Coby7

Just finished a 2004 Tahoe cluster and HVAC unit

Last night I worked on a 2003 cluster that had been previously worked on by somebody else. These are always tough because you have to repair the damage first before you can get to the root of the real problems and this one had them all. Took a couple hours but got her working again. Client wanted blue LEDs.

Repaired a 2005 Ford Sport Trac cluster. I don't normally do Ford clusters because I'm not set-up for it. But this guy couldn't find one anywhere in the junkyards so I gave it a shot. Found the problem right away but could not test it on the bench. Mailed it back to him. He sent me an e-transfer so I guess it worked lol.

15,644 lbs and 3 ounces without driver.

Pretty nippy here.... @tm -10°C (+13°F )

This morning in the shop I repaired a couple of GM flip key FOBs ( 20835404 ) If you look at the one on the left you will notice it needed a new switch. This type of damage is usually caused by long finger nail on thumb. If you look above the unlock icon on the left you will notice the arced gouge in the rubber the shape of a finger nail. Installed 2 new cases and I have an other happy customer. Dealer wanted over $400 to replace these. I also sold him a couple of silicone case covers so this doesn't happen again. . If you own a GM flip keyfob like these I strongly suggest getting silicone cover cases because they are a bitch to repair and expensive to replace. Ali-express pretty much has all of the 5 variations of this set-up

They are, only if you want them to come back.

I get them from a US supplier called led-switch. Look for 5mm 12 Volt Blue With Water Clear Lens. Were you planning on doing this yourself? You will need the polarity on the board because LEDs are polarity dependant. http://led-switch.com/12 volt LED.htm You can have a read in this thread.

Yeah I like the first 4, not crazy about the red though. But the client is always right. Not crazy about green either but a lot of people like green.

Just finished a cluster refurbish LEDed in cool white. Before picture shows the 2 bad stepper motors ( battery & fuel ), burnt bulb in the lower numbers of the speedometer and the dead PRND321 display.

91 this year so far, maybe a dozen HVACs

Well I buy them 1000 at a time so I get a good price. about $2.35 Cdn after shipping, tax and customs. When I first started I used the white ones but they would fail. The last generation of white motors are better than the first generation. But I've never had a black one fail on me yet, better quality, better design.

Check my post on Tuesday.

Question by member posted here to help others. Battery Drain - illumination ghost in instrument panel I read on this post that you have a possible fix for this issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance Answer: I suppose 03-04. Remove back cover only. Start by checking the back plain of the circuit board for copper migration. If you see any black or dark brown deposit around the copper islands (especially these 3 that look like Orion's belt ) take some contact cleaner or brake cleaner the closest to 100% alcohol you can find then brush with hard bristle like a toothbrush. Sanding pen works best but not everybody has these. If it cures the problem, you can then add lacquer or nail polish to the area so it doesn't happen again. Let me know if you have any questions.

This Morning so far LEDed a 2005 cluster in blue. Then did his HVAC also in blue.

Well if I was down to one cluster a month I would probably quit but did almost 100 (96) this year so far. Instead of people paying the big bucks ( about 800$Cdn )to the dealer, well, this way they get out of it for 100-150. Nobody likes to spend $800 on an old vehicle. Doing a 2004 Escalade today, beautiful machine and he doesn't mind paying 150$ but he said he would rather pay a speeding ticket than to give our local dealer $800. Their labor rate as increased to $125 an hour plus tax. As for snowblower you know I own a Yamaha, so not a lot of news there, turn the key, it starts, blow snow then park it.

About a month ago I ordered stepper motors, it normally take a week to 10 days to get these. I was down to 10 motors and was about to start refusing jobs on clusters. They were hung up at customs for a while, then the postal strike, then misdirected and work to rule. Well they special delivered it to my house this afternoon with apologies just in time because I have 2 clusters coming tomorrow. Here is what 1000 stepper motors look like, 100 per tray. I was going to quit doing this, but since the demand for my services is so high, I'll quit after these 1000... That's what I said the last time too!

Very productive day. This morning repaired 2 FOBs for a 2007 G6 ( 22733524 ) then sold and programmed a FOB for a 2007 Malibu also a ( 22733524 ) Next this guy picked up his cluster that I rebuilt last week the green one, so got paid for that. After I went to get my mail to find a mailed-in cluster which I promptly repaired and shipped out this afternoon. He should get it in the morning in Halifax. LEDed in cool white. Just received a call for 2 more FOB repair for a 2007 Grand Prix, so not done yet. Did the 2 Grand Prix aftermarket FOBs

Yeah, but when you put it in reverse it shouldn't go forward. My 1993 Sonoma had a transmission problem early on, turns out somebody had forgotten to tighten and torque the solenoid modulator plate. Ran fine for years after.

Tonight rebuilt an other gaser hd cluster, a 2003.

Somebody is in the Xmas spirit... Saw this trucker at the local Petro-Pass truck stop

This morning I rebuilt a 2004 cluster for a friend of mind won't be making any money on this one, cluster was out of a non-smokers truck and so pleasant to work on. The white plastics weren't all yellow and brittle. The light refractor was clear as glass. The needles were still bright red-orange. Mind you there was only 211***kms on a diesel HD. So repaired the PRND321 display, replaced all 7 stepper motors and replaced all bulbs with LEDs, blinker and even the cruise bulb. Cleaned what needed to be cleaned and re-assembled and calibrated it just to find that it didn't pass my final test. It didn't shut down after 20-25 seconds. ( Kills battery after 3 days ) This problem is usually corrosion on the back plain but this one was clean. So had to take it all apart again to work on that problem. Wish I would have taken a picture but at the time I didn't think it could possibly be the cause. Under the microscope I found a dried out bug between 2 terminals of a surface mounted integrated circuit with 64 pins. After I removed the bug I tried the test again over and over and each time it would shut down. Sprayed the chip with alcohol and gave it one last sweep an re-assembled for the last time. It now works flawlessly and looks pretty darn good. He was dead set at getting a green background. Turn out good even though I don't like green but it's not my truck.

A guy brought me a cluster out of a Volvo 10 ton yesterday saying he tried to fix it himself and now nothing works. I said: "I'm sorry I don't do Volvos I don't have the parts" Then he said "At least have a look at it to see what I screwed up" " I'm in town for a couple hours and I'll come back to pick it up repaired or not later" Well I opened it up and found his boo-boo, cleaned that up to find that the speedometer stepper motor was bad. Come to find out they use the same motors as the Ford Mustang 03-05 and I happened to have a few of these that were sent to me by mistake by a seller. I changed the stepper motor and fired it up. Everything worked. He couldn't believe it when he came back. What a happy camper. He was jumping with joy, I think it was his dad's truck, so I saved him a lot of aggravation and "I told you so". Asked for $50 and he gave me $100 and drove away.

Today I changed the oil and filter again in my Trax. Monitor said I still had 30% but that would have meant the next oil change would have fallen in January sometime. Nothing I hate more than doing an oil change on a cold day. I should be good until sometime in April...I also repaired a 2008 G5 FOB ( 22733524 )

LEDed this one in cool white