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HOWTO: Instrument Cluster Repair


guzzigeezer

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Offending regulator next to Lights Buzzer

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Needles are friction fit on motor shafts - gently turn to motor stopping point then continue to turn in the same direction whilst pulling up off shaft.

Below is the link to photos showing how to dissasemble and repair instrument clusters showing the classic symptoms of no speedo, tacho, fuel and temp gauges. Partly cured by removing fuse 15. (see other posts)

People having no lights left on warning buzzer the fault is usualy a faulty microswitch in the door latch assembly.

Mine packed up Xmas before last and I've finally got around to fixing them.

The fault on my unit was traced to a bad solder joint on the large Voltage regulator next to the warning buzzer. This solder performs the dual job of providing an electrical connection for the regulator but it also acts as the heatsink to help cool the regulator. If the joint is poor or not fully flooded under the regulator, it can lead to it not working at all or overheat and stop working after a while. For peace of mind It is worth reflowing all the solder connections to prevent futher similar problems.

Each picture has a comment attached to it describing what is a very easy and quick repair around 1.5 Hours AND FREE.

Feel free to add comments or rewrite to post on here.

NB

Before removing the needles from the motor spindles, lightly turn to full anticlockwise positon and make a note or photo of their alignment against the dials. If you forget reassemble the unit and leave off the front acrylic cover and dial needles. Reconnect the two plugs in the car but leave ignition off and battery connected. (don't forget to put fuse 15 back in) Refit the dial needles in the lowest positions. Push acrylic cover back on.

Quick Check capacitors by placing multimeter set to diode measurement position across cap legs, then reverse meter connection (swap over + and - leads) if cap is good meter reading will gradualy rise. A zero reading indicates cap is probably deffective.(not always the case depends upon the circuit layout.)

No tools are required to disassemble the clocks apart from a torx screw driver and a wide flat blade to pry the tabs open.

Practice soldering on an old radio or similar if you're not already competant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldering or this guide http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/solder.htm

Use leaded 60/40 fluxed solder to get a decent joint. (Maplins, CPC http://cpc.farnell.com or similar)

Use this link to identify some components and for basic electronics tuition http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/compon.htm It doesn't cover the small surface mount components but the way things work is the same. Use link to CPC catalogue for advanced componant identification.

Nothing needs forceing. If it doesn't come apart easily you are doing it wrong.

Yes - It is Rocket Science

If in doubt - Don't do it - They are very expensive to replace

I actually reflowed all my solder joints and replaced the capacitors(Maplins, CPC http://cpc.farnell.com or similar) whilst I had the unit apart. The original quality of soldering was quite poor and a lot of solder (splash balls) lying on the board. Use a half inch paint brush with bristles cut down to 1/4 inch to wipe these off.

An old Computer power supply makes a good 12v source to check PCB out.(if you don't know how please don't ask. That's why I went to college))

Link to the photos http://cid-cbccbd631...../Skoda Clocks

Please do not use this post to ask me about any other faults. emoticon-0100-smile.gif

NB: I have changed my hotmail account and unfortunately managed to lose the photographs in the process so unfortunately the links no longer work.

Edited by guzzigeezer
Removed advert again
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