My 1999 Windstar LX has developed a condition of spastic gauge “needles”. Specifically, when I start the minivan “cold” the gauges - tachometer, speedometer, fuel and tempersature, MAY be erratic. The needle may move full scale plus with placing the vehicle in motion and continue for some 2 miles, where it commonly return to mormal RPM, Speed, Fuel Level and Temperature. What is the problem and how do I correct it?
I have a 2003 Crapstar and the speed needle jumps at highway speeds. There is no fix that I know of. Ford installed 4 clusters under warranty and they asked if I wanted a 5th. I told them no since the current one was the lesser of all evils.
I had a similar problem with a 2000 Ford Windstar when the battery voltage was low. I had spent an afternoon steam cleaning the seats and carpet and had the doors open which kept the interior lights on. When I started the van, the gauges were erratic. The same thing happened several months later when the battery was ready to give out–the van cranked over very slowl, but did start. The gauges again became erratic. I replaced the battery and the problem went away. You may want to have an auto parts store do a load test on the battery to eliminate this as a possibility.