Hello, I am new here seeking advise from the people who know, my son who is in college has the vehicle hence hard to check my self. 2001 Tribute, 6 cylinders, 95K miles:
5 days ago while driving, all gauges, dashboard lights went haywire. Car kept running fine without any mechanical issues.
4 days ago my son reported no headlights or tail lights.
3 days ago - My son replaced the passenger side headlight connector, it was melted and causing short. After this fix, all seems to work perfectly; no crazy dash lights and all gauges working fine
2 days ago - while driving, all gauges, dashboard lights went haywire. Car kept running fine without any mechanical issues.
1 day ago - it went to a local mechanic who was not able to diagnose the problem. But recommended to replace the battery since acid was leaking and was not holding a charge.
1 hour ago. New battery - same thing all gauges, dashboard lights went haywire. Car kept running fine without any mechanical issues.

PLEASE HELP!!

 

What does "haywire" actually mean?

For example if you remove battery power (even if only from the ECU), the gauges will cycle full scale deflection and back to zero as part of their self-check when power is restored and the sign turned on (used in the factory as part of their QA). Gauge readings depending on the voltage remaining within limits and can be affected by ground quality.