Flashing an instrument cluster

[clayton89]

I am looking at finding an instrument cluster with a tachometer for my 2006 focus zxw, I have found a few but they all have lower miles than mine (much lower) as mine has 122,xxx

I was curious if anyone has had their new clusters flashed to show a new higher mileage, if so where it was done and how much did it cost?

[Sponsor]

[gondorian]

I just wrote down the difference when I put in the new one with a tach. If your car is old enough the DMV might not car about the mileage. Or you could just put the front of your car on jackstands and idle it in gear for a weekend jk.

[rambleon84]

Call a couple of Ford dealers and ask if that's something they can do. I had a conversation with a member a couple years ago that said their dealer was able to do it for less than $100 and the dealer's only caveat was they kept the old cluster.

Now, I dont recall if his new cluster had more or less miles. Not sure if its something they can only add miles to vs take miles off or vice-versa.

Found a couple on ebay with closer mileage for you:
130k
128k (you'd need to contact them to verify it has tach)

The two most common parts numbers are:
6S4T-10849-BA
6S4T-10849-DA
one should be with tach and other without iirc but ebay sellers arent consistently labeling them the same. I bought a tach cluster with a couple of thousand more miles than my car had and swapped them over when the mileage matched. I did test it as soon as I received to ensure needles and lights worked properly. Very easy to do yourself.

[clayton89]

Originally Posted by rambleon84

Call a couple of Ford dealers and ask if that's something they can do. I had a conversation with a member a couple years ago that said their dealer was able to do it for less than $100 and the dealer's only caveat was they kept the old cluster.

Now, I dont recall if his new cluster had more or less miles. Not sure if its something they can only add miles to vs take miles off or vice-versa.

Found a couple on ebay with closer mileage for you:
130k
128k (you'd need to contact them to verify it has tach)

The two most common parts numbers are:
6S4T-10849-BA
6S4T-10849-DA
one should be with tach and other without iirc but ebay sellers arent consistently labeling them the same. I bought a tach cluster with a couple of thousand more miles than my car had and swapped them over when the mileage matched. I did test it as soon as I received to ensure needles and lights worked properly. Very easy to do yourself.

I was just checking here to post that I had purchased one with 130K on it, it so happens to be the one you picked out before I even read your post.

[sleepyboy]

Originally Posted by rambleon84

Call a couple of Ford dealers and ask if that's something they can do. I had a conversation with a member a couple years ago that said their dealer was able to do it for less than $100 and the dealer's only caveat was they kept the old cluster.

Now, I dont recall if his new cluster had more or less miles. Not sure if its something they can only add miles to vs take miles off or vice-versa.

Found a couple on ebay with closer mileage for you:
130k
128k (you'd need to contact them to verify it has tach)

The two most common parts numbers are:
6S4T-10849-BA
6S4T-10849-DA
one should be with tach and other without iirc but ebay sellers arent consistently labeling them the same. I bought a tach cluster with a couple of thousand more miles than my car had and swapped them over when the mileage matched. I did test it as soon as I received to ensure needles and lights worked properly. Very easy to do yourself.

I've heard of some dealers doing it even cheaper, then some won't touch it at all. If you were to take it to a dealer I would say that your old cluster is broken and you need to have the mileage switched over, that way they would be more likely to do it.

[clayton89]

Originally Posted by sleepyboy

I've heard of some dealers doing it even cheaper, then some won't touch it at all. If you were to take it to a dealer I would say that your old cluster is broken and you need to have the mileage switched over, that way they would be more likely to do it.

Yeah I picked up a cluster from Ebay so I have it all sorted out. It came from a 06-07 so it should be a direct plug in and I'll have a Tach now.

I plan on waiting a few months until the miles get close so I can just plug it in and skip the dealer, or having to have it flashed.

Thanks Guys

[rambleon84]

Originally Posted by clayton89

Yeah I picked up a cluster from Ebay so I have it all sorted out. It came from a 06-07 so it should be a direct plug in and I'll have a Tach now.

I plan on waiting a few months until the miles get close so I can just plug it in and skip the dealer, or having to have it flashed.

Thanks Guys

Test it out when you get it too, just to find out the exact mileage and make sure the needles all work properly. If you need any help installing it shoot me a message or post here. You may notice a light or two is lit up too. If your car didnt have ABS or traction control and that donor car did, those will be lit up.

[clayton89]

So just took out the instrument cluster and started to test the replacement to see if everything works and what the exact mileage is. So far I don't think I'm going to have any of the issues that many have had when replacing clusters.

My car has abs (I just found this out Sunday as we had an ice storm and it kicked in once) but my car does not have traction control (that I know of) and I do not have a problem with any lights staying on, or any light not coming on so I think I got pretty lucky.

I did happen to lose a screw when I was trying to reinstall the original gauges, it flew out of my hand and behind the radio. So I take the storage compartment out and remove the radio to peek in there. I ended up finding the screw, but as I was installing my radio I slipped and lost that one for the radio. So I ended up looking around for it but could never find it, so I had to just install the radio with three screws instead of four I guess when I go to install my Auxiliary cord later I'll have to make sure I go to parts store and find something similar to put in there.

[rambleon84]

Sounds like you are in good shape...that missing screw on the radio will only be bad if it starts rattling around and driving you nuts with the noise of it rolling around

This was one of those mods i wish i had done much earlier, so annoying not having a tach..