Are you saying all you need is the wireing schematic? I can scan it for you if that's what you need to verify the failure and design a fix for it.

 

GD

Yeah, mostly I need to verify power/ground leads: 2 or 3 different power leads coming in, probably for switched, unswitched, and dashlight/dim. Also, any signal leads would be good. I could guess at some of this, but risking further damage due to haste doesn't sit well with me.

 

If you have a diagram I could certainly use it.

 

Turbone, yeah, I am still kicking. Between dislocating a big toe, and fighting multiple boughts of illness due to working in a "germ factory", not been getting much done lately. I now have an SVX (dark teal) of my own to toy with.

I still need to do a on line search for the part (NEC) but it should be readily available.

 

That there (NEC C2334-L) looks like a NPN transistor which crosses to a NEC NTE54 (aka ECG54). Your local TV repair shop might have one you can buy.

http://www.nteinc.com/specs/10to99/pdf/nte54.pdf

I can order one through DigiKey..shame I dont still work in the hellhole..had oodles of them laying around. ( thats the digi dash turbone is showing..for my 83 coupe restoration project:grin:)

So what's the consensus; if the C2334-L gets replaced, will it bring the dead back to life? CarFreak's digi isn't quite gone yet, so I expect it would get a new lease on life. But it would be great if we could turn the dead bodies into legitimate spares.

 

Has anybody come up with a diagram yet? CF has a couple of manuals; one is likely to show the digi dash wiring. I'll riffle through them if it might do some good.

We wont know until one gets replaced. If you have schematics, please scan them and post them up.

I know that it has been addressed before. Whats involved with changing over to the analog?

 

I always find it funny when these things break. Its a 25 year old car, you would've thought this kind of stuff would have broke sooner.

We wont know until one gets replaced. If you have schematics, please scan them and post them up.

 

I didn't get a chance to scan my FSMs, but the only schematics for the dashes were power and lighting circuits. If this would be helpful, I'll try to get them ASAP.

PLEASE let me know if these can be fixed!

I have 2 that need fixed, {I think a 3rd went to NorthWet} and are pretty much all that's keeping FERTHER off the road.

PLEASE let me know if these can be fixed!

I have 2 that need fixed, {I think a 3rd went to NorthWet} and are pretty much all that's keeping FERTHER off the road.

 

[THREADHIJACK]

FERTHER is still around? I thought you sold him about a year ago. Or was that another EA81 wagon?

[/THREADHIJACK]

 

And Connie, if you haven't gotten the dash going yet, it wouldn't hurt to give that capacitor a look too. Hard to see from the pics but it looks to me like it might have leaked. Electrolytics are generally considered more likely to fail from age than semiconductors.

Hey now, msteel!

{threadjack}

Nah, the guy in Atlanta backed out. I think his wife pitched a fit about it.

A guy from Tennessee had said he was gonna come get it, but then decided he didn't want to pull it over the mtns with his vehicle. He might still want it, but I haven't heard back from him. I need to do something with it soon!

Interested? Send me a PM.

{threadunjack}

Well i'll be. Another electronics type. I've been in it since 1962!!! Finished up working in R&D on the bar code scanner wal-mart uses for inventry. How about that. I think I would start looking for a voltage regulater in that digi-dash. How many solid state gadgets have you found with voltage problems.

Well i'll be. Another electronics type. I've been in it since 1962!!! Finished up working in R&D on the bar code scanner wal-mart uses for inventry. How about that. I think I would start looking for a voltage regulater in that digi-dash. How many solid state gadgets have you found with voltage problems.

 

We pretty much have it pinned down to the VR. That NEC SC is the likely culprit. And yes, there's more than one cap thats leaking

I havent had any time lately to source parts, but I'm not the only one looking.

Just curious...Has anyone figured out the usual cause for the digi- dash failures? Has anyone tried to fix one? Does anyone have a bad one already pulled that they may want to part with ? I want to take one apart and "play" Since I have been in electronics since 1990 and many many certs...I thought maybe I can come up with something..I have fixed my husbands battery back-up for his puter..fixed a VW instrument cluster before.

