Alright, I was in my car today loading a different tune and after it finished i pulled the tuner out. When i turned on the car, it turned on fine but none of the guages work/light up and the needles dont move or anything. the car runs fine just the guages are all at 0 and wont light up/turn on

i'm pretty sure i did everything right as this isnt the first time i've changed the tune, but i'm thinking maybe i pulled the tuner out before i turned the key to "off" or something like that? when i tried to plug the tuner back in, it wouldn't turn on either. but the radio and center console still works.

PLEASE HELP! i NEED to see what mph i'm going because i need to drive this car somewhere

 

Check all your fuses. You may have blown one or tow when you rmeoved the tuner before it was time. Hopefully that is all it did

 

so when i open the fuse box, how can i tell if a fuse is blown?

also, if a fuse is blown, how easily/quickly can that be repaired

 

You will either need a test light to chekc them or you will have to pull each one out and visually check them. If blown simply replace it with the same type and amp fuse.

 

alright, i'm not really familiar with fuses at all, how can i tell if it is blown, what will it look like?

and where can i buy fuses?

 

The cars use blade fuses like..


If the piece in the middle is broken then the fuse has blown and needs to be replaced.


You buy fuses at the auto parts store. The amp rating is printed on the top ie (10, 15, 20) just replace in kind and you are set.

 

Ok I will try that. How do I know which one controls the gauges and gauge needles? Do I have to take out every single one and check? And some of the fuses have little gray plastic box looking things that cover more than one fuse? How do I check those?

And when I check the fuses do I need to disconnect the battery or anything like that or can I just take one out, replace it, and then turn on the car?

 

Check the owners manual. Look under fuses.

 

alright, it should be fuse 8: data and instrumentation

if not, then i might try disconnecting the battery

 

i disconnected the battery for 15 min. but when reconnecting the negative side, it first blew the horn for a split second and when it tried to put it on again it sparked and kind of "stuck". so i left it off for now. any advice?

 

Put it on.
Hey, what did the fuse look like?
They sometime blow in a way that you can't see it.
You have to pull it and test it with a meter or a light.
Or just replace it anyway, it can't hurt.

 

ok so i checked 3 fuses:

pcm
power point 1 (instrument panel)
power point 2 (console)

and they are all fine, none of them look like they are blown and i have no other way to test them currently

however, the car's gauges/instrument cluster still is not working
everytime i turn on the ignition, it just makes some louder than normal electrical noise and then the gauges dont light up

i'm at a loss at what to do next

 

IDK man but your car sounds sweet!

 

lol thanks but its a shame i cant tell how fast i'm going!

 

You don't need to know how fast you're going.
If you're in a sooped-up Mustang -- you're always going this fast.

 

If your certain that all the fuses are ok. I would recommend re-flashing back to stock, then take your car back to the dealership, and have them fix it under warranty.

 

lol robrob

fastbackGT - the problem is, when i plug in my XCAL2, it wont turn on
so i'm guessing that port has to do with the instrument panel as well

the next thing i'm considering is checking the fuses in the passenger footwell

after that, i guess i have to take it to the ford dealership
do you think they will ask a lot of questions? i really would rather not tell them that it could've been the tuner that caused it.
can they tell what caused it?

 

problem solved, it was a blown fuse in the passenger footwell fusebox (#8)

thanks again for everyones help

 

Glad to hear it's fixed. I know how stressful it can be when your car is not 100%.

 

I had the same problem today, but it happened when I plugged my tuner in. Plugged it in, and.....nothing the tuner would go on. Pulled the plug out and turned the ignition on....and now there were no instrument lights.
Thanks to this thread on this issue I quickly found that fuse #8 in the kick panel was blown. Replaced it and now all is good again.
Thanks guys for posting this info you had saved me a lot of aggravation!!!