85 dash
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 443
Likes: 0
From: Tampa FL
85 dash
Hello to all !My first of I'm sure to be often tech posts
I'm not getting any power to the dash and radio but the turn signal arrows light and work are these on a seperate system? Also the display panel above the radio works fine. I also get a code 24 "vehicle speed sensor" and the overdrive wont engage are these related to the dash or completly seperate problems? I've checked the fuses on the passenger side panel are there any others. Is there an easy way to test for power to the dash before I tear into it? thanks
I'm not getting any power to the dash and radio but the turn signal arrows light and work are these on a seperate system? Also the display panel above the radio works fine. I also get a code 24 "vehicle speed sensor" and the overdrive wont engage are these related to the dash or completly seperate problems? I've checked the fuses on the passenger side panel are there any others. Is there an easy way to test for power to the dash before I tear into it? thanks
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 62,137
Likes: 1,727
From: Athens AL
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
C4 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Re: 85 dash (BOBA VETT)
well if your turn signals work then youre gettin power to it, but a connection has come loose inside. Can you see any numbers on your dash? if so, it may just be that your lights are out. Does there appear to be anything wrong with the LCD's? The radio may be disconnected, is it original or did somebody do a pisspoor job of putting a CD player in like they did mine? there arent any other fuses that i know of, as long as all those in the passenger door check out. Someone else will tell you what the code 24 is, or do a search and one for your overdrive, if you got a 4+3, then i think its a common problem.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 443
Likes: 0
From: Tampa FL
Re: 85 dash (vader86)
nothing lites up on the dash it's the same with the car on or off. The guy I got it from said the dash would flicker sometimes then just stopped all together. The radio is stock but he said the rear speakers didn't work when he got it and it went out the same time as the dash. could it be a ground problem?
just found out that if I turn the key off & on the dash lights up in spots, 1st the speedo then the tach then the other stuff, it's all very dim like the switch is turned down. the light switch has no effect though? :confused:
[Modified by BOBA VETT, 11:55 AM 11/13/2001]
just found out that if I turn the key off & on the dash lights up in spots, 1st the speedo then the tach then the other stuff, it's all very dim like the switch is turned down. the light switch has no effect though? :confused:
[Modified by BOBA VETT, 11:55 AM 11/13/2001]
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 62,137
Likes: 1,727
From: Athens AL
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
C4 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Re: 85 dash (BOBA VETT)
go to pep boys and buy 4 Sylvania 882 bulbs and replace them. The bulbs are underneath 4 silver looking circles in the dash unit. Twist and pull them out, use needlenose pliers to get the old bulbs out and put the new ones in. DO NOT touch the new bulbs. See if that fixes that problem.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Re: 85 dash (BOBA VETT)
The turn signals are on a circuit by themselves. If your 4 lamps are ok, and you can check them with an ohmeter, then you probably have a pin unsoldered
on the lower circuit board . The instrument cluster is made up of two printed circuit boards that can be removed and there is a row of pins on the lower board that plug into a socket in the upper board. The pin closest to the center of the boards carries current to the lamps and the socket has a spring that can get age relaxed which increases its connection resistance which increases its temperature which eventually gets so hot that it unsolders the pin on the lower board and turns off the lamps. Resoldering the pin isn't a solution because the socket needs replacing. I soldered a short piece of hookup wire between the pin and socket and this will never happen to me again. You can check out http://www.batee@umr.edu and see how to remove the cluster. Good luck.
on the lower circuit board . The instrument cluster is made up of two printed circuit boards that can be removed and there is a row of pins on the lower board that plug into a socket in the upper board. The pin closest to the center of the boards carries current to the lamps and the socket has a spring that can get age relaxed which increases its connection resistance which increases its temperature which eventually gets so hot that it unsolders the pin on the lower board and turns off the lamps. Resoldering the pin isn't a solution because the socket needs replacing. I soldered a short piece of hookup wire between the pin and socket and this will never happen to me again. You can check out http://www.batee@umr.edu and see how to remove the cluster. Good luck.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 443
Likes: 0
From: Tampa FL
Re: 85 dash (BOBA VETT)
changed one bad bulb, no change. took the cluster apart and the pins all look fine,all solder intact. the only thing i found was heat discoloration 1/2 inch around the 4 bulbs i checked. not realy burnt as you can't see it through the board. could this be the problem? what else should i look for? any way to test the board? maby by aplying power to the plug?
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Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Re: 85 dash (BOBA VETT)
Discoloration is normal as those bulbs run at high temp. Check the lamp sockets because they make contact with the copper foil on the board and also they must be rotated until they "snap" into their home position. You may have poor connection to the lamp sockets from board to the socket pins, although I doubt it would happen to all 4. Check the instrument panel fuse with an ohmeter and check that both ends of the fuse have 12 volts showing that the fuse and the fusible link are ok. Other than this, you may have to go down to board component level.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 206
Likes: 0
From: Nashville, Tn. 37211 TN.
Re: 85 dash (jfb)
A soldier joint may look good but it may not. On my car I took apart the cluster and resoldiered all the pins and connections and it has been fine ever since (1year). Remember to wear a grounding strap when you work on a cluster to protect from static. There have beeen many threads on this site for dash repair. Look around, you may find one.
Good Luck.
Good Luck.
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
From: North Branch Mn
Re: 85 dash (Camvette)
I agree. My soldier joints looked OK - I hit them again and installed a jumper wire and it works great. The joints get weak and 'cold'. I got the jumper wire idea from http://batee.cc.umr.edu/corvette/dcrg/repairing_ip.htm (figure 9) Great set of directions. Give it a shot.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 145
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco, CA, USA
Re: 85 dash (BOBA VETT)
There is a ground wire somewhere near the top of the transmission, really out of the way. I paid over $600.00 in labor to find that that was what caused my dash problems. You might want to check that. :cheers:
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 443
Likes: 0
From: Tampa FL
Re: 85 dash (BOBA VETT)
Found a couple burnt spots in the board tried jumper wires, no luck. Looks to be burnt pretty good under the conector socket. Also a couple of the chips are bubbled possibly from over heating.Looks like time to replace. Think I'm going with Contemporary for a replacement. Thanks for all the help.