 

There is also a method to my madness...but since it isnt 100% set in stone yet I wont say anything

 

The ones I have, in all of them the same part (a voltage regulator) is burnt up, and the displays are vacuum fluorescent... I have ONE working one and a whole box of fried ones, but IIRC the box of fried ones is sitting in my 4x4 that I need to go get...

The ones I have, in all of them the same part (a voltage regulator) is burnt up, and the displays are vacuum fluorescent... I have ONE working one and a whole box of fried ones, but IIRC the box of fried ones is sitting in my 4x4 that I need to go get...

 

Hondasucks,

 

I have been interested in solving the problems with these regulator boards for a long time. If you are interested, and want to send me a couple of bad ones I would try to fix them up. If I was successful I would send them back to you and post what repairs needed to be done on them so others could fix their units if they wanted to. I liked the digital dash in the Soobs I used to have. None of the three cars I owned ever had a problem with the digi display.

Over Memorial Day weekend I took my spare digi dash and stuck it in my wagon. No gauges. Pulled the sucker apart and found that it had burned out in a different location from where other's had. Any thoughts on this?

 

If your picture is showing the damage I fail to see it. Everything looks ok there to me.

Looks like the PCB seperated from the board a little and a few components look like they have leaked.

Thanks very much for the help Turbone. I was concentrating on the components in the picture and not the PC board. Now I understand. The burned area is a problem. The area to the right of the damage in your circle is just some glue the factory used.

 

There looks to be at least a couple of traces along the edge of the board that have been effected by the burned board. It looks like something may have shorted the traces where the damage is. It could also be that the traces are in the middle of a shorted circuit and the resistance of the traces made that area get hot. The components on the board look ok but there may be some problem, it is hard to say just looking. Testing should be done to determine what possibly may be bad. You can cut the bad board area out and use some 30 gauge wire to bypass the bad wire trace section. Just solder each wire to the end of the traces that are in good shape. You will need to scrape the ends traces to remove the sealent over them so you can solder to them.

The traces are most likely burned because a component has failed and shorted. Look at the big transistor components (larger black three lead devices) and check them with a ohmmeter. If any two pins are less than a few ohms than it's probably bad. You can carefully desolder it and check it again and if it's still shorted than that is probably it.

 

The way to know for sure if the component is bad is to download the datasheet and check the pins for their function. Like on a BJT transistor you can check the BE and BC voltage drop with the diode test function on a multimeter.

 

The other stuff to the right looks like glue.

Thanks for all the replys. My Dad is an electical engineer by trade and said he would have no problem fixing the PCB.

 

I was more curious about what folks think about the gauges failing at a different point. Does someone else have a blown digi dash that has blown in one of the two places outlined in this thread or in a different spot?

Almost all the ones that I have seen have blown where I have pictured.

Yours is the first I've seen like that.

If there is room to install it, installing a small heatsink behind the regulator may help save the device.

Digging this up from the ubber-dead...

 

 

Has there been any updates as to reviving these EA81 digital dashes?

 

 

I think the one in my pristine 84 GL is dying.  The 55mph indicator (red lines under speedo readout) and a faint buzzing has started.

 

Digging this up from the ubber-dead...

 

 

Has there been any updates as to reviving these EA81 digital dashes?

 

 

I think the one in my pristine 84 GL is dying.  The 55mph indicator (red lines under speedo readout) and a faint buzzing has started.

 

Don't say that!!! You gave me hope in the digital dash!

I know.

 

I even did the maxima alternator swap right when I got the car.  New battery cables, extra grounds, etc.

 

Im hoping this is something different than the traditional failure.  I have found that if I push ever so slightly on the speedo  LCD readout the 55mph indicator and buzz go away.  it also goes away if you slap the dash when driving. 

 

 

Regardless, the car is parked until i sort it out.