Let's Talk DICs For a Second Here
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Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Pittsburgh PA
Let's Talk DICs For a Second Here
Ok, the digital display went out in my DIC ('99 frc). It had been flickering for awhile; finally it went out all the way.
Went over the grounds..........nada.
Removed door accordions; explored that avenue..........nada.
Did Bill Curlee's ignition switch fix.........nada.
The analog gauges work perfectly; only the digital display is out.
Removed the DIC; there appears to be water damage to the larger circuit board.
My next attempt to fix it involves purchasing a used DIC off of a member here.
I have some questions and need some help:
-should I swap the entire DIC, as is, or swap the circuit boards into my dead DIC?
-where (in memory) is the true mileage of the car stored in the DIC? Is it stored somewhere on either of the circuit boards?
-if I swap the circuit boards ONly, will the DIC read the true mileage of the car or the mileage of the used DIC?
-if I swap the entire DIC, how do I go about getting the mileage re-set to the true mileage of the car? My cousin is a Chevy dealer. As a dealer, does he have the equipment to re-set the mileage (in other words, can you do this with a Tech II, or does it require something more sophisticated)?
Thank you for any help.
Went over the grounds..........nada.
Removed door accordions; explored that avenue..........nada.
Did Bill Curlee's ignition switch fix.........nada.
The analog gauges work perfectly; only the digital display is out.
Removed the DIC; there appears to be water damage to the larger circuit board.
My next attempt to fix it involves purchasing a used DIC off of a member here.
I have some questions and need some help:
-should I swap the entire DIC, as is, or swap the circuit boards into my dead DIC?
-where (in memory) is the true mileage of the car stored in the DIC? Is it stored somewhere on either of the circuit boards?
-if I swap the circuit boards ONly, will the DIC read the true mileage of the car or the mileage of the used DIC?
-if I swap the entire DIC, how do I go about getting the mileage re-set to the true mileage of the car? My cousin is a Chevy dealer. As a dealer, does he have the equipment to re-set the mileage (in other words, can you do this with a Tech II, or does it require something more sophisticated)?
Thank you for any help.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
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From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Mileage is stored in the IPC (the "DIC" is the display portion), not the pcm. Not sure which board though. Yes, dealers have the ability to program the correct mileage, but I'm not sure if "just" using a Tech II is how it's done since anyone out there with a Tech II could do the same thing. I think dealers have a terminal that links them to GM for documentation/verification purposes that prevents any hank-panky with changing mileage. If it were me, I would replace the IPC and take it to your dealer friend.
Equally importantly, I would be definitely concerned with what you said about "there appears to be water damage.........etc". That's very strange considering how high in the dash the IPC sits and if it indeed DOES have water damage it occurs to me it could happen again to any replacement. That issue (if true) really needs more investigation.
HTH
Equally importantly, I would be definitely concerned with what you said about "there appears to be water damage.........etc". That's very strange considering how high in the dash the IPC sits and if it indeed DOES have water damage it occurs to me it could happen again to any replacement. That issue (if true) really needs more investigation.
HTH
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 68
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From: Pittsburgh PA
Update:
Bought a used cluster from a forum member. It works! All appears to be well.
Now I have to find out how to have the mileage re-set to match the mileage of the car.
Anyone know what the process is? I asked my cousin, who owns a Chevy dealership, and he doesn't have a clue.
If you know, please post up. Thanks.
Bought a used cluster from a forum member. It works! All appears to be well.
Now I have to find out how to have the mileage re-set to match the mileage of the car.
Anyone know what the process is? I asked my cousin, who owns a Chevy dealership, and he doesn't have a clue.
If you know, please post up. Thanks.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,836
Likes: 244
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Update:
Bought a used cluster from a forum member. It works! All appears to be well.
Now I have to find out how to have the mileage re-set to match the mileage of the car.
Anyone know what the process is? I asked my cousin, who owns a Chevy dealership, and he doesn't have a clue. If you know, please post up. Thanks.
Bought a used cluster from a forum member. It works! All appears to be well.
Now I have to find out how to have the mileage re-set to match the mileage of the car.
Anyone know what the process is? I asked my cousin, who owns a Chevy dealership, and he doesn't have a clue. If you know, please post up. Thanks.
Call Bob Wendorff at Fichtner Chev tomorrow at 1-800-234-5284. He is their parts manager and VERY Corvette savvy. They are a forum sponsor here. Gene Culley at GMPartshouse, also a respected sponsor here, can probably help out as well.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,836
Likes: 244
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
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Tech Contributor
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From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
Just go to the dealer and ask the questions directly. Usually I would think you need to send it to a certified speedo repair place along with lots of documentation to prove the original mileage therefore insuring its done legally. Whatever place would tell you what all they require before doing the job. I think I read once that a dealer can't do it unless they are replacing the IPC themselves...but truly I'm not sure.
Melting Slicks
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From: Brentwood TN
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 68
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From: Pittsburgh PA
Just go to the dealer and ask the questions directly. Usually I would think you need to send it to a certified speedo repair place along with lots of documentation to prove the original mileage therefore insuring its done legally. Whatever place would tell you what all they require before doing the job. I think I read once that a dealer can't do it unless they are replacing the IPC themselves...but truly I'm not sure.
1. Owner of Chevy dealership doesn't have a clue.
2. Just spoke with service manager at same dealership:
-"can't do it"
-"we send them out(UPS them to Technicar), they fix them, but they can't re-set the mileage on them."
-so, service manager doesn't have a clue, either.
Is it any wonder I stopped taking my cars to dealerships years ago.
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From: Pittsburgh PA
Yeah, thanks Lucky. Got a hit on them when I Googled this topic a couple weeks ago. They were mentioned in an article in GMHTP or some other magazine. I was hoping for more of a local hookup and to keep the $$$$ down.
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From: Pittsburgh PA
I DID get the original cluster working, however:
Figuring I really had nothing to lose, I swapped the inverter and inverter board from the 15k cluster with the working display to the (original)72k cluster with the non-working display. I really did not expect it to work. I thought the main board was bad. It was a pleasant surprise.
Earlier today I found a local Chevy dealer who was willing to ship the working cluster out to get the mileage re-set. He told me they would require BOTH clusters and proof of ownership. Also I would have to pay the fee to have it re-set plus shipping both ways. That's when I decided to swap the parts from one to the other, figuring I might get lucky.
