Speedometer display problem

[Ely]

Has any one else experienced having the digital display fade in and out on the 1991 C-4. It is very difficult to see the speed and gas level at times, and I would like to be able to fix this myself.

 

[Ken]

Your digital display has a photocell that automatically dims and brightens the readings as ambient lighting changes. If you're in a dark area with no street lights, the display will be dimmer than if you're in a well-lighted area.

 

[Ken Anderson]

It is not a self repair. It will have to serviced by a pro & parts are not available to you.

 

[Ken]

It can be done at home, you just have to know what you're doing.

Some reading for you: http://www.batee.com/corvette/dcrg/readerstips/bobgolden/index.html

 

[Ken Anderson]

It can be done at home, you just have to know what you're doing.

Some reading for you: http://www.batee.com/corvette/dcrg/readerstips/bobgolden/index.html

Have you done it?

 

[c4for2]

Have you done it?

try this section also... will help you trouble shoot..many times digi display problems can be related to bad grounds..
http://www.batee.com/corvette/dcrg/problems.shtml

 

[cyclebuyer]

Have you done it?

I've repaired my cluster myself. Wasn't hard at all.
My turn sigs & high beam indicator lights came on & all dash lights went out. After reading the Batee site, I pulled the cluster, found a bad ground, cleaned it, replaced...been working great ever since.

Here is where I found the bad ground, it was discolored dark brown...

 

[Ken Anderson]

The proper repair would be to replace the upper and lower circuit board connectors and to have rebuilt the power supply while you had it out of your car. My point is that your repair will fail, usually in a few months, and it's a pain to pull the cluster in and out. But, I also understand most people's reluctance to send their dash out for repair due to cost concerns. The two mentioned websites cost people more money than they save due to the out-of-date info contained in them. And yes, we repair clusters professionally, so you might consider my comments biased-but they're not. Ten or fifteen years ago these clusters were "easy" fixes and repairs were overpriced. Today, that is not the case, as many clusters have more failed components than a "bad ground" or dead lamps.

 

[Ken Anderson]

One other point, the original post concerned a "91 cluster and none of the posts addressed that issue.

 

[cyclebuyer]

I've been in the car business for 22 years, what I can fix myself, I will fix.

 

[Robertwav1]

I'm with Cyclebuyer on this.....I had enough bad experiences in my day with shops that rip people off for repairs that can be done by just about anyone with some knowledge of mechanical and electrical repair. The internet hosts more information then ever and with a little digging you can always find information on just about anything man made. Nice job on the cluster repair!

 

[tdr1919]

My background in electronics and also the repair of my cars (mechanical) tends to make me look at things differently, Most mechanical parts can be rebuilt to almost new condition, but electronic components, especially where vibration and humidity can attack them, are not quite the same. I do agree, if there is a simple fix, do it, but there are many components in the power supply area that have changed values, or have become intermittant due to age making some repairs only a temporary fix. (Have you ever had an old TV repaired?)

NOW, if these shops will give you a full 12 month warranty, and a guaranteed next day swap/turnaround, then maybe it would be worth the $$$ to send them out!

Tom

 

[Robertwav1]

I agree in some cases with you Tom...I've done a lot of electronic repair on multi million dollar equipment. New parts are ridiculous in price. Some repairs are temporary and some are still working after 10 or more years. It's the longest track record I have since equipment leaves the building constantly. If original parts were that good they should have never quit in the first place. If new parts are re-engineered (I see this all the time) then by all means, replacing the old is the way to go. Just my opinion.