Post by
LMan »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/lman-u243586.html
Sat Nov 01, 2014 6:25 pm
I successfully tried the repair today. Thanks junkjunker for gathering all of the helpful links! Disclaimer: I don't know if all of the Quest LCDs are made the same way, but mine did not require any soldering... Here are some observations from my repair.
1) I purchased the ribbon and soldering iron/silicone strip from bestpixelrepair.com because I heard their ribbon already has adhesive on it (which it does). I found that helpful. Total price was about $40 US.
2) Removing the cluster was pretty straightforward, but be careful... I cracked the clear lens on the cluster while removing the cowling... fortunately, it is on the very edge and doesn't really show. Removing the speedometer & tachometer needles was a little tricky too. I found a tip on line that suggested sliding a dinner fork under the needles and carefully lifting them up and off. This worked pretty well. Make a mental note where the needles actually stop on the lowest end of the gauge so that you can press them back into the right place when you reassemble. The other side of the flex ribbon cable slides into a fixture on the circuit board-- it is a tight fit.
3) I wasn't sure how much heat to use to remove or install the ribbon cables. The silicon strip is used to reduce and control the heat from the soldering iron. I heated tried pressing the iron against the end of the ribbon strip in different places to avoid overheating. That seemed to work, but I'm not sure I used enough heat to make the ribbon come off as easily as I could-- there was a fair amount of adhesive and old ribbon traces left on the LCD.
4) When I removed the ribbon I was pretty sure I had ruined the LCD... I looked at the LCD contacts and thought that I had pulled off many of the conductors from the glass. This is important: the actual conductors are almost TRANSPARENT. The conductors I saw were actually the traces remaining from the old ribbon that were embedded in the old adhesive.
5) I cleaned the contact area with cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol still believing that I had probably damaged the LCD contacts. As I (gently) removed the remnants of the old ribbon I began to notice the subtle pattern of the stemi-transparent LCD contacts and began to to have hope that it would work after all. I meticulously and carefully cleaned the contact surface.
6) The next trick was aligning the new ribbon to contacts I could barely see. It helped to had a bright light at the correct angle to accentuate the LCD traces. In hindsight, it would have been helpful to make some sort of jig to hold the ribbon still while I carefully translated it in place. When I thought it was aligned, I gently pressed the ribbon with adhesive against the LCD contact surface using another cotton swab. The adhesive allowed it to stick in place, which helped me a lot. It is not clear how to complete this step without the adhesive... There is no soldering, but I'm not sure you want to try to melt or bond the flex ribbon directly to the LCD. Hopefully, someone else can offer up some answers. The adhesive helped me.
7) Using the soldering iron, special T-tip, and silicone strip (the silicone strip presses snugly into the end of the soldering iron), I once again moved the iron around every few seconds. I tried to make sure I didn't overheat the surface and used the iron until the ribbon contact are looked smooth and flat. I was a little more aggressive with the iron in this step than I was in removing the old ribbon.
8) I reassembled everything (pretty straightforward), but noticed a slight problem... the new ribbon was a little longer than the original one, and it didn't fit properly when I reinstalled the printed circuit board. Eventually, I forced the new ribbon to fold gently against the internal housing of the instrument cluster. I
9) I crossed my fingers and turned on the ignition. To my delight, it worked perfectly! Only glitch was that I realized that I had the left off the small caps that cover the spindle of the speedometer and tachometer needles. Had to removed the cowling again and fit them back in place (and made another crack in the corner of the clear lens of the cluster)
I hope this helps someone else out there. I really appreciate it when others take the time to share their lessons learned. I have used them many times. I would probably have used one of the numerous repair services that claim to complete this repair for around $100 US, but I couldn't have my van out of commission for a week or more... Good luck if you attempt.