Lots of post on "Cluster and radio not having power". I saw no thread answers yet. I had the same problem when I installed an after market stereo and the " Instrument cluster radio, dome light stopped working. To make a long story short that brought all my electrical back to those I have mentioned I pulled another 12V source connected to the Red radio hot lead and turned my key to the On position and The Cluster, radio and all other non working instruments back to full working order again. All my fuses were checked and double checked including the " Instrument Cluster fuse and All were good. I have had No problem with gauges other electrical since. I feel safe with this hook-up and continue to use it.. Hope this helps.. It works. This is on a 06 ford Escape 3.0

 

A lot depends on the year vehicle and you are fortunate that you got everything working properly again. This becomes a little tricky with newer vehicles that have battery sensing systems because so much is dependent on info provided by the system and charging rate is determined by what the battery sensing system senses. Any loads that are not sensed by the system affect charging rate, state of health and a whole lots more. The systems today are so sensitive that if the computer feels 80% charged is sufficient it will alter the charging rate. Any unknown loads can result in an undercharged condition and now the worms are out of the can.

 

This is on a 06 Ford escape. I still don't know why I lost inital 12V power but it worked. It seems to work ok now but still curious what happened to the cluster shuting down. Good info. hanky...

 

I don't know the exact answer to your concern, but I can tell you Ford products do not like add on accessories especially when it mixes in with other electronics as built from the factory.