The electronic dash in my 84 had developed the habit of going dark. When it does this, both turn signal indicators come on steady. Several good hard raps on the glareshield will usually bring it back. I guess its time to get it rebuilt.
Dark Dash
- Thread starter warp8
- Start date
sriat
Well-known member
I am not a genius when it comes to electronics. However I spent 20 min taking mine apart (That did exactly what yours did) and found that some soders (SP) were bad. I simply heated the contacts and added some soder and fixed it. Works perfectly.
Try
http://www.batee.com/corvette/dcrg/removing_ip.htm
for detailed info. While your in there I suggest replacing the bulbs. Mine all worked but when I replaced the bulbs it looks like new! I know there are some short cuts that you do not have to remove the dash unit. In my opinion this is simply a temp fix.
Try
http://www.batee.com/corvette/dcrg/removing_ip.htm
for detailed info. While your in there I suggest replacing the bulbs. Mine all worked but when I replaced the bulbs it looks like new! I know there are some short cuts that you do not have to remove the dash unit. In my opinion this is simply a temp fix.
O
oldvet
Guest
If trun signal lghts are coming on, then you are losesing ground. Check all your grounds connections
I
I_R_DA_ONE
Guest
Yup... it sounds like a bad connection or a cold solder joint to me...
While you have the dash out I would replace all four of the dash bulbs...
Mike R IRDAONE
While you have the dash out I would replace all four of the dash bulbs...
Mike R IRDAONE
- Thread starter
- #5
M
Mart
Guest
This is an all too common issue, and having been through it, save the time right now and follow the instructions as per "SRIAT" that site is dead on, easy to do and no more dash probs.
It was really easy to do.
Mart
It was really easy to do.
Mart
- Thread starter
- #7
Sorry Mart, but I don't know what you are telling me. What is "SRIAT."
- Thread starter
- #9
O
oldvet
Guest
You don't need that tester. Try my poor man tester, remove your facial far enough so You can pass your hand inside the spedo hole, next, with a jumper wire, insert it into the light socket and touch the other end to any good ground. It will tell you instantly if you have a ground problem. My jumper was about three feet long as I went from light socket to my seat mounting bolt. You don't even have to remove the bulb, if you use a small wire. Once I found the problem, I change all bulbs and their holders. If you like, you can leave the jumper wire install for added ground connection,
T
tdr1919
Guest
I have an 86 wherethe backlight goes out [all the bulbs at the same time] itried to remove the unit but I couldn't get it out, iwas afraid it would cut or scratch the dash. how are you working on the display?
thanks,
tom r
O
oldvet
Guest
Just go slow and don't get in any hurry. Its a tight fit, after removing the mounting screws, gently pull it to you, far enought to disconnect the wiring harness. NOTE; you will have to drop the steering wheel column just to take the facial off.
T
tdr1919
Guest
oldvet, have you seen where the backlights come on and off sporadically?
I never hit the dash, but just driving along they come back on, work for hours, then i look down & its dark, then 2 minutes later they come back on. All the digital funtions work fine, I can see everything, tach, speedo etc. just at night it is a pain in the butt. I would love to avoid a $350.00 charge if it is something I can fix.
Thanks,
Tom R.
sriat
Well-known member
Just my thoughts...Anyone with basic mechanical skill can fix this dash unit. Follow instructions on the link above. It will be obvious where the bad soder links are. Go to Radio Shack and spend $10 on an Iron and soder. Spend an hour removing dash and taking apart. 20-30 min on the sodering and it is like new. Lights going out, blinking out and such is probably a ground ie bad soder or pins need cleaned. $350 charge replaces powersupplys bad LCD's or sunfaded LCD. If you dont have these issues. $10 and a little time will fix u up. TDR 1919 if your bright light indicators do not come on when the dash goes dark this could be a powersupply. (You can buy for $75 and replace yourself) Just FYI
T
tdr1919
Guest
Yeh, Sriat,
I have all the E/T stuff, including a scope, I just finished fixing the interior
light dimmer (or let me say it now works, minus the delay!)
My big problem was try to pull the cluster out, I tried to position it for an
hour! I couldnt even pull off the cable in the back, I didnt want to break it
or destroy my dash.
I will try your suggestion on an earlier post. I dropped the steering post
but no matter what I did I couldnt move it out!! Grrrrrr
Tom
sriat
Well-known member
Drop the wheel and pry the right hand side of the display out (Will come out about 3to4 inches. Disconnect cables. Then put back and pry from the left side while also twisting from top down. IE pull forward and down from left top corner. Should remove. I put some rags under unit (Between unit and console) to keep from scratching.
It is a bit scary due to the pressure you are putting on this. It is resonably tough!
Steve
It is a bit scary due to the pressure you are putting on this. It is resonably tough!
Steve
O
oldvet
Guest
That means your power supply is alright. It seems you are temporily loseing gound. My car use to do that when on rough roads. Pull your facial back enought to get your hands in their. You will see 4 silver caps. Pull one of the caps off and stick a skinny wire next to the bulb and run it to ground. If it corrects your problem then you will know its a ground problem. In my case, the problem was cause by dirty pins in the wiring harness, where they connect into the dash. Either clean the connections or leave the jumper wire.
O
oldvet
Guest
Don't forget, you have four scerews that hold your cluster in. After removing them, it should move very easy.
T
tdr1919
Guest
Its funny, I was saying earlier about how my cluster is good, only lose the
lights, well wouldnt you know - yesterday i'm driving along and my digital segments and the bar graphs were all going crazy, then after a few, went
back to normal, so before the cold sets in I have to pull this cluster and
straighten it out!
Tom
- Thread starter
- #20
Took my dash unit out today and took it apart. The only thing I found wrong was that three of the halogen bulbs were burnt out. The tutorial mentioned earlier suggests replacing the 882 halogen bulbs with 194s. I looked at bulbs in 5 parts stores today and all the 194s have an incompatible base with 882s.
So!!!, I bit the bullet and bought the 882s. You can see that they get very hot due to the discoloration and the mounting area on the board. All my solder joints looked to be iin fine shape.
Will let you know how it works after I reinstall it.
It is a ***** to get out. The metal clips are on the back of the plugs. It helps to take out the two screws above it that hold the glare shield down to allow a little give. I also removed the teltale unit in the center.
So!!!, I bit the bullet and bought the 882s. You can see that they get very hot due to the discoloration and the mounting area on the board. All my solder joints looked to be iin fine shape.
Will let you know how it works after I reinstall it.
It is a ***** to get out. The metal clips are on the back of the plugs. It helps to take out the two screws above it that hold the glare shield down to allow a little give. I also removed the teltale unit in the center.
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