My 2000 Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition has a digital odometer. Frequently the odometer goes blank. It doesn’t reset–it just goes dark. While it is dark, it continues to register the miles properly. If I am in a VERY dark setting, I can just barely see that the digits are still showing. But if there is any amount of ambient light, it looks blank. It sometimes goes blank and then comes back to normal brightness so fast that it looks like it could be caused by a loose wire. However, it can go blank and then come back to life even when there are no bumps or vibrations–so that doesn’t seem like it is a loose connection. Sometimes it stays blank for a few minutes, and occasionally it will stay blank for several minutes (~20 minutes), flicker back to normal, go blank, come back on and stay on, and repeat randomly. There is no pattern and no predictability. Also, when it goes blank, I’ve tried to bang on the dashboard, on the steering wheel, and on the steering column, but none of that seemed to have any positive effect. I’ve also cycled the dashboard’s light dimmer switch, repeatedly pushed the odometer reset button, and jiggled the key mechanism, but none of that seemed to have any effect either.
Any ideas on what is causing this?