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shadowsofdusk
P Plater
56 Posts
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 Posted - 16 Jul 2008 : 5:37:35 PM
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Hey there - just wanted to let everyone in on a little thingy I learnt last night. It's an easy little job and so many VNs and VPs tend to get a problem where the fuel gauge sticks and you have to tap the dash to get it to move so i thought there might be people out there who were as tired at dash-baffing as me.
The issue is the 3 pins on the back of the voltage regulator. (I'll let you knnow what that looks like later on) the The joints on these pins dry out and this is why it will sometimes work when you bash the dash.
All you need is a fine point soldering iron, some FINE grade solder, a number 10 torx driver (that's the star shaped one) and to be able to pull the instrument cluster out yourself. It's best to lay out a towel and keep the screws seperate with each bit that you remove so you don't lose anything.
1. Once you have the instrument cluster out, take off the front clear panel. There are 4 torx screws along the bottom. Remove these and unclip the 2 clips along the top to remove the clear plastic.
2.undo the screws near the needles and take the gauge screens off and GENTLY remove the needles from the pin.
3. You now have a naked cluster. Just above the fuel gauge you will see a small circuit board. Just take out the 2 screws that hold the plastic cover over the gauge. Scratch off the glue that holds the board in place carefully remove the plug at the top of the cluster and GENTLY lever the circuit board from its mounting points.
4. You should be able to now see the voltage regulator. That is the small black rectangle that is fitted inside a heatsink on the bottom left hand side of the ciruit board. You will see 3 pins on the bottom.
5. Flip the circuit board overand you can see where the 3 pins are soldered to the board. HERE's the tricky part. As neatly as possible re-solder them with the fine solder. It will be ok as long as you keep it neat and don't use too much of the solder .
6. Now all you have to do is put it all back together in reverse. Easy if you used the towel to lay each stage out neatly. The whole job should only take about an hour.
Of course you could try your luck at just getting new gauges from the wreckers. But where's the fun in that?
Hope this is of some use to someone.
Oh - while i was there i chucked in some nice bright blue leds. Dash looks sweet at night now!
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"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did. In his sleep. Not screaming, like the passengers in his car" |
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