George B
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Bummer. Fixable?
Rocket Man's 2008 Bagged CC Silverado Build AKA "THE MACHINE"
- Thread starter Rocket Man
- Start date
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OP
OP
Nah it’s not flux paste. I used to be an electronics tech, repairing Chrysler Electronics at component level on clusters, stereos, etc just like this board. They’re coated in clear after they’re originally assembled, after cleaning any remnants of manufacturing like flux paste. If they’re ever reworked, that clear is removed in the repaired area but it’s obvious. In that case, if the repair facility is sloppy and doesn’t clean the board there may be paste residue. Not the case here. If you look close at this you can see the traces as tiny lines and the ones in the area of that connector are a dark brown, burnt color. They don’t appear to be on either side of the board so they must be in the center. But anyway… yeah voltage applied to the wrong pins most likely burned SOMETHING for sure. I’m hoping all the BCM outputs still work but from what I can see with the Tech2 it’s good. I do have a new one sitting on my bench in case. If I don’t need it I’ll return it to Amazon warehouse. That might be awhile, LKQ is slow af to ship things so who knows when that cluster will come. Lol, I don’t remember how much fuel was in the truck…
OP
OP
I doubt it. I would need the schematic to even try. I ordered another cluster for $115 but I’ll still need to send it out to have the mileage programmed.
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The Tech 2 might tell you; it does on my '04.
OP
OP
I think you’re right, thanks!
OP
OP
First off, the tech2 will only tell you the fuel level if your cluster is working, the menu for that is under instrument cluster and if you have no communication with it, no fuel level.
But I wasn't driving it anyway. So today I got the new used cluster. I plugged it in, nothing. damn. I started thinking maybe the BCM was damaged after all. I have a new one here ready. But I decided to see if it was a ground issue. I had checked battery and accessory power but not ground. so i rigged up a jumper and stripped a bit of the insulation from the ground wire at the cluster band connected it. Still nothing. Then I was checking the power at the connector at the back of the cluster and suddenly the acc power went away. I looked closer and the wire going to that pin was only held on by the plastic insulation. I tugged it and it came right off. AHA! It must have been making contact when I pushed the test light in and when I wasn’t pushing in it, nothing.
The new cluster had come with the original style connector and I really wanted that type of connector anyway so I replaced the one that could go on backwards with the correct, keyed one that locks in place. That took awhile but I got it done and checked to see if the cluster worked now. success! then I checked the original cluster that has the correct mileage. Success! I was winning but I kept thinking something is gonna go wrong, remember @iamdub nicknamed the truck 'the period" because it's an emotional rollercoaster. But it was going soooo good. I swapped out the bezel because my original was pretty messed up and the clear part of the lens had a crack that always bothered me. I went to put it in and found out I needed to trim part of that bezel for it to fit. Done. then I went to screw it into place and it wasn't going back in the hole far enough. It was the new connector- it sticks way out. But it looked like plastic that I can just trim out of the way so out comes the Dremel again. Cut the plastic out and...it's metal behind that. I tried it again but it's still not fitting. So now I have the decision to make- try to cut or smash that metal back or replace the plug with the ****** one. I had to quit, the roller coaster caught up with me.
But I wasn't driving it anyway. So today I got the new used cluster. I plugged it in, nothing. damn. I started thinking maybe the BCM was damaged after all. I have a new one here ready. But I decided to see if it was a ground issue. I had checked battery and accessory power but not ground. so i rigged up a jumper and stripped a bit of the insulation from the ground wire at the cluster band connected it. Still nothing. Then I was checking the power at the connector at the back of the cluster and suddenly the acc power went away. I looked closer and the wire going to that pin was only held on by the plastic insulation. I tugged it and it came right off. AHA! It must have been making contact when I pushed the test light in and when I wasn’t pushing in it, nothing.
The new cluster had come with the original style connector and I really wanted that type of connector anyway so I replaced the one that could go on backwards with the correct, keyed one that locks in place. That took awhile but I got it done and checked to see if the cluster worked now. success! then I checked the original cluster that has the correct mileage. Success! I was winning but I kept thinking something is gonna go wrong, remember @iamdub nicknamed the truck 'the period" because it's an emotional rollercoaster. But it was going soooo good. I swapped out the bezel because my original was pretty messed up and the clear part of the lens had a crack that always bothered me. I went to put it in and found out I needed to trim part of that bezel for it to fit. Done. then I went to screw it into place and it wasn't going back in the hole far enough. It was the new connector- it sticks way out. But it looked like plastic that I can just trim out of the way so out comes the Dremel again. Cut the plastic out and...it's metal behind that. I tried it again but it's still not fitting. So now I have the decision to make- try to cut or smash that metal back or replace the plug with the ****** one. I had to quit, the roller coaster caught up with me.
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iamdub
Full Access Member
It's just not your time of the month, bro.
Oh, and I vote to trim the metal. With your luck, you'd eff up the connector or pins or SOMETHING much more tedious and expensive to fix than notching out some metal. Or, is it that round metal tube that it's hitting?
OP
OP
Yep it's that round thick walled stuff. But I have an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. It's too much for the Dremel. I'll look tomorrow, I also have an air powered die grinder that might work. But yeah, reworking that connector again...I don't even know if I have any more pins for it. If there's something in the way, I've always found a way to remove it. I just got frustrated.
iamdub
Full Access Member
You're retired- you'll get it tomorrow. Or the next. There's many times I wished I could've just stepped back from a project gone sideways and approached it later with a calmer mindset. I'm often in a time crunch. This usually just fuels that snowball.
OP
OP
Exactly. I always have to make myself step back even when I have time. Otherwise I’ll just keep plowing ahead even if I need to redirect myself down another path. Which usually ends with me getting pissed off and failing or doing something I’m not happy with later and I always end up redoing it anyway.
So I was thinking and due to the tight area at the back of that dash hole I think I’ll drill holes all around the perimeter, making each one join with the one next to it and remove the rectangle that way, and then use my die grinder to clean up the edges. I have done that with aluminum a lot at work, cutting door hinges into storefront frames in the field. Those had to be perfect, and it was nice flat soft aluminum, but I’m sure I can do an acceptable job on this slightly rounded steel.
So I was thinking and due to the tight area at the back of that dash hole I think I’ll drill holes all around the perimeter, making each one join with the one next to it and remove the rectangle that way, and then use my die grinder to clean up the edges. I have done that with aluminum a lot at work, cutting door hinges into storefront frames in the field. Those had to be perfect, and it was nice flat soft aluminum, but I’m sure I can do an acceptable job on this slightly rounded steel.
