Instrument Cluster (DIM) on the Fritz

[XC70_D5_Sweden]

After calling around to many different electronics companies who gave me 99 disclaimers and they won't be able to get to it for a week, I decided to see what damage I could cause. I am pretty good at that.

Solution: Took the soldering iron with the smallest tip I could find. I touched each lead (Qty 8) on the resistor for a few seconds. Most of the leads did turn moltent then I removed the soldering iron. That's it. I didn't want to leave it on too long and create board damage. I did not use any new solder. I didn't want to make things get messy because this resistor is unbelievably small.

Location of resistor picture is attached.

Interesting, good work! May I ask how you came to the conclusion that its mostly the RA6-resistor causing these various DIM-problems?

And second, did your soldering make any difference when testing it in the car?

[cheapo]

Closing the loop:
I took the car to the dealer and they were able to eliminate the SRS warning. The Xemodex fix is truly a fix.

[slimwils]

My 2003 xc70 has been out for ages, a couple of questions
1. will the car work/run with the dim removed?
2. seems to be that replacing with a used unit you run the risk of incurring the same problem(weak link)
3. I'm going to take mine out and send it to BBA reman, from what I have read on here they can fix the issue for under $350, right?
4. Mydriver's side turn signals and low beams do not work(I have tried all the fixes suggestions on here) any chance these are DIM related?
Thanks for everyone's inputs on here

[cheapo]

1. No.
2+3. Could be. I don't know about BBA Reman, but Xemodex provides a lifetime warranty. That's why I had mine repaired instead of trying to source a used replacement.
4. My headlights worked, but when my DIM was at it's worst, turn signals worked erratically.

[slimwils]

Cheers Cheapo, you have been a big help!
BBA Reman were unable to fix mine, so I'm on the hunt for a used replacement.
Bought used replacement from Ebay, plugged it in and, nothing, the engine light comes on and goes off when the car starts other than that, nothing else works.
Am I missing something?

[slimwils]

There's only one set of numbers matches Cheapo's
The S/No 2248 I presume I need to find a replacement with this same #, anybody know what the numbers indicate?

[billr99]

There's only one set of numbers matches Cheapo's
The S/No 2248 I presume I need to find a replacement with this same #, anybody know what the numbers indicate?

As best as I can figure the numbers indicate a part number (VCC P/No), a spare or replacement part number (Spare P/No), a software part number (S/No) and a part number for the CPU (YZK P/No).

When I replaced mine I was able to find one that had all four match. It was out of '02 V70. So same year and basic model as my '02 XC. I found some that had the same software number and/or YZK number but not the same part number. I'm thinking that if you find an exact match on the part number all the others will fall into place but that is speculation as I was not able to check very many either in person or on-line

Cheers,

Bill

[slimwils]

Update
I bought a used cluster on ebay $129, took it to the dealers, two hours labour and its working fine.
I wish I had gone this route from the get go!

[rickm]

Thanks to all those who posted suggestions.

My symptoms: 2002 XC70. DIM intermittently goes blank. All dials at zero. Odometer, etc reading extremely faint. Also get SRS warning. Sometimes pushing/pulling on the odometer trip meter reset (the black plastic rod on the lower left of the DIM) will cause it to revive.

Tried touching up leads on the main chip (Motorola) - didn't help.
Touched up leads on the voltage regulator - didn't help. Checked voltage regulator output - it gives the correct 5V with DIM ok...and with the DIM blank.

Touched up some leads on the EPSON chip under the Motorola chip (I used a fine tip soldering iron, with the tip clean, but no extra solder on it, so there are some leads on the Epson chip that I just couldn't access)
I also touched up the leads on the RA6, per Labdude's suggestion (post #17)

That did it. It's been working great for a couple of days now....

So, thanks Labdude - there are so many small components on the board that I probably would not have gone around and touched up all of them....

[sardog10]

First, I want to say a huge THANK-YOU to everyone who posted here about DIM failures. Mine went last week and without this forum I would have simply given up and gone to the dealer, who wanted $1900 (including tax) to replace it.

Here's the story: Last week I started having all of the symptoms here indicating a DIM failure. I won't go into them but they were specific enough that there was no doubt in my mind what it was.

I asked around about who would be good for electrical work on this and was referred to a local shop owner who works out of his garage. I printed out the material from here about soldering the RA6 component and he was willing to try it. It did make a little difference, in that now I was getting different instrument outages and it stayed on for ten minutes longer before failing but otherwise it was still toast.

In the end, I called Xemodex (who, incidentally, the mechanic had heard of and recommended) and arranged for the fix. I shipped the module to them by overnight, they serviced it and I had it back in my car in exactly 48 hours. It had to be shipped to and from the Seattle area. Other than the SRS warning light that I'll have to have the dealer reset, it's working perfectly.

All told, it cost me $649, including having the mechanic pull the component and reinstall, renting a car for two days, shipping the module to and from, and even having the mechanic try the soldering the first time. Well worth the money I saved!!!

Again, thank-you all so much. Had it not been for this forum, I would have had no idea how to proceed without simply going to the dealer. You saved me a lot of money I didn't have to begin with!