this is a very common problem with the ford trucks,and others,including lincoln navigator,exporers,and other ford made vehicles.i think 1997-2004 and maybe older and newer.it is called ODOMETER BLACKOUT.if you have a digital odometer,one that lights up and sometimes goes away and comes back on,this is for you.first of all,you do not lose any miles,the computer keeps up with the mileage.you can tap or beat on the dash and it may come back on and may not.dont beat your dash up.it is a cold solder joint in the instrument cluster panel.i fixed mine after it drove me nuts,cause i could not see my mileage.you can fix this with very little solder,and low watage pencil type soldering iron,not the gun type.you have to remove the cluster and take in house or wherever to repair.google this for example(why is my 2000 f-150 odometer blacking out)click on ford forums,and there are several write ups,pictures,videos,and step by step instructions.VERY IMPORTANT,FIRST UNHOOK BATTERY,NEG. FIRST AND THEN POS.,LET SIT FOR 10-20 MINUTES BEFORE YOU START ON THIS .ANY WIRES IN BEHIND CLUSTER THAT ARE YELLOW HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE AIRBAG.YOU DO NOT WANT AIR TO DEPLOY.i fixed mine 20000 miles ago and still working.about .05 cents worth of solder and taking my time,2-3 hours,maybe.there are 9 pins,and some of the forums say only to resolder the far pin to the right,but resolder all 9 pins,i found out the hard way,had to remove again and resolder the other 8 while i was in there,not all were cracked joints,but i did not want to remove cluster anymore.after i fixed mine,i called FORD STEALERSHIP and didnt tell them i fixed it,i told them what my truck was doing and the service manager told me that there was NO FIX FOR THIS,AND THAT I WOULD HAVE TO BRING TO THEM TO PUT NEW CLUSTER IN,AND HAVE MY PATS KEYS PROGRAMMED TO NEW CLUSTER OR COMPUTER WILL NOT RECOGNIZE NEW CLUSTER AND TRUCK WILL NOT START.i asked the big question,how much.he said $800.00.still i did not tell him i fixed already,i just said thank you and hung up phone.RESEARCH YOUR PROBLEM,AND TAKE YOUR TIME,TAKE PICS BEFORE AND AFTER,AND PAT SELF ON BACK WHEN FINISHED.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I believe the displayed numbers are digital because they light up against a black background (not sure if that makes any sense). You said that might indicate that the odometer display itself may be wearing out? I bought this truck only a few months ago, and yes, it DOES have high miles, 258k. Is that something that's best left to the pro's to replace? (I envision having to dis-assemble the entire dash board) When you say "instrument cluster", are you referring to more than one instrument or is that simply the general term used to describe the clustering of the instruments? Does the entire "cluster" get replaced or can the odometer display itself be replaced individually? All of the other instruments seem to be operating as intended. Is there a way I can determine specifically what the malfunction is? Could it possibly be caused by a wire grounding out?(does that show my age?) I apologize for all the questions...I've been unemployed for eight months now so it would really be a blessing to accurately diagnosis this issue the first time. Again, thanks for your time and effort.
i know it's been over 3 years,but just curious if you ever fixed your odometer blackout problem on your 2000 F-150?mine is still a working,no problems since i resoldered those pins on circuit board.304450 miles now.2000 F150 4.6L just replaced the original factory fuel pump last month.15 years and 303226 miles later.here is the link if anyone would like to fix their own FAMOUS FORD ODOMETER BLACKOUT.copy and paste the link,read and look at pics. http://www.f150online.com/forums/articles-how-s/373598-intermittent-odometer-repair.html