ElectronicsNeed help wiring something up? Thinking of adding an electrical component to your car? Need help troubleshooting that wiring glitch?
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I have an '88 T/A I picked up recently that has seen better days. T-tops leaked for probably years while it sat under a tree for 4 years in Florida here...needless to say the interior was a swamp and much corrosion occurred. I have gutted the interior and started removing various switches, seat tracks, etc. and rust removing/replacing/cleaning/etc. and have a question regarding the instrument cluster circuit board.
Can you clean up corrosion on the circuit board somehow? how would one accomplish this? If not, or if it is too severe, can you buy another circuit board as I would like to keep the cluster. I don't like swapping clusters as the odometer and such is there and I would like to keep the original mileage numbers in tact with the car.
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They make a cleaner that you can use with something like a toothbrush to scrub it with. It can be found at an electronics store or online. Some cleaners are corrosive so you would need to remove the plastics around it and wear gloves. Make sure the board is dry before ever powering it up as a wet board can overload components and ruin it.
You may be able to remove the speedo and install it on another cluster if you're worried about the odometer.
Clusters do change over the years as well as manual and auto options. Not as sure about Firebird specifically. The cluster is pretty well protected from water. Would you mind posting pics of what you have?
It's ok...I cleaned it after work with some contact oil, a scotch brite pad gently, and a wire brush for the light sockets and contact screws. It came out pretty good...we'll see if it helped the board any and if the gauges work a little better now. I have some pictures and will try and get them up tomorrow if still interested.
Alright...pics below:
Last edited by CreepingDeath94; 09-29-2009 at 09:33 PM.
I didn't notice the pics earlier. Yes, it looks clean and I think I can see some of the material next to some of the small screws.
To be honest, I might remove the light bulbs (black and gray knobs) and gauges and clean the contacts on both sides with either some electrical cleaner spray or alcohol w/ a Q-Tip. (The former you would need safety glasses and gloves and do it outside only.) [Also clean where it connects to the dash but be gentle as noted. Also blow everything out with compressed air to make it dry faster.
I'm not sure if the clips that connect to the gauges can be removed, but if there is material in between them and the flex connector then I would try to separate and clean as well.] The flex circuit looks to be in good shape, but be careful as it does become brittle over time and the copper circuits can crack if moved to much. The connectors at the lights can start to fall apart as well. Below shows one of the screws that needs to be removed and how one of the gauges connects. Try cleaning in between the contacts without bending the connectors.
Edit: Sorry I didn't see you already cleaned the light sockets. Could try electrical cleaner on the lower dash connection though.
Yea, I finally did get around to cleaning it. I just didn't post any after pics. It came out pretty good. I used contact oil and a scotch brite pad lightly for the connectors and wire harness. I used wire brush and careful cleaning, compressed air, etc. under all the little phillips screws/contacts, light bulb contacts, and where the cluster plugs into the wiring harness in the dash. It worked much better...but then it all came back out to finish removing the dash assembly to access the firewall and remove all fabric/sound deadening material to do some rust repair. Thanks for the help guys. I will try and get after pics...can't remember if I ever took pictures of the finished product...I will try if I get some time for others to have a look at in case anyone else has a need to do this.
