Anyone ever attempt a solder repair in an instrument cluster? I was told by the repair shop that they usually "reflow" certain spots on the circuit board and then use the software to check.
If I buy a new Instrument cluster I would have to get it programmed but it could fail later on anyway. I could "possibly" repair my own without a need for reprogramming.

Anybody ever solder their way into success?

 

Member guru "Thermo" has several threads about soldering the instrument cluster.

 

Sweet thanks ill search for it.

 

Gophat, soldering is a learned skill to be done 100% effectively. But, with that being said, most people can do an adequate solder job. The big thing that most people screw up is getting too hot of a soldering iron. So, start with getting yourself a 15 or 20 watt soldering iron. You don't need anything really big and applying to much heat can and will destroy IC chips. Hence why you do not want a high wattage soldering iron. Also, too much heat will tend to start lifting the foil runs that are glued to the board. You start lifting those and it becomes a "really fun time" NOT!!!!!.

What you are looking for is what will look like a black hair or a black crack in the solder joint. THis is referred to as a broken solder joint. With the low watage soldering iron, the trick that I use is to use a greenie abrasive pad or a wet paper towel and scrub off the old solder from the tip of the soldering iron. You then will apply a small amount of solder to the tip to form a small bubble. Lower this bubble on to the pad that you want to solder. As soon as the ball of solder touch the board, you should see it melt the solder on the board and suck the solder (for the most part), off of the soldering iron. The time from creating the little ball to it touching the board should be minimized as this is allowing the rosin to evaporate away and can make getting the solder to flow a little more difficult. From there, remove the soldering iron. Worst case, you should only need to touch the soldering iron to the pad you are soldering for a second or two. The other big thing is making sure the item you are soldering does not move as the solder re-solidifies. If it does, the solder will get a dull gray appearance and this indicates that you have stresses inside the solder and it will most likely crack again in the near future. A good solder joint should have a shiny silver/mirror look to it.

The big thing is looking at the main connector and the solder joints there. If you are going to have an issue, it will be there. Having a magnifying glass is also helpful. Some of these cracks can be challenging to see. If in doubt, give it a quick touch with the tip of the soldering iron.

One last thing that will help in you not pulling all your hair out: Cleanliness is key. Get yourself some cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol (as close to 100% as you can find). Clean the board good with the cotton swab in the area you are going to solder. You may also find that cleaning up the solder joint after you solder it will give you the shiny look you are after.