My overhead compass and temp gauge quit working. No read out, nothing. Has anyone had this happen who can tell me how to fix it? My search revealed how to remove the cover and check for loose solder connections. What else is tied to this circuit that I could try and turn on to see if that device works or not?
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I had to clean the connections at the plug in. Took two attempts to have my temp/direction come back up. Worth a try.

 

I just went outside and removed the unit from the vehicle. Mine is compass and temperature only. The first pic shows a wafer of sorts that is out of place (follow the toothpick). Is this a resistor?



The second pic shows where I slid the wafer back to where it should be.

Upon initial examination, the circuit board looked good. A closer look revealed that a wafer labeled "510" had one corner kind of raised or sticking up. I pressed down on the raised corner ever so lightly and the wafer moved off of its bed. It had indeed come unsoldered. How would I go about soldering this back? I may just take it to a local electronics store that has been around for 60 years.
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If the leads are still there to stick through the board it is not difficult. If you have a pencil soldering iron, rosen core solder and a steady hand that is. If not take it to an expert.

 

Few other tricks - you may be able to get away with just heating the existing solder to re bond the wafer, that keeps you away from the danger of putting too much solder down. They make very small diameter (.005") solder which is what you should use if you need to resolder. They also make solder cord which is used to "suck up" the older solder if you need to get some of it off of the board. A purist would remove all of the old, but I don't think it matters. This seems like a nice job for just rebonding.

 

I found a guy on Ebay that 'rebuilds' them. You can order one for your specific vehicle from him and it costs about 1/2 the price of a new one + a core charge. When you return your rebuilable unit to him, he refunds the core charge.

 

Took the circuit board to an electronics repair shop (open since 1946) this morning. The guy told me his minimum charge is $65/hr. He said he would remove all old solder, re-solder the resistor and change out a capacitor (at no extra charge) that he promised me would eventually go bad (google "capacitor plague"). He said it should be about an hours worth of work barring any interruptions. He said he'd probably have it ready today. Anyway, this part at my local Ford dealership would cost me $186.75. I'll put it back in this evening and report on whether or not it works.

 

$75 got the circuit board fixed. The guy re-soldered all wafers and all solder points on back of board and changed the capacitor I mentioned earlier in the thread. I reinstalled it and it works perfectly.

 

Did he offer any explanation as to why the wafer would've separated in the first place?

 

My repairman offered two reasons as to why the wafer-type resistor separated:
1) There was not enough heat when the parts were first attached to the board
2) Heat over time would cause the tin to be consumed leaving only the lead, thus causing separation

Note: In my pictures above, there are 2 wafer-resistors each labeled "510", and there are 3 wafer-resistors each labeled "181." The last digit in the numbers represents the number of zeros in the Ohm rating. Hence, 510 (last digit is 0) means there are no zeros in the Ohm rating, meaning "510" represents a 51 Ohm resistor. Again, 181 (last digit is 1) means there is 1 zero in the Ohm rating, meaning "181" represents a 180 Ohm resistor.

 

how did you get the plastic cover down to remove the module ???

 

To quote an old post from "Red Monkey",

To get the console cover off: 1. Pull down on the windshield side, it will pop loose then, 2. Use a screw driver to push 'IN' on the two locking tabs located in the storage compartment on the left and right side, then pull down. It should be free. The console/gauge packet pulls down from the windshield side, then unplug it and it swings toward the rear to release the tab holding it up.

 

thank you, i'll give it a try, rus

 

there is a small phillips head screw close to the windshield that i removedm but unit still very hard to pull down ?? rus

 

Hey just joined but have used the sight for reference to repair other issues but I just bought a 03 F350 and the compass computer display did not work. Using the above photos I removed the cover and found that two boards have come loose and were sitting in the cover. If you follow the thread take your time and orient the boards with the boards that are still place. I had no problems after teh repair. Thanks.