Ford has a Technical Service Bulletin that covers this very problem with Zetecs. You should read all the TSBs for your car and you may be surprised at how many other issues you find at the same time that might pertain to your cars. I'm an ASE technician and have dealt with this gauge problem before on a Zetec Mystique at work. I use Alldata at work (I think you can subcribe a car to the info for personal use for a low fee on their website?) and with them you can read any recalls/TSBs on your car. I found a ton of things listed as issues to deal with on my Contour. They really saved me a lot of time being able to read those TSBs and recalls before trying to hunt them down. Also don't forget to read the FAQ section here at contour.org too. Many common problems that these cars have are talked about here, since this site has been around for quite a while. just food for thought....
