[Ct88Bronco]

Hey I have two and a half quick questions. Whenever I hit 35 mph the check engine light flashes a few times and goes out even if I stay at that speed for a while and for a couple of days it did that at 35 and 45mph. I know that in the manual it says that if it goes out than the problem corrected itself, and if it gets annoying the dealer or garage can fix it. what should I do about that?
The other quick question I had was when the truck is idling or when driving the voltmeter reads between 8-10 volts and that is with or without any electrical accessories on. I checked the battery while idling with a digital voltmeter and it said 14.51 volts. Does this mean there is a loose connection at the voltmeter or is there another issue? If the voltmeter is bad does the whole cluster have to be replaced or can I just replace that needle?

 

[Ct88Bronco]

oh yeah and if it is warmer out the gauge jumps from 8 to 10 to 14 to 8 when at idle

 

[RLKBOB]

How about some info on your truck? year, engine, trans, any mods to it etc.
You can pull codes yourself with a paper clip and see what the problem was/is. If the CEL came on there will be a stored code(s). Check out Fordfuelinjection to see how to pull codes and a list of what they all mean. The hayne's manual also tells you how to do it. Or you can do a search here on it.

If you're getting the correct voltage with a meter then it's probably a problem with the gage.

 

[Ct88Bronco]

Sorry about that...it is an 88 with a 302 and an automatic tranny with O/D. It is stock and two things that I had noticed was the light started coming on the day that I had a new tail pipe and muffler put on because the old tail pipe broke away from the muffler the day before, and the light only comes on at those speeds on the days that the voltmeter says 8 or 9 volts.

 

[Ct88Bronco]

ok thanks I will give that a try!

 

[Ct88Bronco]

I checked the connections, and they were fine; I tried to recalibrate the needle by pulling the needle and putting it back on but nothing changed so I guess I need a new needle. Do you guys have an estimate on how much a new one is from the dealer?