I have a 2000 GT mustang that im doin a cobra conversion to pretty much. My problem is i bought a 2003 cobra dash cluster and installed it in my GT, everything works except the car wont start, it'll try to turn but it wont start, i noticed the theft light flashing, so i take it it has something to do with that right? Maybe even the chip in the key too? are the supposed match or something? Cuz i plugged the GT one right back in and it started right up. Anybody know whats going on and how i can get around this problem? Any help is greatly appreaciated thanks!

 

thats the PATS system.. I'm not really up on how to get around it other than cutting it off in the tune, atleast with mine I can. Yes the keys are supposed to match but with you having changed the whole cluster, not sure if just re-programing the keys would work. As far as I know, only the dealership can flash keys, and they charge like half an hour labor, but I still wouldnt guarantee that would work.

 

i dont think u can just swap a whole cluster without some electrical work.

 

Did you swap the cluster and use the GT ECU if so that's one problem.

 

lol +1 spike

 

The guage cluster, the ecu and the keys have to be from the same car or like they said PATS takes over and the ecu cuts off fuel. Best thing to do is take the car to a ford dealer and have them sync them up with each other with a WDS computer. They might charge you for the service, but they WILL charge you for 2 new keys at 51$ a piece last i checked

I've never heard of being able to sync them up with a handheld tuner like Morgan The Black said, but i could be wrong

 

I didnt mean sync it up, I meant turn it off all together, and not with a handheld but the full tuning software like a tuner uses.

 

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I have a Simco cluster in my car and had no issues at all, so Im not sure how correct you are with this statement.

 

thats because theres no such thing as a SIMCO ECU or Key

 

Ok thanks ppl, im gonna see if i can take it too my tuner first and see if he can mess with it cuz i really want to stay away from the dealer lol

 

Thats a completely different thing.

 

so PATS will not work with one of the three coded items missing? kinda a weak system me thinks. what I mean is...

If the ECU must see the coded key and coded cluster to operate...then why if one puts in a different cluster in that has no coding for PATS, will the car still work?

 

When i swapped a mach1 cluster in my 99 gt i had to swap the circuit board off the back of my gt cluster to the mach1 cluster and then it worked fine and it keeps your original mileage thats what you will have to do to get yours to work but it may be hard being the 03cobra cluster has the boost gauge if it wont fit the only other thing you could do is get the PATS turned off in the tune.

 

Hmm i see ill look in to that cuz i really wanna put in this cluster, its one of the things keeping this car from looking like an 03-04 cobra, i got most of the outter ****, jus need the side skirts and side scoop vent thingys. Its a fobra lol!

 

Its not going to work with your GT ECU like I said. You can try to swap the circuit board over or turning off the PATS, but that cluster has a boost gauge where your Volt gauge is so that is not going to work well. Also the cobra cluster has indaglow lighting and an extra connection to power that from the cobra harness. Which you do not have.

Just go get White faced gauges and move on.

 

whenever you install the simco gauges you have to pull the OEM board off the OEM guages and install the board to the simco guages. i should have been more specific i ment the the guage cluster curcuitry, ecu and the keys have to come from the same car, or you can take it to a ford dealer, or you can have a tuner disable the PATS system

 

deh wut?

 

the curcuit board(s)

 

I have been messing around with this install for a long time. Originally, I bought a 2001 Cobra cluster and it did not work in my 99 GT. This was in 2003. Then, I decided to swap the circuit board on the cluster with mine from the GT. The PC boards look identical, except for manufacturing date codes. Once I installed this board the 2001 Cobra cluster worked fine. As mentioned earlier, the odometer from the GT was retained and the displayed mileage was correct. I have had this cluster in for almost six years now with no problems. SInce then however, I have acquired an additional cluster from a 2003/4 Cobra off of EBay. I compared the pc boards, and they are completely different. The P/N on the processor chip is completely different as well. Nonetheless, I was determined to try this swap. I brought the cluster with me to the local Ford dealer, and they agreed to try and get it to work. I swapped the cluster in the parking lot, two guys came out to the car with a computer, and hooked up for about 20 mins, in order to 'learn' the GT system. They had no luck after three attempts, and told me we cannot do it. So I got back on the internet and started searching forums once again for a possible solution. Since then I have read numerous replies ranging from, disabling the PATS system yet others claim it cannot be done at all. I have also heard that the hierarchy of the later PC boards is not compatible with the earlier PC boards, meaning that a 2003 Cobra cluster may work in a 2003 GT, but not a 99, if and only if certain criteria are met. This claim however, has not yet been validated... yet. I live in Phoenix and I am fortunate enough to live near Arizona Dyno Chip, which is owned and operated by computer Guru Keith Schuster. He has dialed my car in on the dyno over the years and knows a lot about the Ford and GM systems. I called him yesterday and explained this dilemma to him. He said he will 'give it a shot'. So I have an appointment there on 2/17 and I will try one last time to either disable PATS altogether, or see if Keith can get it to work. If it does not work this time, I will sell the cluster and 'forget about it' for good! I will post the outcome here in either case soon after the seventeenth... Stay Tuned..

 

OK, I finally figured out the whole cluster F*** deal. If you have a SCT handheld and bring it to your tuner, they can disable PATS altogether. Then the red THEFT light blinks for a few minutes every time you drive the car. So I removed the red led light from the back of the cluster. It works fine. The odometer will still be the same as the DONOR car. There is two ways to fix this. First send the cluster in to FORD and get an act of congress to have them change it, or replace the PLCC chip in the center of the circuit board on the rear of the cluster. If PATS is working fine, the R and R of this chip will allow PATS to still work, and retain the mileage of the original cluster that came with the car. If you do not know how to R and R this chip and swap it out, you need to find a reputable electronics company that deals with PCB repairs or chip replacement. I work for a company that builds and manufactures PC boards, and assembles the components on them as well. I brought the two boards to work, and one of the techs replaced the chip in about 15 mins with the original cars' chip. Now the mileage and pats work fine on my 99GT with a 2004 Cobra cluster. I plugged the boost guage in to the vacuum line by the blow off valve, and the boost guage works good too.