sb66

hey everyone

Unfortunately I lost my dash lights Saturday evening before heading out (thankfully before). prior to this they needed a tap every now and then to come on. The tach gave up over the summer - it does not register at all other than right at start up. I can see that the information is still there during the day as I tested it today, but there are no lights coming on. the center console works fine and the dimmer works in making them brighter - but no affect on the speedo tach and other info.

Has anyone had to make repairs recently to their dash ? I know there are a few companies (or there were) that worked to help us out with these. Is there a preference on who? is there any chance this is a diy job? or is it best left to those in the know?

any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks everyone

Sean

383vett

Sounds like a bad ground or photocell. I could not see my dash at night a few months ago. A new photocell from batee.com is chat was needed. Call Bryan at batee

sb66

just curious - were you able to do that or did you need to send it in?

sb66

sorry - the photo cell part.

bac22

Don't know your year, but I assume the Atari dashboard, info here on what you're asking...
http://batee.com/corvette/dcrg/repair/

sb66

sorry I always forget. - 1985

3D-Aircrew

To change the photocell you need to know how to desolder and solder parts on a circuit board.

Batee has a youtube channel that explains a lot to those that need help with these dashes.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNQ...8JtPZC4NlRWohA

ctmccloskey

The recommendation of calling Bryan at batee.com is the "best advice" you can get when any dash issues are occurring in your Corvette.

If you have a situation where you have to "tap the dash" then you are going to need more than just the photocell.

If you are comfortable soldering and have some electronics in your background then it is easy to fix your dash with Bryan's help and parts he can supply.

If you have the money but no time then send it to him and all the problems will get fixed in a timely fashion by "the" professional!

I bought all the parts and did it myself in my spare time. Now I have a dashboard that works great and it did not break my budget.

Good Luck with getting that dash back in shape!

Bfenty

batee.com fixed my 1985 dash to good as new, highly recommend them.

sb66

thanks everyone - I am concerned - like many about the budget - I have done some electronics work, I have not had to solder much more than some wire connections - so I am not sure how good my skills with this will be - I am sure with a little practice I might be ok - I also do not want to make it any worse - if that's possible

Bfenty

These old circuit boards are a lot more fragile than modern stuff-I do a lot of soldering myself, but I decided to send it in. Email Batee.com and ask for an estimate before anything. I'll admit it's not cheap, but he does great work, and that's definitely worth something.

3D-Aircrew

The key to good soldering is a well tinned solder tip and using rosin flux with the solder or rosin core solder (NOT ACID CORE!). You would want to use a solder sucker or wire braid to wick away the old solder. You can damage the boards with too much heat but I recall they are fiberglass and are pretty sturdy ... you don't want to lift the pads off the PCB or else you'll be running jumpers to fix your photocell ... if that's what's wrong.

Lot's of tutorials on the YouTube on solder technique and you can practice on scrap computer cards 1st. Check out EEVBlog:


I highly recommend Brian's services &/or parts (batee.com). I bought the polarizing film, bulbs and connector parts and was very pleased that I saved about $200 in repair costs. Good luck

383vett

I did it myself. Need a solder gun. The photocell kit was twenty something dollars.

sb66

thanks - I really kinda want to do it myself - partly because of the money but partly because I like the chance to do what I can for myself - if possible.

I even thought about sending it to Bryan just to check it over see if there is anything else - maybe if the initial repair does not take . . . I am going to re - check the fuses today -I saw on his site there are several to check first, if those are ok I will go from there.

Sean

sb66

did you use a gun or one of those iron type ?

383vett

I used a gun. Worked fine. A blade soldering iron probably is better for a circuit board.

ctmccloskey

When working on electronics I suggest that you use a small soldering iron not one of the soldering guns. I believe they both have a "place" in a mechanics tool box or garage. Soldering irons are 15-40 watts where as a soldering gun is frequently 200-250 watts just to give you an idea.

The soldering on these fiberglass boards is not too tough but the overheating of the pad can cause it to come off the board or worse yet break off. The soldering guns are great when you are installing a set of speakers or whatever. They are not made to do the smaller stuff you see on PC (Printed Circuit) boards, that doesn't mean that they can't in the hands of a careful person.

I have been soldering for decades and a couple of the pads came off of the C68 (auto air conditioning control) board when I was using a small electronics workstation with a variable temperature soldering iron at too high a temperature (~550*).
Fixing the suggested potential places on the dashboard was not too hard and I had no trouble. Just take your time and do it right or you will have a higher repair bill. Next time I am sending the C68 to Bryan as it was a bigger PIA than the dash was.

Bryan at BATEE.com is a great guy and very helpful on the phone. He has to make a living and his prices are not too bad. I did it mostly because I wanted to see the problems first hand. When done I never have to bang the bottom of the dash to get it to come back on.

It might seem like a lot of money to have Bryan do the work, if your soldering skills are not up to snuff then I would strongly suggest you send the components to him.
It took almost as long to make a test stand to verify the functions on the board as it did to fix the whole darn thing. I tested every function before reassembling the dash.

Getting the new polarized film makes a huge difference! Unfortunately I had to buy a second set as I mistakenly installed one side upside down. By the time you get the tools and equipment the price differential drops quickly. It is important that we help keep people like Bryan in business as he is a real asset to the Corvette Community!

Bryan will fix whatever you need, he will then give you the confidence that you won't have to mess with the dash for a long time. That is something worthwhile to me as taking the dash out is not my favorite thing to do.

Good Luck and may your Dash shine Brightly when done!

sb66

thanks - I bought a 25w iron small tips and the other stuff that I saw Bryan using in the video. The bulb kit is on the way. I chose to try it myself partly because of the $ and partly because I wanted to try to do it myself first. He and I talked and he made me feel as though this was a job I could probably do ok with - and I could send it to him if that changes. I did tell him that if the power source was the problem I was definitely sending it in -

I agree that keeping reliable people that are so willing to help us and offer important services for our cars in business is very important. Scrolling through all of the videos, not to mention his willingness and availability to talk to you about the whole thing is incredibly generous.

Sean