Gauge cluster repair.

catman3126

Ehhh?.... You don't say?
Jul 24, 2012
2,636
0
36
NE Oregon
Well I tried my hand at a gauge cluster repair with replacing the stepper motors and failed lol. no problem getting the cluster apart and the old stepper's off put the new ones in and went to solder them in place and the solder would never bond tot he board and kept going to the soldering iron. it would just ball up on the tip. so not sure now if It wrecked the cluster. any ideas on where to send this to or get a replacement this was all bought with a kit from Drspeedometer.com
 

DAVe3283

Heavy & Slow
Sep 3, 2009
3,727
296
83
Boise, ID, USA
Can we get a close-up picture of the pads on the circuit board where the stepper motor is supposed to connect?

It is possible you ripped the pads off the board when you removed the old stepper (if the solder wasn't fully liquid or totally removed as the stepper was removed). Alternatively, the pads could just have some residue that needs cleaned, then use some flux (rosin) to help with surface tension when re-soldering.

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830king

Member
Oct 24, 2013
191
0
16
Central MN
I don't have any personal experience with this guy yet, but I've heard good things about him. I have a few backlights out on mine and giving him a call is on my to do list.
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catman3126

Ehhh?.... You don't say?
Jul 24, 2012
2,636
0
36
NE Oregon
Can we get a close-up picture of the pads on the circuit board where the stepper motor is supposed to connect?

It is possible you ripped the pads off the board when you removed the old stepper (if the solder wasn't fully liquid or totally removed as the stepper was removed). Alternatively, the pads could just have some residue that needs cleaned, then use some flux (rosin) to help with surface tension when re-soldering.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

I tried that on one too. I was careful when I took it off. I don't think I took the pads off, I used a solder sucker also.
 

DAVe3283

Heavy & Slow
Sep 3, 2009
3,727
296
83
Boise, ID, USA
If you can still see the pads are OK, add some flux and put a bit of heat into the pads with the iron before adding solder. Hopefully that will do the trick.

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TheBac

Why do I keep doing this?
Staff member
Apr 19, 2008
15,611
1,868
113
Mid Michigan
This is the reason I sent mine to a service to get done. I found that soldering and I do not get along.
 

SickLL7Crenshaw

Billy The Kid
Mar 10, 2013
1,088
34
48
31
Mexico
Lee just stick to cooking on that new grill of yours haha you know what they say, 1 beer 15 min before going shooting at the range keeps the nerves calm so you can group your shots a lot better, don't see why that wouldn't work for soldering, but after this I'm sure you slammed a few :hello:
 

duramaxzak

Wanna be puller!
Nov 22, 2008
2,431
14
38
Minnesota
I don't have any personal experience with this guy yet, but I've heard good things about him. I have a few backlights out on mine and giving him a call is on my to do list.
b0aecc38bc0a87f0b6c58ee81842157d.jpg


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I have used this guy about 6 times and have always had great results and super fast turn around time.
 

THEFERMANATOR

LEGALLY INSANE
Feb 16, 2009
3,890
44
48
44
ZEPHYRHILLS, FL
I've done a dozen or so of them. I put a little flux on the end of the stepper pins before I put them in. I found you have to use SMALL resin cored solder, and ONLY heat the pin coming out of the stepper. You have to be QUICK here. Theres a fine line between enough heat for the solder to suck in, and doing damage. Bulbs are the PITA part. I HATED doing bulbs. Theres also several solders inside that should be fluxed and redone.
 

quinton

Active member
Nov 28, 2011
1,883
0
36
Granbury Tx.
I've done a dozen or so of them. I put a little flux on the end of the stepper pins before I put them in. I found you have to use SMALL resin cored solder, and ONLY heat the pin coming out of the stepper. You have to be QUICK here. Theres a fine line between enough heat for the solder to suck in, and doing damage. Bulbs are the PITA part. I HATED doing bulbs. Theres also several solders inside that should be fluxed and redone.



This ^ Exactly how I do it, and yes bulbs are a pain. Especially when you get into radio, hvac controls, etc.
 

catman3126

Ehhh?.... You don't say?
Jul 24, 2012
2,636
0
36
NE Oregon
Lee just stick to cooking on that new grill of yours haha you know what they say, 1 beer 15 min before going shooting at the range keeps the nerves calm so you can group your shots a lot better, don't see why that wouldn't work for soldering, but after this I'm sure you slammed a few :hello:

yeah I have that down. Probably shouldn't slurp down a beer at the power plant though haha