Stepper Motor Replacement

ixtlan · Feb 5, 2010

Stepper Motor Replacement for the S197 Instrument Pack<o></o>

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So I have had several issues with the Gauges on my 2005 Mustang GT.

First the Fuel Gauge goes bad, then the Tach, and then the Oil Pressure Gauge goes too.

The Fuel Gauge issue was two fold. The Sensors were bad due to a design problem that Ford has since remedied. So I changed out my Sensors for the second time since 2005.

But the gauge still reads all over the place and after the sensor change went all the way over to the 8 o’clock position and stayed there.

You can see it below:

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So now what else is wrong….??

So after trying and failing different things like cleaning the harness plugs ect… I decided to look hard at the Instrument Pack itself.

What I found through many hours of research was I wasn’t the only one with issues. In fact a fellow forum member who is a Ford Tech told me that he had changed many of the Packs for various issues.

So now I was onto something possibly.

There are also some instrument repair companies fixing these Packs.

After some more research I found out that Ford changed the Stepper Motors in the later years of the car due to failures. The Stepper Motors drive the needles and so I found out the replacement number for the stepper motors. They are Part Number X25.589.

I pulled my Pack and took the face off to compare the motors.

All of them are the same and my known bad gauges grind like crazy in comparison to those still working.

So on the net I went to find them and sure enough did.

Price ranges from 5 to 8 bucks each so I ordered 6.

Beats 240 dollars for a new Pack and worth a try.

Here it is the replacement DIY.

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First Step

FILL YOUR GAS TANK FULL.

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You will need to depower your airbag system.

To do this pull your right kick panel off. It just pulls off so it isn’t a big deal to do.

First pull up the scuff plate that snaps on:

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The pull the kick panel by pulling out on the bottom, and to the rear of the car. It is snap on too.

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Kick Panel removed:

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This exposes the Smart Junction Box shown above.

You need to remove the fuse panel cover. Shown removed below:

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Pull fuse 17. It is a 10 amp fuse.

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Next you need to verify the SRS is powered down.

Turn the ignition ON and watch for the airbag light to go out for 30 seconds.

It shouldn’t; this means the SRS is depowered.

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So next step is to remove the Gauge Bezel.

Just grab it and pull straight back. It snaps off and then remove it and set it aside.

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The pack is held in place with 4 screws (7mm socket).

Take the screws out and pull the pack out.

There is a plug on the back you need to unlock and remove.

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Here is the plug shown unlocked and removed:

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Now on to the fun part.

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With the pack out you need to unsnap the clear cover off. It is held on with tabs. Just lightly lift them to unlock. There are several around the unit.

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Tabs:

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Face plate removed the next step is remove the needles.

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Grasp them under the edges and gently but firmly pull them up and off.

They are a little tuff but will pull off.

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Here is the face with needles removed and the needles.

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Now remove the back plate from the Pack. It is held on with tabs like the clear cover.

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And here are the sections:

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The white round items are the stepper motors.

The front looks like this:

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The Stepper Motors are soldered on with 4 pins and 3 guide posts.

Unsolder the 4 pins and remove the motor.

Be careful not to burn the board. A little heat and a light touch of the soldering iron is all that is needed.

As a hint here.

Take an old piece of cable tv coax and strip off the outer case to expose the inner core copper wire. Dip it in you flux and put it next to your pin. Then touch your soldering iron to the pin solder point, and then slightly up the coax wire. This will draw the solder up the wire and away from the pin. Works as a pinpoint solder wick to remove most the solder holding the stepper motor pin. Cut the wicked solder off the coax and move to the next pin. Then after you have done all 4 on the motor pull on it and touch the solder points to melt what is left in each pin hole to remove the motor.

The first one is a little difficult till you learn your technique. The others go fast.

I replaced all 6 of mine.

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Here is one removed:

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Once you have removed your motors you will want to clean out any solder in the pin holes. Another hint here. Use a straight pin and touch the solder hole again while pushing the pin through the hole. Wiggle the pin around while removing the heat. It will clean out the hole and open it up. A pin drill will do the same thing. The idea is to have a hole for the new motor pins.

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Now on to installing.

Place your new motor in place and ensure it sits flush against the board.

While holding it in place resolder the 4 pins for each motor. Be careful only a dot of solder is required on each pin.

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So now you have replaced all 6 motors.

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Reassemble the unit except don’t install the clear cover or the needles.

Back out to the car we go.

Have your needles handy.

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Plug the unit in and turn your key ON but don’t start the engine yet.

The motors will cycle and stop.

Put your Gauge needles on the shafts but don’t press it on firmly yet.

You will want to adjust them.

Start the engine.

Put your oil gauge needle where you want it to show with the engine running. Or with the key ON and Engine OFF just put it to the L mark if you don’t want it to be anywhere special. Then press it firmly on the shaft. But do not press to far. Use a matchbook or something under the needle while pressing it on to keep from pressing it too far. There should be about a 64<sup>th</sup> of an inch between the needle base and the gauge face.

Next do the voltage gauge or the same with engine OFF and key ON as with the oil gauge.

Put your Fuel Gauge needle on the Full Mark and press it on. See why you needed a FULL Tank.

Now the Tach.

If you know where your engine idles then put it to the correct reading.

A XCAL or Data Logger can verify your RPM at idle.

The Speedometer is a little tricky.

You can put it at zero MPH and get it pretty close.

Or the XCAL or whatever you use can be a more accurate way to set the needle.

Start a datalog with RPM and Vehicle Speed selected.

Go for a drive with the pack temporarily in place.

Using your datalog speed up to a set speed like 20 mph and hold. Put your needle on the shaft and press it on so it won’t move. You can put it on better when you get stopped.

