Instrument Cluster Board Repair 1997 Minivan
When you have identified a good vehicle, you keep it; such it is with our 1997 Chrysler Town & Country LXI minivan, bought new in late 1996.
It currently has about 190,000 miles on it.
Because it gets about 50% better gas mileage than my F150 (21.5 – 23mpg at up to 75mph speed limits, depending on wind conditions and load), I took it on my most recent trip back to Illinois where we are trying to sell our home with 87 acres of land.
(Which happens to have a VERY nice shop where I could not only change out the flat tire with the spare and back again but also to do instrument cluster repair and a nice work bench for the soldering.)
Not Just Saving Money, This Story Is About Blessings
In over 16 years of ownership and, like I said above, closing in on 200,000 miles, we have experienced few nasty repairs on this vehicle. It has served us well.
The biggest issue was replacing the A/C expansion core which all of sudden went South when we were in the South in August 2 years ago. Repair was quoted at over $1600 in 3 days at a dealership or $1000 with a local mechanic scabbing at his house who might need it over 2 weekends.
Decided to do it myself thanks to some exceptional step by step with picture instructions found online at a Dodge forum. In a couple of days I had it done with $350 of parts bought online (turned out it was a Dodge dealer in Oregon running an internet store so they were genuine MOPAR parts at about 35% off).
Well, it was thanks to that repair, tearing out the ENTIRE dash that gave me the confidence to try to fix the instrument cluster board when it failed on me.
Thank God For A Flat Tire And A “Coincidence”
Normally I don’t get too thrilled by a flat tire, and I was not especially happy that day when I was checking tire pressure for the return trip and found the right rear low. A quick visual inspection revealed the head of a screw.
- Blessing 1 – The screw was in a center tread, so it was fixable
- Blessing 2 – The tire insurance purchased when I bought the tires new that covered flats still had 7 weeks before expiration
So I drop off the tire to be fixed and head on for errands in the “big city”.
When I stop back in to pick up the tire I pulled into the mechanic’s shop and consciously park where as not to be in the way should the vehicle not restart (been there before). Got back in to start it up and it would just fire and die.
I knew there was 5/8 tank of gas, but I also happened to notice that I had no gauges. No fuel gauge, no tach, no shift indicator or odometer. Hmmm.
So I sheepishly ask the owner if he could spare a minute (to get rid of me!). He’s busy, but a nice guy – and wants me gone – so he helps test fuses, etc. Wonders if the security system is preventing engine start, but why?
I placed a call to my old buddy who now is a part owner of a Ford Dealership that worked many years at a Chrysler dealership as service manager and he told me the instrument cluster board was probably shot, and since the security system ran through it the car is disabled. Expect about $800 to repair it, but he doesn’t want the job…
The mechanic attached his scanner and sure enough, seemed pretty dead. But he tried the “reset codes” routines anyway and, voila (hehe) it started! No instrument cluster, but running, so I headed home.
- Blessing 3 – If your car won’t start, besides home, where better to be than an auto repair shop?
- Blessing 4 – Free advice from a guy who was available and willing to take my call – and give the right answer!
The Internet To The Rescue
When home I cranked up Google and found LOTS of forum posts and YouTube videos describing exactly the problem I had. And for each one of them, the solution was the same; the very same pin of the main connector on the instrument cluster board has a crack in the solder connecting the pin to the board.
- Blessing 5 – I lug tools back and forth on each trip to Illinois just in case I need them
- Blessing 6 – I had just noticed that day an old soldering iron of the very wattage specified in the forum posts left in a drawer with a bunch of other semi-useless junk and a little coil of solder.
And like I said up above, I had less resistance to the idea of tearing out the dash of the vehicle I needed to get me home because of the A/C expansion core repair a year and a half earlier.
Once I had the instrument cluster board out, though, I couldn’t see any crack; Dang! Even with my reading glasses it looked OK. Desperate, I cranked up the Magnify app on my HTC One X Plus and..what? There’s a circular crack in solder around that very same pin everyone else had issues with!
- Blessing 7 – I found where those extra 2 screws go that I had left over after the A/C job
- Blessing 8 – I still have the screws…
After soldering the wayward pin – carefully, this is not my strong suit or a very high quality soldering iron – I put the van back together. About and hour and a half total time including 20 minutes trying to find a magnifying glass and then looking for the crack.
Turned the key on…instruments.
Hit the starter, engine started…and STAYED running.
Do you realize not only that I saved $800 but also who knows how much time and inconvenience:
- Finding someone to fix it
- Waiting for them to fit it in their schedule
- Waiting for the new part to arrive, then install it
- Hoping they know what they are doing?
If the car is under warranty, I’m not going to touch it for anything but routine maintenance. But when it comes to this old van, I’m thankful for every blessing that comes my way so that I can fix it myself.
And many thanks to the people who answer questions on forums and post how-to videos on YouTube.
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