2VettesMike
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2006
- Messages
- 131
- Location
- Blk Mtn, NC
- Corvette
- 1972 Bryar Blue Coupe 1993 40th Coupe
I got invited to the "now you see it, now you don't" LCD display. Over past year it's gone out more often and a hit on the dash area brought it back to life less often.
Saturday I bit the bullet and pulled the gauge cluster, not bad, drop the lower dash panels, remove two steering column bolts, drop column down easy, pull trim panel and unbolt the gauge cluster.
After eliminating all the possible bad solder joints, traces, etc. on the pc board, I put it back in to test. Now it's going crazy with jumbled numbers constantly changing. I pushed around on the gauge cluster until I isolated a cure by pushing near the upper left corner near the LCD panel.
Removed and finally decided to pull the LCD glass display, now this needs a caution or two. The glass LCD display is captured between the tach cluster and gauges clusters which are separate. Great to have extra hands as you remove them as that also unplugs the LCD display from it's connector. The problem turned up once the LCD display was removed from it's connector. Under magnification it could be seen the wires had been broken and tarnished for some time making intermittent connection, in other words I didn't break them taking it apart.
There are several wires that go from the connector to the pc board. Two of them were broken slightly inside their slots where they were originally crimped to their slide in terminals. Not wanting to disassemble a connector I could replace I melted back the insulation slightly on the two wires, tinned with solder, pushed in against their crimped terminals and soldered them in place. Checked all the wires by pulling on them and using an ohmmeter as well.
Reassembly was the reverse of taking it apart. Did I mention the LCD display was glass and be careful? When the pins on the LCD are going back into their connector it helps to have another hand, two to work the tach and gauge clusters back in while another keeps pressure on the pins as the seat. You do not want to put uneven pressure on the glass.
Now the payoff, back in, works fine, pushed around the cluster in several places and no blank or crazy numbers.
Photos below, sorry for the grainy quality but once you are in there it will make sense. In retrospect I could have pulled on the wires to make sure that was the problem before removing the LCD display but once in there I couldn't see a way to repair with taking the display out anyway.
Good luck,
Mike
Saturday I bit the bullet and pulled the gauge cluster, not bad, drop the lower dash panels, remove two steering column bolts, drop column down easy, pull trim panel and unbolt the gauge cluster.
After eliminating all the possible bad solder joints, traces, etc. on the pc board, I put it back in to test. Now it's going crazy with jumbled numbers constantly changing. I pushed around on the gauge cluster until I isolated a cure by pushing near the upper left corner near the LCD panel.
Removed and finally decided to pull the LCD glass display, now this needs a caution or two. The glass LCD display is captured between the tach cluster and gauges clusters which are separate. Great to have extra hands as you remove them as that also unplugs the LCD display from it's connector. The problem turned up once the LCD display was removed from it's connector. Under magnification it could be seen the wires had been broken and tarnished for some time making intermittent connection, in other words I didn't break them taking it apart.
There are several wires that go from the connector to the pc board. Two of them were broken slightly inside their slots where they were originally crimped to their slide in terminals. Not wanting to disassemble a connector I could replace I melted back the insulation slightly on the two wires, tinned with solder, pushed in against their crimped terminals and soldered them in place. Checked all the wires by pulling on them and using an ohmmeter as well.
Reassembly was the reverse of taking it apart. Did I mention the LCD display was glass and be careful? When the pins on the LCD are going back into their connector it helps to have another hand, two to work the tach and gauge clusters back in while another keeps pressure on the pins as the seat. You do not want to put uneven pressure on the glass.
Now the payoff, back in, works fine, pushed around the cluster in several places and no blank or crazy numbers.
Photos below, sorry for the grainy quality but once you are in there it will make sense. In retrospect I could have pulled on the wires to make sure that was the problem before removing the LCD display but once in there I couldn't see a way to repair with taking the display out anyway.
Good luck,
Mike
