Have Cluster Power issues? Checked the Capacitors..
#1
Have Cluster Power issues? Checked the Capacitors..
Took some troubleshooting but my cluster issues ended up being a single capacitor. When the temps are cold or freezing outside the cluster lights will flash on and off along with the chime.
Also the gauges are flaky and sometimes don't work (especially the Tach) until the electronics get warmer. On top of that the speedometer would just slightly twitch even when the car was off. The colder it is the worse the overall symptoms.
How I knew it was likely something in the cluster I'd bring it in the house on cold days, then I'd take it out put it in the car and all be well. Finally pinpointed the issue to a single capacitor.
On a cold day I took a small butane torch and waved it quickly over each cap. Sure enough I did it to one a couple times and everything came to life almost instantly. Usually in cold temps it would take up to 5 mins to start working normal.
So before spending $100+ and trying to find a cluster with the right miles check your capacitors first. You can buy a 110pc capacitor kit on Amazon for $10-$15. Some sites will just sell the capacitor you need for a couple bucks.
But it was better IMO to just buy a kit. I'd say one could have different symptoms based on which capacitor is bad. Swapped the capacitor out and haven't had a issue yet. Posting to maybe save someone the headache and some money.
Capacitor didn't show any signs of being bad (like bulging), guess it was bad due to age, may swap out the others since I bought the kit. Here is a pic of the capacitor replaced and video of some of the issues it had(you can see speedometer twitching).
Also the gauges are flaky and sometimes don't work (especially the Tach) until the electronics get warmer. On top of that the speedometer would just slightly twitch even when the car was off. The colder it is the worse the overall symptoms.
How I knew it was likely something in the cluster I'd bring it in the house on cold days, then I'd take it out put it in the car and all be well. Finally pinpointed the issue to a single capacitor.
On a cold day I took a small butane torch and waved it quickly over each cap. Sure enough I did it to one a couple times and everything came to life almost instantly. Usually in cold temps it would take up to 5 mins to start working normal.
So before spending $100+ and trying to find a cluster with the right miles check your capacitors first. You can buy a 110pc capacitor kit on Amazon for $10-$15. Some sites will just sell the capacitor you need for a couple bucks.
But it was better IMO to just buy a kit. I'd say one could have different symptoms based on which capacitor is bad. Swapped the capacitor out and haven't had a issue yet. Posting to maybe save someone the headache and some money.
Capacitor didn't show any signs of being bad (like bulging), guess it was bad due to age, may swap out the others since I bought the kit. Here is a pic of the capacitor replaced and video of some of the issues it had(you can see speedometer twitching).
Last edited by Sniperxx; 01-20-2021 at 12:41 AM.
#3
Question on Capacitor
Took some troubleshooting but my cluster issues ended up being a single capacitor. When the temps are cold or freezing outside the cluster lights will flash on and off along with the chime.
Also the gauges are flaky and sometimes don't work (especially the Tach) until the electronics get warmer. On top of that the speedometer would just slightly twitch even when the car was off. The colder it is the worse the overall symptoms.
How I knew it was likely something in the cluster I'd bring it in the house on cold days, then I'd take it out put it in the car and all be well. Finally pinpointed the issue to a single capacitor.
On a cold day I took a small butane torch and waved it quickly over each cap. Sure enough I did it to one a couple times and everything came to life almost instantly. Usually in cold temps it would take up to 5 mins to start working normal.
So before spending $100+ and trying to find a cluster with the right miles check your capacitors first. You can buy a 110pc capacitor kit on Amazon for $10-$15. Some sites will just sell the capacitor you need for a couple bucks.
But it was better IMO to just buy a kit. I'd say one could have different symptoms based on which capacitor is bad. Swapped the capacitor out and haven't had a issue yet. Posting to maybe save someone the headache and some money.
Capacitor didn't show any signs of being bad (like bulging), guess it was bad due to age, may swap out the others since I bought the kit. Here is a pic of the capacitor replaced and video of some of the issues it had(you can see speedometer twitching).
http://youtu.be/BeeGB25fld0
Also the gauges are flaky and sometimes don't work (especially the Tach) until the electronics get warmer. On top of that the speedometer would just slightly twitch even when the car was off. The colder it is the worse the overall symptoms.
How I knew it was likely something in the cluster I'd bring it in the house on cold days, then I'd take it out put it in the car and all be well. Finally pinpointed the issue to a single capacitor.
On a cold day I took a small butane torch and waved it quickly over each cap. Sure enough I did it to one a couple times and everything came to life almost instantly. Usually in cold temps it would take up to 5 mins to start working normal.
So before spending $100+ and trying to find a cluster with the right miles check your capacitors first. You can buy a 110pc capacitor kit on Amazon for $10-$15. Some sites will just sell the capacitor you need for a couple bucks.
But it was better IMO to just buy a kit. I'd say one could have different symptoms based on which capacitor is bad. Swapped the capacitor out and haven't had a issue yet. Posting to maybe save someone the headache and some money.
Capacitor didn't show any signs of being bad (like bulging), guess it was bad due to age, may swap out the others since I bought the kit. Here is a pic of the capacitor replaced and video of some of the issues it had(you can see speedometer twitching).
http://youtu.be/BeeGB25fld0
Brilliant work -- before I tear apart my dash -- you wouldn't happen to know the capactors specs -
the capacitance (ie: ,1uF or 100uF ) and the voltage raiting ie 10V 16V 25V 50V,? ( i might up them to a Mica or Glass cap since I live in Texas ,, heat here is brutal and the mica should hold up nicely. but they are costly and i would need to special order it)
Thanks again !!
db_the_DBA
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