I've searched this thread but cannot find anything similar to this problem. My Instrument Panel Lights work correctly; no flashing or intermittent problems; but the display for such readings such as RPM's and fuel are starting to wash out. For example, instead of digits in the RPM readout, I see all yellow; and now this has creeped up the the fuel levels. Seems to be growing, lower right to upper left over a year or two. Is this solved by any of the tips in this forum, or am I looking at a cluster starting to go away.

Thanks in advance, Mike

 

Mine is doing the same thing. There is a guy who sells the digital dash on ebay for $89.00 per panel. Tach, speedometer & center gauges.
Do a search on digital dash in yahoo or google.
John

 

May be the power supply. It's a part of the panel itself. My panel had the same prob and it wasn't the LCD's but the power supply. Works great now and has for over a year.

 

Yep, mine ('84) has that 'sunburn' problem over on the tach side.
Only problem is it's not parked in the sun.
It sits for weeks and weeks under the carport under a cover.
When I used to drive it more I always used a cardboard sunscreen for the display since I'd heard of this happening.
Mine has done it anyway.

IIRC, there are some 'color filters' in the display that fade over time.
My display works perfectly and this malady verrrryy slowly washed out the display of the RPM.
The speed display is still good but it's starting to fade out also.

 

Just a little note for you guys. The "washing out" is most likely LCD. Can be caused by power supply, but this almost always causes all LCDs to wash out. For those that don't know, the way an LCD works is to basically block light until a current is passed through it, it then allows the light to pass through. You may have seen some of the LCD windows that are sometimes used in bathrooms. They are clear, like any other window (current passing trhough LCD) and opaque when you switch the bathroom light on (removing current from LCD). At any rate, what happens in your dash cluster when the LCD gets burnt is the LCD becomes clear in the quescient state and there is no control of light blocking and the light will just shine through, giving the washed out appearance. This is best shown trough a picture (1000 words and all that!):

As you can see, the top LCD has been completely burnt. The bottom LCD is new. Passing current through portions of the LCD, causes those segments to become clear. Light from the four halogen bulbs ('84-'88 xenon on '89) will then pass through the colored filter and shine through the LCD. I've never seen the filters faded.

One poster mentioned the guy on Ebay that sells the LCDs. His name is Jim Adams, from Massachusetts and is a standup guy. He'll sort you out if you need LCDs. The replacement is very easy, but you must take care that the LCDs are properly seated before screwing down the circuit board or you can crack the LCDs.

Hope this will shed some light on the LCD situation. (Pun intended)

 

Actually you did a great job on filtering. I will try Mr Adams services; maybe I don't alayws care how fast I go but the running out of gas thing is embarassing.

Thanks to all and I will post a report.

Mike

 

Well, here's the "acquisition scoop."

witchcityeng offers all three lcds (speedo, center, tach) at his ebay store
[eBay Motors > Parts & Accessories > Car & Truck Parts > Gauges > Instrument Clusters ]
at a minimum bid of 89 + 7.00 S&H. I don't feel like taking the dash apart ever again, so I went for the whole shebang. He saw my bids and offered a bulk purchase. They are in transit and I will report up on the actual install.

Mike

 

Mike,
Yea Jim is good about doing that if you buy all three. He'll also do a "buy it now" on just one for you if you email him. He's a good guy. Let us know how you make out.

 

The LCDs are kind of a tedious bitch to replace, I would not recommend it for everyone.

 

Great explanation. I couldn't have explained it better my self... Those displays can be quite a pain. I wouldn't recommend doing the job yourself, unless you have electronic experience, and patience.

 

Where is the power supply? Can this be chnaged out separately?

 

Parts arrived in good order, witchcityeng also included an instruction set that will probably make more sense when I start yanking and pulling (albeit softly and carefully). I have camera somewhere and may take pictures.

Jim included a phone number and email address. He's offering a rebuild service, $139.00 labor; plus cost of any parts; includes the 4 illumination bulbs, turn bulbs, the re-solder of the jumpers, etc. Warranty for parts and labor. His email is witchcityeng@yahoo.com

Will probably do the lcd replacement next week, and a report to follow. Maybe that "99" in 1/4 mile was a "199" -- I could only hope.

 

Im having this same problem on the speedo side. Is it really that difficult to replace? Would some basic soldering skills do the job?

 

I'm conservative too, and don't like pushing people off cliffs, but an LCD replacement isn't that bad. No soldering or electronic skills necessary. This is purely a mechanic's "pull it apart and put it back together" deal. You do have to be very careful that you get the LCD properly seated inside the locating tabs or you'll crack an LCD when screwing down the circuit board. I have repaired spare clusters on my workbench that I'd be happy to photograph in various stages of disassembly if anyone would be interested.

 

There are the batee guide and corvette magazine ones out there, but another guide would certainly be welcome. I'm buying my panes this week and putting them in next week.

I am installing new "erasers" along with a new tach pane and center pane(both got washed out) and if the lower tach display is still messed up I may need some help on how to repair so the segments display(the bottom half of the numeric tach readout does not display). I thought it was probably the pane or the eraser contact, but couldn't determine due to washout.

Thanks,
80sRule

 

Yea, Bryan did a great job on his guide and that should be all that is necessary. Just to know I'm willing to photograph anything specific that either isn't covered or not clear in the other guides.

Also make sure you do a good clean on the circuit board traces that contact the "erasers".

Good luck.