i have recently been having issues with my speedo, i've come to the conclusion that its not the speed sensor because when the speedo is out, the odo still turns. well, this was starting to annoy me so today i took my entire dash apart and now i have the guage cluster sitting on my desk and i cant seem to find any problems.
someone mentioned a solder joint. what the hell is this? i thought it was going to be obvious, apparently i'm wrong. please help
thanks

 

a solder joint is anywhere where solder is used to connect two wires

 

ok, where would my problem most likely be? where the wires connect to the plug? something in the guage cluster itself?
someone, anyone, my car has to be put back together tomorrow afternoon, and it needs to be fixed when i put it back together.

 

OK, here goes.

With the assembly out you will need to remove the front clear cover so you can remove the speedo unit. From the back of the unit you are looking at a circuit membrane laid over the entire gauge housing (you may have to remove some trim to see this - can't remember that part). In the centre rear of the assemble you will see some screws (4 I think). These hold the speedo assembly in place and provide the connection points between the membrane and the speedo assembly. Remove these screws carefully and you should be able to carefully extract the speedo assembly. Be careful not to scratch the face of the dial!

What you should be holding in your hand is a PCB assembly with the speedo dial face and needle assembly. Looking at the PCB with the needle side facing away from you, you will see all of the solder connections. You can now do 2 things. Resolder all connections carefully (preferred) or examine each one looking for dry / partial joints. Pay particular attention around the microprocessor joints. Remember not to apply to much constant heat to the micro joints or you could fry the micro!

Then reassemble is the reverse operation. I made sure I cleaned all the connections on the membrane on the entire gauge assembly. I used a fine sandpaper and made sure no crap went onto the other assemblies. Also give the connection points for the looms a clean as well.

Reassemble and you should be away laughing. Hopefully I have attached a JPG of a dry joint.

Brent.

 

Maybe the picture will come through this time!

 

try getting a used speedo cluster from someone, try the other gen3 bbs gen3.4mg.com... I think Kaleb was selling his on there last time I checked.

If you need a working speed sensor (under the hood) I have a used one if interested, was going to ebay it, but let me know.

gen3@usa.com

 

ok well, my dad was trying to take the needle off to disassemble the speedo cluster, he scratched the guage face, i'm pretty mad but i'll get over it. anyone got a working speedo cluster they wanna sell me?
i dont want the whole guage cluster, just the speedo since thats the only thing i've ever had problems with.
thanks alot
-PaT-

 

You don't have to take the needle off! Once you have removed the clear plastic covering the entire gauge assembly you only have to remove 4 screws from the rear of the entire gauge housing. The speedo assembly then just comes out. To resolder any joints you are only doing it on the rear side of the PCB so the speedo face is facing away from you.

Brent.

 

i got the speedo unit out, i dont know what my dad was doing, the speedo still works, not sure if it was fixed but all the wires on the back of the guage cluster were loose, so i tightened them. i havent driven my far enough and long enough to find out if the speedo is fixed.
now for my next idea, i want to make the needles completely white except for where it lights up, have that black, just invert the colors, this is probably a very complicated process.

oh yeah, 194B bulbs in the dash are very nice, not as bright as stock but nice none the less.