[Ray Green]

It's on my '96 GC. For a couple years now occasionally the gauges (temp, speedo, fuel) wouldn't work nor the odometer so I'd smack the dash. I've read about the loose solder points but don't know where to look.

Today I had to hit it really hard to make stuff work, then after about 4 miles the temp & fuel quit and the speedo drifted way past 120!

Where do I start? New IP?

 

[valiant67]

There are good images here somewhere of this. Found them, here they are:
http://www.allpar.com/model/m/repairs/3G-cluster.html
Or you can replace the cluster.

 

[Ray Green]

Valiant, excellent information. Thank you.

 

[Varkguy]

Reflow all the connector solder joints regardless if you can see obvious cracks or not. Some can be tiny.

 

[Ray Green]

Reflow all the connector sodler joints regardless if you can see obvious cracks or not. Some can be tiny.

I hope I can do that. My experience with a soldering iron is limited although I'm well aware of how the process goes. What concerns me is achieving the proper temperature to secure the connection without burning something else up!

 

[Varkguy]

Use a tip narrow enough to touch only one solder point at a time. Let your iron get good and hot. If you touch the tip with a piece of solder and the solder readily melts, the iron is ready to use. Shouldn't have to touch each point for more than a second or two. Good luck.

 

[Ray Green]

Use a tip narrow enough to touch only one solder point at a time. Let your iron get good and hot. If you touch the tip with a piece of solder and the solder readily melts, the iron is ready to use. Shouldn't have to touch each point for more than a second or two. Good luck.

Ok .... so you don't really need to add solder, just remelt what's already there? I'm sure visual inspection may turn up a joint or two that needs more though.

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

I would use a little bit of fresh solder, just to help things along. Just a quick touch with it while the iron's on the joint. Especially on the ground pin, where more heat is required.

 

[Varkguy]

Ok .... so you don't really need to add solder, just remelt what's already there? I'm sure visual inspection may turn up a joint or two that needs more though.

Only if you absolutely need it. Adding solder can get ugly if you haven't had much experience with soldering. If you decide you need to add some and you're inexperinced, practice on something else first.