90-93 Climate Controller - What doesn't work :(

[Q451990]

With the death of Dana's 93 Mercury Tracer, I'm trying to get on the fast track of getting "Q1" back on the road as her car. I decided to try replacing all of the black electrolytic capacitors on the controller since there has been some speculation about this being the problem (similar to the Bose amps).

I ordered the parts from http://www.mouser.com on Thursday, and received them on Saturday via FedEx Ground. Talk about quick shipping!

Anyhow, I replaced them and the display is still intermittant. $10 for enough capicators for three controllers and shipping, so not a big deal to try it...

Sounds like a call to Jerry Tucker on Monday.

Heath

[elwesso]

Somehow i didnt think youd get rid of the original "Q1"...

Good deal though, did you do anything with the display????

[Q451990]

Somehow i didnt think youd get rid of the original "Q1"...

Good deal though, did you do anything with the display????

Lord knows what sort of condition she'll be in after a year or so of Dana's TLC (need I re-tell the "oil light thingy" story).

All I have done with the display is replace the capicators, and resolder every joint on the board... still the same problem. Now it's going to be JT's turn.

Heath

[elwesso]

Did he share any information on how he fixes them???

I would assume not.....

[DrewQ45]

" decided to try replacing all of the black electrolytic capacitors on the controller since there has been some speculation about this being the problem (similar to the Bose amps). "

Very interesting. I also tried the resoldering with no luck. The problem seems to be an open circuit somewhere (maybe a resistor?) because when PC board was flexed into a certain position, the unit would light up and stay lit. At one point, I went real low tech and stuck a piece of rubber hose into the housing to keep it "flexed"...worked for a few weeks then faded back into blackness.

I was eventually able to get a pretty good deal on working unit so no more dead display for me. A few weeks later my transmission bit the dust so I have a nice pretty display with nowhere to go!

[maxnix]

I'll post the jpg of the fix tomorrow or Wednesday when I get back to my desktop. I thought I had shared it here before?

[Q451990]

I'll post the jpg of the fix tomorrow or Wednesday when I get back to my desktop. I thought I had shared it here before?

If you're talking about the one with the yellow circle around a part of the PCB, then I've seen it... but I couldn't find any cracks in the board or conductors on it.

Heath

[Q451990]

Did he share any information on how he fixes them???

I would assume not.....

You assume correctly I mentioned that I tried replacing the connectors and he chuckled and said "nice try." I don't begrudge spending the $100 for him to fix it vs. the factory price.

Heath