In searching the archives I have found where at least two other people have asked about compass issues. No one has replied to their questions from what I can see.

I add my question, (2003 F-250) mine will go blank from time to time or will not update as I change directions. Later I will find it working correctly. I have recalibrated three times with no success. If anyone out there knows anything about the compass and how to repair it please reply. I would think that there has to be at least one Ford mechanic out there that has dealt with compass issues.

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

I posted this on one of the no overhead console display threads then I found your fresh post and this is probably a much better place to post.

I have been fighting this compass issue for about a year now. A couple of weeks ago I pulled the ciruit board out and sent it to a buddy of mine who is an Elecrical Engineering manager with Volvo Truck in Greensboro, NC, He has it now and will be taking a look at it to see if he ascertain the problem. He was at least able to tell me which components on the board are for the compass and how it works. Because I am a mechanical engineer, it's still majic to me but I am confident that he knows what he is doing. I did make him aware of the no display issue tht is common to the Overhead consoles and what folks have been doing to make the repairs. He stated that it's generally a vibration isue that causes the problem and the they are forever fighting the problem on the Volvo trucks.

Fortunatley, he has folks there that can make any necessary soldering repairs and he access to any parts/components it might need. I have my fingers crossed.

One thing I would like to get him is a wiring diagram that shows what feeds each of the pins in the connector to the board. Does anyone have this available? I will post back with the results of our science experiment on the compass,

 

Found the wiring diagram and the connector diagram on the Autozone site courtesy of another FTE poster who turned me on that resource. My friend should have all he needs to sort this out. Will post an update when I have it.

 

I sure hope you have success. Your post is the most promising opportunity to find the fix for this problem that I have seen. I too have read where a number of others have the same problem with no cure.

I am not ragging on anyone but I am amazed that with all the expertise on this site including ASE certified dealer mechanics that apparently no one has ever dealt with a compass issue. texan2004, you may be the first to be able to come up with a fix.

 

It won't be me that comes up with the fix. It will be my buddy. Let me be staight about that.

A mechanic isn't going to be the one to fix it. If he did, it would be done by replacing the board at a cost of $150.00 (used) to $300.00 (new).

The compass is a nice to have but not a need to have and nobody wants to spend more than $20.00 or so to fix it, me included. If some component simply fell out and needed to be soldered back in, it would have been figured out by now. I suspect that is how the no display fix was discovered.

Anyway, more on the fix/problem when I here back from my Volvo guy. Hopefully next week.

 

Understand that it is your buddy but you are the one that seems to of found someone that could come up with a fix. I thank you for your efforts.

 

Mine also started to come and go and eventually died. I will be checking back to see if a fix can been figured out. Thanks for posting.

 

I have read it to be a solder related issue on the terminals. All other functions work on my display and I decided to just pass on a fix. Good luck with a solution though

 

All of the discussion on the temp and mpg. problems with the overhead console seemed to center around the resisters on the board that lost contact and in some cases even fell out. The temp, mpg and miles to empty readouts worked fine on my board. I decided to go ahead and look at my board since if there were resisters in the temp circuit there were probably resisters in the compass circuit also. Initially they all looked good until I started tugging on them with a tweezer. I found three of them that were cold on one end. The two 68 ohm (680) closes to the electrical connector and the 62 ohm (620) behind the disc capacitor. When I initially looked at the ones that I pulled out I could see no solder on the ends. The material used for the resisters must be real borderline as far as solderability. I put a very small dab of flux (toothpick) on the ends and tinned them before soldering them back in. I also put a very small dab of flux on the ends of the other resisters and resoldered all of them.
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I had a few problems getting the system calibrated again. I ended up using contact cleaner on the connector and did about five cal procedures after leaving the board unplugged overnight before I got it working normally. Do not know if unplugging the power did anything or not. Been working for three days.
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Also, I broke all four attachment clips on the outer cover removing it. Not surprised since both door latches broke about 4 years ago. Luckily it happened under warranty.

I will post on how I repaired it with no visible mods to the exterior of the cover.

 

I found other threads https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=19462 dealing with this issue and it seems to be a similar problem as the radio display where the solder joints go bad (probably due to the heat). I removed my overhead console (pull down on front, slide rear out of sunroof trim).


Unscrew all silver screws holding in electrical components and unplug board from wiring harness. The display is behind the white plastic cover.
Re-solder the small rectangular shaped chips above the display below my finger in the picture (I am an amatuer, but learned a little from the radio display fix that I attempted), used the pencil style and not a soldering gun. Re-connected and so far so good.

 

Had you lost the entire display or was your issue with the compass only?

I've always suspected the blank compass issue or compass stuck in "cal" mode was related to the resistors like the no display issue for the entire overhead display but I've never seen this confirmed.

What was yours doing that necessitated the repair? Very interested to know.

 

No display at all.