[s-cars] Re: IC repair recommendation

[Brett Dikeman]

At 3:42 PM -0400 9/28/03, Ingo Rautenberg wrote:

>As these instrument clusters get older they have a nasty habit of
>giving false warnings, causing gauges to be intermittent, flash
>ridiculous trip computer functions (OK, even more ridiculous).
>Oxidation of the contacts appears to be the primary culprit, so...

Not really- usually the cause, on the V8's, later type 44's and C4s,
is actual mechanical failure of the PCB.  Prime example is the
glowing turn-signals problem, which is caused by a broken trace right
above the speedo.  I caution listers to not think of -any- contact
clear(including the absurdly priced and over-hyped Stabilant) as a
'magic bullet'.

>For those who will (or need to again) clean up the contacts in your
>Instrument cluster because of false readings, warnings, intermittent
>gauges, I have found (thanks to Mr. Buchholtz's recommendation) a
>better solution than Stabilant 22a (which I have used in the past
>with mixed results).
>
>Caig Chemicals in Poway CA.  I bought their Technicians Survival Kit
>(Item SK-IN30) for $29.95, but found they have a few web specials
>and the following (IMO) are just the ticket for dashboard contact
>cleaning/enhancing at a great price:

<snip>

>Shipping is an additional $7.50 regardless how much you order.

FYI, MCM Electronics, and most other dealers, are substantially
cheaper.  They'll even tell you that.  Big, universal rule in direct
sales: NEVER undercut your dealer network, or you will cease to have
a dealer network :-)

Brett
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