Principles of Operation

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2003 Ford Pickup, 2003 Ford F550 Super Duty, 2003 Ford F450 Super Duty, 2003 Ford Excursion, and 2003 Ford Cab & Chassis. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

NOTE: The distance to empty (DTE) display may be inaccurate if the vehicle is started while parked on an incline.

NOTE: Fuel fills of less than 22.7 liters (six gallons) may not be detected by the message center.

The message center displays:

compass direction
DTE
average (AVG) fuel economy
outside air temperature
The message center display may be turned off by use of the mode button.

The message center inputs are:
fuel level sensor data
data output line (DOL) fuel flow data from the PCM
ISO-9141 diagnostic link
vehicle speed signal
dimming signal
outside temperature sensor