xmas on my dashboard
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2019
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From: maryland
xmas on my dashboard
I am having a problem with the dashboard indicators. They all light up intermittently. Sometimes they stay on until I shut the car off sometimes the go out on their own. Initially when this happened the car died and left me on the highway. I started reviewing the forum and found the RCM issue. I was able to resolve the car dying while on the highway at speed (yikes) by reflowing all the solder joints on the RCM. Now the car runs but it's Christmas time all year long on the dashboard. The gauges are working correctly. On a side note the rear wing will not stow. Not sure if this is related or not. Please help. I'm not the most technically savy but I do know which end of the hammer is the business end.
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From: Ontario
Re: xmas on my dashboard
I am having a problem with the dashboard indicators. They all light up intermittently. Sometimes they stay on until I shut the car off sometimes the go out on their own. Initially when this happened the car died and left me on the highway. I started reviewing the forum and found the RCM issue. I was able to resolve the car dying while on the highway at speed (yikes) by reflowing all the solder joints on the RCM. Now the car runs but it's Christmas time all year long on the dashboard. The gauges are working correctly. On a side note the rear wing will not stow. Not sure if this is related or not. Please help. I'm not the most technically savy but I do know which end of the hammer is the business end.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2019
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From: maryland
Re: xmas on my dashboard
Brand new battery as of Yesterday problem still exists
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2019
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From: maryland
Re: xmas on my dashboard
I reflowed all the connections and everything looks good. This was the original problem when she left me on the side of the road last year. When I inspected the solder connections they were cracked on many of the pins. I had everything resoldered. That was about 6 months ago. Fastforward to today and I just pulled it out again and looked at it under a high power scope. It looks perfect. It is possible the module is bad. Is there a way to test the relays on the board?
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Joined: Dec 2010
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From: Lineville, AL
Re: xmas on my dashboard
Just send it and $50 to DJ and he will replace all the relays.
tighed1@hotmail.com for instructions.
tighed1@hotmail.com for instructions.
Thread Starter
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From: maryland
Re: xmas on my dashboard
I work in the electronics field and have all the stuff I need to replace faulty relays if need be. What I wanted to know is there a pin out of the connectors to operate the relays discretely?
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From: Indialantic Fl./blairsville Ga
Re: xmas on my dashboard
then remover the cover on the rcm and watch the relays ,,,close them by hand and then u will know which is bad.
then send it to tighted 1 and have him fix it, you may think u know this car but none of us know all about it . example tighted 1 knows the rcm,,,i know the rear end, others know other parts a lot of us have tried to repair the rcm and wind up sending it to tighted 1 good luck jim
we had this problem come into our shop twice so far ,,both were rcm
then send it to tighted 1 and have him fix it, you may think u know this car but none of us know all about it . example tighted 1 knows the rcm,,,i know the rear end, others know other parts a lot of us have tried to repair the rcm and wind up sending it to tighted 1 good luck jim
we had this problem come into our shop twice so far ,,both were rcm
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From: maryland
Re: xmas on my dashboard
Thanx for all of the help. I didn't mean to come off sounding heavy handed. I just ment I understand the operation of the RCM and of relay theory. I was just trying to verify if they really are the problem. I did operate the relays manually and they move freely. I also verified that if I close the relay manually I have continuety. I thought if I ran current thru the relay to verify from the connector that the circuit worked.
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From: Indialantic Fl./blairsville Ga
Re: xmas on my dashboard
Thanx for all of the help. I didn't mean to come off sounding heavy handed. I just ment I understand the operation of the RCM and of relay theory. I was just trying to verify if they really are the problem. I did operate the relays manually and they move freely. I also verified that if I close the relay manually I have continuety. I thought if I ran current thru the relay to verify from the connector that the circuit worked.
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From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: xmas on my dashboard
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From: Ontario
Re: xmas on my dashboard
Have you checked for any codes that may have been set? This should always be the first step, some codes do not set the engine problem light but as yours is lit all the time you would not know anyway.
If you need a new RCM they can be found new for about $135 new on eBay or auto parts suppliers.
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Joined: Nov 2017
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From: Alexandria, Kentucky
Re: xmas on my dashboard
onehundred80 - Under what heading did you find the RCM's on ebay? I tried several titles but just found airbag modules, and key fob's. If you also know of some auto supply houses that have them, let me know that too.
Thanks,
Jim
Thanks,
Jim
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From: Ontario
Re: xmas on my dashboard
CLICK
Last edited by onehundred80; Jan 10, 2019 at 07:02 PM.
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From: Ottawa
Re: xmas on my dashboard
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2019
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From: maryland
Re: xmas on my dashboard
I don't have a means to read the codes and am a little hesitant to drive it out of my garage for fear of getting stranded as before. The relays and contacts look pristine. The solder also is top notch. I think I will bite the bullet and buy a replacement RCM. Rockauto has them for $125. I will keep you all posted. Thanx again for all of the help.
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From: Indialantic Fl./blairsville Ga
Re: xmas on my dashboard
then send yours to tighted 1 with $30 to 50 he will repair it from front to rear ,,then u will have a spare because even the new one will need his repair sooner or later as they all (even the new ones come with bad solders ) jim
Last edited by amx1397; Jan 17, 2019 at 08:03 AM.
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From: Lineville, AL
Re: xmas on my dashboard
If it were me, I'd charge $100 - ever try replacing one of those relays ?????
Senior Member
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From: Ontario
Re: xmas on my dashboard
If you need to remove a relay you should desolder it as much as possible, then cut the terminals etc as close to the board as possible, desolder again and then wiggle them out as you melt the rest of the solder one by one. Desolder and clean up the holes before you put the new relay in.
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From: maryland
Re: xmas on my dashboard
It Helps if you work in an industry that uses all the rework tools to do component level replacement on circuit boards. But typically the very large parts on this particular board would require a lot of heat to flow the solder to remove the relays. You can buy basic soldering irons to do small stuff but they are in no way capable of delivering the heat needed to do this kind of thing. The alternative would be a small torch to heat the metal, but I wouldn't do that unless you are very confident in your ability.