? (Two trips, so far, to my local Ford dealership have come with hefty bills for 'software upgrades' and 'observation' but as yet haven't solved it - costly and very frustrating!)

And given the number of speed cameras I pass on my way to work...

Regards

WhenTheSunShines

::Ford Focus 03 1.6 Ghia::

::Life's always brighter when the sun shines::

Condensation on the back of the dash cluster.Thought they sorted that out after the Mk1.

I had that too, WD40 on the back of the circuit board will sort it out temporarily but a new cluster should banish it permanently.

It is a known problem(at least it was on the Mk1 and you might be able to wangle a discount on a replacement as it's an admitted fault but they didn't do an official recall iirc.

I got pretty good at working my speed out on revs and gear engaged.

Mine was a 1.8 and it was 10mph in first, 20mph in second and 30mph in third, all at just under 2000 rpm, of course it may be different in your car due to different cc and tyres/rims etc.

I suggest that when it is working you check your speed/gear/rev ratios and work accordingly.

If you've a satnav with speed readout then that's a useful guide but don't trust it solely as they do have a speed update lag sometimes.

Hope this is helpful.:)