As per title. I got a big red exclamation mark the other night and the car seems to lose power on the upshift (but once you're going you can rev all you like) . Garage reckon it's the instrument cluster and quoted me >£200 to repair. Internet suggests it's dry joints, which is dead easy to sort as I'm a massive nerd, but my question is: If I take it out, sort the dry joints, then put it back in do I still have to reprogram it? The garage said that was part of the fix, but I'm assuming that if I put it back in the same car I took it out of it'll not know the difference - are they planning on replacing it, rather than repairing?.

So question is: If I repair myself, can I just plug it back into the car and get driving or do I need fancy kit?

 

1 hour ago, mrsuffolk said:

So question is: If I repair myself, can I just plug it back into the car and get driving or do I need fancy kit?

 

As you correctly state, if the cluster is replaced, yes, there will be additional hassles caused by having to program the 'new' cluster to work in your car. However, if it's the original cluster, there will be no issues, borne out by the loads of repair options advertised on Ebay where they re solder the board, and you just put the cluster back in. Ford did a right horlicks on these boards all in the vein of trying to save a few dolphins by taking lead out of the solder which had worked properly for generations LOL

If you know how to micro solder then yes, but be warned, if you don't get the needles back on properly, or have the test software to recalibrate them, they'll never be correct.

Remove and re-solder all the joints, not just the failed ones

This may be of help...

 

1 hour ago, DaveT70 said:

If you know how to micro solder then yes, but be warned, if you don't get the needles back on properly, or have the test software to recalibrate them, they'll never be correct.

Remove and re-solder all the joints, not just the failed ones

Thanks, I think as an attempt I'm just going to do the connector and anything that looks obvious, as that's what the internet says is most likely. And surely if I get the needles back on in the same place I took them off they'll be close enough! 😄

22 minutes ago, mrsuffolk said:

...surely if I get the needles back on in the same place I took them off they'll be close enough! 😄

Watch the dismantle part of that YouTube 1st, it'll show you how to get the needles off at the correct spot, the '0' position won't be correct!

Think you’ll find that Fords hand was forced with moving to lead-free solder, European directives and all that good stuff 

2 hours ago, mrsuffolk said:

Thanks, I think as an attempt I'm just going to do the connector and anything that looks obvious, as that's what the internet says is most likely. And surely if I get the needles back on in the same place I took them off they'll be close enough! 😄

From memory yet another peice gathered over the years, when Tv's had dry joint the engineers used to do a quick fix by rubbing a soft lead pencil over it

1 minute ago, JImpster said:

From memory yet another peice gathered over the years, when Tv's had dry joint the engineers used to do a quick fix by rubbing a soft lead pencil over it

Surely pencils never contained lead, they were graphite, right?

old pencils did contain lead as graphite is hard, same a stiff zip can be eased with a pencil, im sure im not going mad haha

I stand corrected after googling pencils NEVER contained lead just graphite and clay to make it harder of softer, tho my memory of rubbing a pencil on a dry joint is still a valid one.

 

I have done one of those instrument clusters after watching YouTube video.  It is quite fiddly to dismantle and get it all back together right and the soldering is on very small bits and you need some very thin solder as it’s very easy to accidentally bridge the connections and the you need a solder sucker to get some of the solder back off. It’s certainly not something for a first time solderer.

2 minutes ago, isetta said:

I have done one of those instrument clusters after watching YouTube video.  It is quite fiddly to dismantle and get it all back together right and the soldering is on very small bits and you need some very thin solder as it’s very easy to accidentally bridge the connections and the you need a solder sucker to get some of the solder back off. It’s certainly not something for a first time solderer.

Also, having done some soldering many years ago (!), I'm sure it would help to have non shaky hands, & young healthy eyes, or, a very strong desk mount magnifier 🤣

2 hours ago, JImpster said:

I stand corrected after googling pencils NEVER contained lead just graphite and clay to make it harder of softer, tho my memory of rubbing a pencil on a dry joint is still a valid one.

Graphite is an electrical conductor so it would work in theory. Graphite powder is also a lubricant, so the zip trick would work as well.

I had the misfortune of using lead free solder when I did my engineering apprenticeship in the 2000s. The instructor warned us before that it was crap. Rolls of the much better old leaded type can still be found at car boot sales.

You can still easily buy solder with lead in. Eg eBay. As far as I know it’s allowable for private use but not for commercial manufacturers.  I believe there are exemptions where failure has worse consequences like defence aerospace space travel. Lead free is brittle and higher melting point I believe.

16 hours ago, isetta said:

you need a solder sucker to get some of the solder back off. It’s certainly not something for a first time solderer

Personally I would use solder wick to take off the excess solder. I've found the recoil from a piston-type solder sucker can damage the PCB if you're not very careful. In the past I have had it completely lift a component pad although that was many years ago when the bonding agents used were probably not as good as today. Also if you can't get access to IPA for cleaning off the excess resin flux I've found brake & clutch cleaner works well.

21 hours ago, mrsuffolk said:

Thanks, I think as an attempt I'm just going to do the connector and anything that looks obvious

That's what I meant by all the connections, sorry, just on the connector port

I would get forscan and back up your cluster multiple times, just incase you "BRICK" it, better safe than sorry as its too late once done.