Hi, i could use some help and info about the digital dashboard in my 1987 LeBaron. (Im still waiting for my set of FSMs, so i dont have too much literature other than a hayens equivalent that i dont recall the name of right now.)
1987
Chrysler LeBaron
Base coupe
5spd manual
2.5L 4cl. Non-turbo
(Maybe eu export model)
I recently purchased this car, and started restoring it. When i bought it, the electrical instrument cluster was working and responding. But a few days ago, the digital dash started acting up:
It turns on when the door opens, but none of the “moving” parts activate. And when the engine is turned on, it doesn’t display anything. I have been poking a bit around, but couldn’t find much, but i dont really know much about such electronics.
The boards had some evidence of overheating, but i am not sure if that happened before or after i bought it. There was some smelted plastic in the light switch (right of the steering), but no contact interruption.
So the questions are:
Have anyone encountered the same problem? What should i look for on/around the cluster?
I have been trying to look for a replacement cluster, but i have some questions about this too:
Does it have to be from the exact same type of car?
Will an instrument cluster from an automatic work? If so, can a panel from a car with a turbo work? Does it have to be from the same year as my car?
That said, have you considered removing the cluster, partially disassembling it and using a microscope to look for problematic solder joints?
The fact that it “was working and responding” . . . I assume you mean it was displaying vehicle speed, rpm, etc. . . . leads me to assume the problem may be with the cluster itself, versus some sensor, pickup, etc.
On old vehicles, some guys take the approach that they’ll remove a problematic module, cluster, etc. and simply redo every single solder joint and hope for the best, and apparently it sometimes works
You could also measure every single resistor and compare the actual values to what the specified values are
There are also “pens” which allow you to “redraw” a conductive layer on a circuit board . . . but I’ve never used one and have no idea if they actually work. And that would only apply if you can visually and/or electrically verify that a specific circuit has an open
I hope this car isn’t your daily driver . . .
Anyways, If it were my car, I’d down it and drive something else, while I tried to fix my own cluster, versus installing a different cluster that may not even work on your application
Even with the factory manual you will not get a schematic for the cluster. They only give this to authorized repair shops in my experience. So as db suggested go over the joints and components or have an electronic shop do it, if it is not operating the way it should like Nevada mentioned.
Googling might find some electronic module repair shops that could diagnose & repair it for a fee. By mail. I think there’s one such shop called “Module Master”. If you phone a few of these shops, pretty good chance you’ll find one that is willing to attempt a fix, or at least they’ll suggest other shops to ask. I expect you already know that this may prove quite expensive. One of the downsides of computerized cars.
I was having a problem with my riviera radio. I took it to the authorized delco shop in St. Paul. Fixed quickly and at a little over $100. They had the fm board in stock and all of the manuals needed.
Sorry for the delayed answer, I have been trying to research and work on the problem.
I went over the fuses, almost all of them were a slightly higher capacity than suggested in the manual, so i fixed this. Nothing seemed to have gone wrong though. I went over cables and connections for more or less everything on the driver side, but could not find anything that would cause such problems.
Then again, i dont really know too much about what im looking for.
I went to justAnswer, and found some threads but nothing that could really help me much. So i payed for a membership and i am getting some semi-live help, but still not much success yet.
That being said, after i did all this, i put the cluster back in again to test. It lit up slightly more than the other times, and for a split second, it displayed the numbers and bars. So some progress was achieved i guess.
And yes, hello, i am the nordic intruder. So I went to my local AmCar firm, since i now have insurance for the car through them. They suggested I talk to someone specific that has a friend who fixes such electronics. Turns out, that person was my boss. So His friend is picking up the dash this next week, to see if anything is broken.
Thank you all for your inputs, and i will keep updating you if the problem persists.
He heh.When my BIL was visiting Norway, one of his relatives took him down to see their collection of US muscle cars in storage. Lots of collectors evidently. Don’t know if it was around Oslo or where anymore.
The most common failure mode is oxidized connectors/contacts. Repeated insertion/removal sometimes restores contact integrity by burnishing the surfaces. There are spray solutions but their effectiveness is dependent on the amount of oxidation. Beware of mechanical abrasion as the base metal usually has a thin coating of less reactive metal. This is less susceptible to oxidation but not impervious so over time, it can degrade and cause issues. However, the base metal will oxidize much more readily so if you sand away the coating and it restores contact, it may be short lived. Burnishing contacts is something to approach carefully…
The next most common failure due to age/use is electrolytic capacitors that tend to dry out and fail.
One thing that can be done fairly easily is to check the contact resistance. With no power applied, you can use a DVM and some back probing contacts (even a pin will work) to measure resistance across the connections.
I hadn’t touched the car, since i put the dash back in on Saturday and confirming it still didnt work.
When i was done with work today, and went to work on my car (it is parked in the shop i work at, until i can get it road-legal again), my boss said that the dash worked when he went to move the car a bit. I couldn’t believe my ears, so i had to see for my self, and sure enough… It works now. No idea what happened.
So now i can start working on the problems it had BEFORE it started ghosting me, which is
Where it is supposed the total km/miles on the car, it says “fail”, no idea how to start fixing this. Also, when twisting the light switch to dim all instruments, the traveler and the dash flicker at the same time and then just stays as bright as ever.
For pcb-finger style electrical connections, I’ve had good luck removing corrosions by gently rubbing the fingers with a pencil eraser. Won’t work for the pin/socket type, but worth trying what TT mentions above, connect & disconnect a few times.
Not that I know anything but seems to me the odometer information is contained in the computer prom or bcm, not in the dash panel itself. So might just be a communication issue. Back to connectors etc, as said. I may be wrong though.
Another thing besides capacitors that can fail are crystal resonators. It is common on equipment with an internal clock that operates for decades. If the MCU just stops responding completely it can be this.
Update 2, sorry for the delay, been trying to wrap my braingoop around working on this car.
Without any good literature, its been kinda hard, I’ve been learning alot about the vehicle. Since last time, i have: cleared 2 mouse nests, found the ECU(maybe), lost the dash again, regained the dash and found more problems… Maybe.
I dont really know too much about the computers and modules of this type of car (or any car, for that matter), so I don’t dare to poke around too much, other than unplugging, inspecting and plugging contacts back in. All contacts seems to be in perfect order, so does the cables (that i can see). Without the wiring diagrams in front of me, its a bit hard to follow cables.
Unplugging the ECU, (or whatever the metal box to the right under the glove compartment is) and plugging it back in, didn’t do anything except making the dash throw a fit again.
I left the car over night, and today i disconnected and reconnected the dash-cluster, and now it works again. It’s probably not gonna last long, so I might just take it out next week, and send it to a repair shop.
Now i have noticed that the fuel indicator was showing full tank, but I know that can’t be right. Since last full tank, there should be around 20L out of 53L capacity. Maybe a sensor pr something else in the fuel tank is a bit wonky.
I’ve also put new studded tires on the back wheels, since the last ones were from 1995.
Also, to Bing: it took some time to understand what you meant, since “BIL” means car in Norwegian, but Brother in Law makes much more sense hehe.
