Overhead Compass/Temp Fix

Black mark on screen: see below my post.

Try soldering the 51 ohm resistors anyway.Hairline cracks in the solder are enough to open the circuit.

 

I've seen that black "burnt" mark on all that I've repaired. It doesn't affect the screens operation at all. Just try to re solder the joints anyway even if they look perfect. Like mentioned above...a hairline crack makes a world of difference with solder.

 

Yeah mine has the burn mark on the screen too, I went ahead & soldered it anyways since I had already had it out and it worked, so it's worth a shot to try the fix. Good luck.

 

After putting up with an inoperable temp. display/compass for quite some time, and fearful of taking it to the dealer, I read your posting and decided to take a look at the circuit board. Thanks for the detailed step-by-step instructions, as well as the pic of the circuit board. Especially helpful was the advice on delicately handling the plastic clips so they would not snap. Sure enough, the solder bead along one 510 resister was burnt (yellowish), so I laid a piece of solder along the length of the connection (and I'm no soldering artist). While I was skeptical that was all that was wrong, much to my surprise, the unit now works! I would also note that the LED display does have a burn mark in the upper left hand corner, as has been reported by others in this thread. Thanks, again. Without such explicit instructions, I would have never attempted this fix, which turned out to be pretty easy. No telling what the dealer would have charged to replace the circuit board--you know they would not have soldered it!

 

Here's a video I made yesterday on how to pop off the clamshell without breaking any tabs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6zwzOQxHkc

DIYFool, the burn mark on the display is there by design; these are called vacuum fluorescent displays, and the dark spot is where oxygen was removed by oxidizing the inner material.

Permanent repair of your Toyota Tacoma accessory meter overhead display

 

It's a Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD), and that mark is not a burn mark, it is an artifact of the manufacturing process.

 

Anybody have issues with the temp being wrong after the fix? I know it's cold here in Monterey but its surely not 20 degrees F. Or maybe it is and I need to calibrate myself...

BTW, great write up and simple fix. I put it off thinking it would be more of a PITA, I didn't know the whole fix would take ten minutes!

Cheers,
SP

 

thanks so much for that info. i will give it a try. mines been out for two yrs.
dealer wanted over $900.00. so i just thought i'd have to settle for it not working!

 

THANKS FOR THE INFO. ON THE REPAIR PROCEDURE. I'LL GIVE IT A TRY. MINES BEEN INOP. FOR A COUPLE OF YRS. NOW! THOUGHT I'D NEVER GET A NEW ONE...$900.00+ THATS ROBBERY!!!

 

-The temp gauge will calibrate itself after a few days. It will be off kilter, especially if the temps are different from when you removed the display vs re-installing it. Also, make sure it is reading Fahrenheit as opposed to Celsius if that is what you are used to.

 

Yup, it calibrated itself, as you said. I checked it yesterday, it was good, I was just too lazy to edit my post or update. Thanks for the reply. This was a GREAT fix!

Cheers,
SP

 

awesome post thanks for this quick fix. i wouldve never caught them sticking up

 

HEADS UP GUYS!!!

I know its been mentioned before but...my 510 resistors looked PERFECT. I was convinced it was something else. I went ahead and soldered all four edges anyway. Put it back together and the damn thing started working!!! Awesome fix!!!

 

You can't always see the crack along the edge of the 510's but it is best to solder ALL of them on each side.

 

What a sense of satisfaction this was! And a relief! Done and done

 

I read this thread about a year ago and the display went out on my 2007 Taco this week. My son and I completed the repair in about 10 minutes!

Many thanks!

 

Just re-soldered mine this weekend! Works like a champ now! Thanks everyone.

 

Finally got a chance to do this fix.
About 10 min later, done!
Worked great

 

Mine just went out tonight. First place I went to is here to see what the problem was. Mine right now is fading in and out, sometime not working sometimes does. So Im going to try this this weekend. I also looked this up on youtube to see if someone had step by step. And there is. Just searched Toyota Tacoma compass/temp fix. And there it was a video. Seems pretty easy. Thanks everybody!

 

Wow, i should have known there would be a post on this here. Have to thank Buzzbuddy for posting seconds before i went to the homepage to read the most recent threads... otherwise i would have just been frustrated with my stupid compass and kept trying to hit it till i broke my hand or the damn thing. gonna fix mine tomorrow at work, good use for the outlet in the bed to heat up my soldering iron.