So now you pull the pack back out and put the clear face back on.

Reassemble everything and put your SRS fuse back in.

Turn on your key and wait for the airbag light to go out.

Should go out within 15 seconds.

Your in business.

Mine is working great and the fuel gauge is fixed too.

It actually works now.

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Hope this helps you all out.

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Boozshey · Feb 6, 2010

Good write up. Good info...

However there is a much easier way to set the needles. When you plug it back in the gauges reset them selfs back to 0. So plug it in. Press the tach and speedo needlle on to zero. Unplug it and plug it back in to make sure that it resets to 0 again.

For the other small gauges. They rest at a little past the lowest point. Push them on and turn the key, the needles will move to there spots, normally centered exept the gas of course. Now turn the key off. You can turn the keys to the end of there rotation and form there it will slip on the pin and you can fine tune it that way. Doesn't make much sense until you are in there turning on them, then this will all make sense.

bigwilly43729 · Feb 6, 2010

Excellent write up! Thanks!

Pumpkinfish · Feb 6, 2010

I have an 05 GT manufactured 12/04. My fuel gauge is very erratic. I upgraded to GT500 fuel pumps in summer 2008. What do I need to fix this fuel gauge at this point?

ixtlan · Feb 6, 2010

Boozshey said:
Good write up. Good info...

However there is a much easier way to set the needles. When you plug it back in the gauges reset them selfs back to 0. So plug it in. Press the tach and speedo needlle on to zero. Unplug it and plug it back in to make sure that it resets to 0 again.

For the other small gauges. They rest at a little past the lowest point. Push them on and turn the key, the needles will move to there spots, normally centered exept the gas of course. Now turn the key off. You can turn the keys to the end of there rotation and form there it will slip on the pin and you can fine tune it that way. Doesn't make much sense until you are in there turning on them, then this will all make sense.

Excellent advice.
I wanted to verify accuracy against the PCM so I added my process.
Yours is much easier for sure.
Thanks for the input.
:thumb:

ixtlan · Feb 6, 2010

Pumpkinfish said:
I have an 05 GT manufactured 12/04. My fuel gauge is very erratic. I upgraded to GT500 fuel pumps in summer 2008. What do I need to fix this fuel gauge at this point?

If you are confident the senders are good then you can take the Pack out and the face off.
Rotate the fuel gauge by hand and compare it to one of the gauges you dont have any issues with.
My bad ones were very rough when rotating.
Very noticeable difference between them.
Stepper motors are very low torque and any binding in them will cause you issues.

dysan · Feb 6, 2010

Awesome write-up. My speedo has been shot for months now and I've been avoiding getting a new gauge cluster and this is perfect. I'm quite comfortable with soldering so I hope I won't have any issues.

Thanks.

classix_stang289 · Sep 3, 2010

i hope something like this will work for me so i dont have to buy another cluster. my tach has been staying above 8k rpms but the needle is moving but is struggling to move on decel. my speedo has been staying well above 140mph the last few days and same as tach as far as struggling to come down on decel but hasnt been going lower than 140. temp gauge for 90 percent of time stays on cold so i guess its safe to say that its shot. fuel guage sometime gets stuck below E, this was on stock pumps and i just recently had gt500 pumps done with the whipple. Im 100 percent certain its not anything with the pumps. so maybe this stepper motor thing is my last hope before i give up money for a new cluster. Car is an 05 gt by the way.

ixtlan · Sep 3, 2010

Sounds like ya got exactly what happens.
Let us know what the outcome is.
Cheap fix with a little effort.

classix_stang289 · Sep 3, 2010

where did you get parts for this, cannot find anything on the web so far

ixtlan · Sep 3, 2010

Do a fleebay search for X25.589.
Or go to http://steppermotorsonline.com/

classix_stang289 · Sep 3, 2010

nice thanks.

classix_stang289 · Sep 5, 2010

i had to email these people at steppermotorsonline, they dont have a number listed. when i did the ebay search it comes up as people selling them in bulk and one listing when you click on it and scroll down the page a different part number is listed(x25.168 or something like that).

hopefully they contact me back, there website looks and performs like shit

ixtlan · Sep 5, 2010

Try these on fleebay.
they are selling 4 but they say contact them for more.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-...391240?pt=Car_Audio_Video&hash=item3caf423bc8

classix_stang289 · Sep 5, 2010

yeah thats the one i was talking about if you scroll down a little it says manufacturers part number X25.168 instead on 589....

i guess i might have to contact them to see is its a typo

ixtlan · Sep 5, 2010

I bet it is a typo.
Send them a message and see what they say.

classix_stang289 · Sep 19, 2010

New stepper motors are soldered in and i reconnected the cluster in with needles still off the cluster and waited till motors stopped adjusting then i aligned and pushed needles on the cluster to the exact spots where they need to go. disconnected and re connected to see if they reset back to my settings and now im all good to go after i verified on my road testing. if it wasnt for this guide i would still be F'd right about now. thanks!!

JoshC · Oct 1, 2010

Wow thanks for this write up I'm going to do this!. My fuel gauge and my speedo arent working.

Punishermustang · Jan 14, 2011

I'm kinda stuck in the process of changing the stepper motors. Well it's going really slow. All the old motors are out but I'm having one hell of a time gettin the old solder out. I tried the cable coax and even bought desolder from radioshack. Even if it looks clean the motor isn't sitting flush. Any other tips anyone has?

ixtlan · Jan 14, 2011

Use a small drill or something to remove the old solder in the wholes.
Just be careful and not damage the circuit card. You could also heat the solder an push the coax center in the whole when melted and draw it back out. That will draw the old solder with it. May take a few times to remove enough to clear the holes.

Stepper Motor Replacement

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