LCD display not working

[ronmichalek]

I parked my 1988 vette for the winter and the LCD display is not working.The LCD was working fine the last time I started the car back in march.I checked the fuse and it was ok.Any ideas as to what the problem could be?

 

[Renes86]

I don't know why it does it, but you will have to take the whole cluster out and have it rebuilt. Prices vary from $200.00 to $400.00 and more. Most of the catalog houses will do it. Just send it in to them and in a few days it comes back all done. Some may even be sponsors in this site. Check them out. We had to have ours done the week we brought the car home. (ouch) Once you have the cluster out, you still can drive the car. Just won't know your vitals.

Good luck.

Jim

 

[JonM]

Where in CT?

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/1999/dec99/dash/dashp1.asp

http://www.batee.com/corvette/

http://corvettefever.com/howto/24899/

 

[Im1ru2]

no lcd display

First check the light bulbs and the daylight sensor, let us know as there have
been a few early c4 display problems going around.

Jamm'in Jeff

 

[Jeb]

Nothing is working?

I think that before I pulled the unit and sent it off for repair, I'd check and make sure it's not something simple like a ground gone sour over the winter.

I read somewhere that there is one particular ground point that seems to be a problem...but I can't for the life of me remember where it is but I believe it's somewhere on the left side of the panel area. Maybe someone can help with this one.

 

[Robertwav1]

I've worked on LCD's before but not on a car. A lot of the problems that I have found over the past is the connection between the Liquid Crystal and the circuit board. It would be worth taking it apart and cleaning it. Sort of a carbon connection that presses against the copper contacts on the board. If any condensation or dirt gets between that connection area it kills the display. Sometimes you may see only part of the display, several segments missing. You have to take it out anyway. Good Luck!

 

[c4for2]

I've worked on LCD's before but not on a car. A lot of the problems that I have found over the past is the connection between the Liquid Crystal and the circuit board. It would be worth taking it apart and cleaning it. Sort of a carbon connection that presses against the copper contacts on the board. If any condensation or dirt gets between that connection area it kills the display. Sometimes you may see only part of the display, several segments missing. You have to take it out anyway. Good Luck!

....
check this out....

If you're considering doing this, you have an old Corvette. Potentially 17 years old. Vibrations, current flow and time conspire to cause the solder joints to become "cold" or broken. This manifests itself in the following ways:

a) If you have a cruise control, the cruise control computer is built into the Digital Cluster. In my case, the cruise would never set.

b) The dash lights flicker or go out altogether for extended periods of time. Hitting the dash (not recommended) usually brings the lights back.

c) Dash lights go out and turn indicator lights and high beam indicator light go to full intensity. This happens because the Digital Cluster has lost its factory ground and grounds itself through these lights.

d) One or more LCD segments are continuously on or off. There are small rubber conductive blocks that connect the glass LCD display panels to the bottom circuit board. Sometimes these become dislodged or dirty.


Solution:

The likely culprit of your display troubles are the connectors that connect the two circuit boards. Sometimes the trouble is the connector itself, and can be repaired by cleaning the connector with an electrical contact cleaner. But most often, it's a "cold" broken solder joint between the bottom circuit board and the board connector. To resolder this connector requires complete (not just partial) disassembly of the instrument panel.

Please note:

Please read through these procedures before attempting any repairs. If you don't have the skills to perform these procedures, take the Digital Cluster to your local electronics repair shop along with a copy of these instructions. The bill will still be cheaper than the $350.00 advertised by many corvette parts sellers or GM.