HI Guys
The problem is that the face of the dials is electrically charged
over time they loose the illuminious properties
I have treated all the above you mentioned and in my case the only solution was to buy new faces eg spedo in your case
They are expensive I know - around 500 pounds for all of the gauges.
To determine if this is the problem
The fuel face is the cheapest at 45 quid
Take it out and put the new one in and put it in if it lights up correctly then you know i was right. The other thing is you dont realise how much the dash really lights up until you put the new ones in
I have an after market one in my other escort but yet unable to source where it came from
I will pull it out and check for you
so dont go selling your cars just yet give me a week or so
As far as the inverter in the back of the escort is concerned
If you feel the need to try that there are two types so take it to the ford dealer and/or get the part no off it . There is an early and a late one
CheeRS Jeff