Ask the Car Guy @socky Jan 13, 2020

socky (72) in life • 5 years ago

What is your car trouble?

I want to give back to Steemit community and provide some help on something that I know very well. Cars and how to fix them.

Please ask me about your car issue. Won't go into gear. Strange sounds. Don't know if you should take your car in to the shop. Just ask.

Send me the make, model, and year along with car symptoms.

Please remember to VOTE and ReSteem

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5 years ago by socky (72)

$0.96

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ghcamry (51) · 5 years ago

Here's a crazy one. I have a 2002 buick century that the odomoter and shift indicator went out on. I did see yt vids on replacing little transistors on the circuit board; but figured I'd ask you since you offered. :)

$0.41

1 vote

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socky (72) · 5 years ago

So I checked into it. It looks like that the Buick Century had a problem with the current limiting resistors for the lights inside the odometer & shift indicator. If you can solder, it will save you a ton of money. Used instrument panels can run $50 to over $100 on ebay.

Before you go all out and start this repair, double check the fuse in the panel. There was one video which the fuse was corroded and causing the issue.

Resistors don't normally go bad, but the engineers that designed that panel may have made a mistake on the type of resistor to use. It looks like these resistors are getting too hot which is an indication that these resistors are not the right size to handle the current. I wouldn't change the resistance, but a higher wattage rating should be used to replace.

I've repaired many circuit boards in my time, and this would be one of the easiest repairs to do. If you think you can solder and have the time, then I recommend to try it. If you replace the surface mount resistors with axial resistors (ones with leads), I recommend to get some silicone sealant to "stake" the resistors. You don't need to encapsulate the resistors, but a tiny dab between the resistor and the board will help prevent vibrations from breaking them loose. Keep in mind that the resistors may run a little warm so don't completely cover them in the sealant. Normally, axial components have leads that are placed through a hole and then soldered. This gives the parts sufficient mechanical strength. Since these circuit boards don't have a through hole design, the vibration and leverage on the solder pad can cause the pad to delaminate from the board. If the resistors have been overheated, then the solder pads can be compromised and susceptible to delamination. Use plenty of solder flux to solder the parts which will help the solder flow and wet. It is very easy to clean any flux mess with rubbing alcohol.

Before you put any silicone on the parts, you will want to clean any residue. Use isopropyl alcohol and a small brush. Rubbing alcohol will work, it just has much higher water content and will take longer to dry.

Good luck and I hope it saves you some cash to spend at the pub :-)

$0.91

4 votes

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cryptovlogz (35) · 5 years ago

Supra 96 tt straight 6 2JZ. Dash lights off, power windows not working. Car starting but no electricals àre functioning. What is my electrician going to be fixing here?

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1 vote

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socky (72) · 5 years ago

When troubleshooting electrical problems, I always start with the fuse box. Find your owner's manual and see which fuse is responsible for the power windows, dash lights, and other electrical components that are causing you problems. Next, pull those fuses and inspect them to see if they have burnt.

There should be 2 places for fuses. There is an under hood (main) fuse box and there is a kick panel fuse box inside the vehicle.

If you don't find the problem there, then you will need a wiring diagram for your car and a multimeter to track down the fault. This requires that you understand electrical systems. I generally recommend if you cannot fix electrical issues by changing fuses, then take the car to a professional mechanic.

Also, my personal experience with cars is many electrical problems are caused by electrical modifications. People often modify their cars by adding security systems and stereo upgrades. No one ever takes the time to properly solder splice the wires, and they generally tie into existing wires with no consideration for the additional electrical load that the modifications create. While splices may work when installed, over time, they can become corroded or loose and cause problems. Take a look at your wiring to see if it has been modified. You may need to remove the modifications.

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5 votes