Overhead Compass/Temp Fix

After 13 years, my temp display would go in and out. I mashed down on the 510 resistors and just heated up the existing solder and so far all is well.

Many thanks to Tacoma World and to misc for this thread.

 

Just did this fix over the weekend. Never done any soldering before but this turned out to be a very easy fix.

 

Thanks so much for the tip. Just what was required to fix my compass. Greatly appreciate the post!

 

I went to take down my console and noticed the screw above the sunglass holder is missing. Any idea what type of screw I can replace it with without damaging the threads?

 

I just did this fix on a new-to-me '05. One of the 510's was rattling around loose in the console when I took it off. A little solder and it worked like a charm.
@Tacochan I didn't look that close at the screw but I think it was pretty coarse on the threads. My console snaps in pretty snug—maybe you're ok without it?

 

If you have a 2005-2008 Tacoma, you can purchase a OEM Toyota upgraded module to permanently fix this problem. I installed this in 2016, and it's still going strong.

$161 2005-2008 Toyota Tacoma Temperature and Direction Display! NEW OEM UPDATED PART!

https://www.amazon.com/2005-2008-To...tacoma+overhead+console&qid=1578515687&sr=8-2

 

Good idea if you don’t want to try to fix it yourself. But for the same price, I could fix it over 1700 times myself.

 

I fixed mine a few times, but the circuit board was getting a little worn out. (Guess I'm not the best with a solder gun...lol) I thought there must be a better solution, and this was it. Best of all, it's a very reasonably priced Toyota product.

I bought my overhead console off Ebay because Toyota didn't offer that in the 2008 X-Runners. I knew about the problem before I bought it, and also saw descriptions of home repairs. There were other repair options, such as buying a new overhead console from Toyota (~$1,000?), or shipping it off to someone to do another "temp" repair, but they would end up being more than the Toyota replacement module in the long run. In the end there was only two options, keep fixing it myself or buy the Toyota module.

Lets just say I haven't been the least bit disappointed in my decision.

 

I purchased from this exact link a month ago and the part I received already had a burnt screen and would not turn on. Dealing with Amazon returns for a replacement now. Your mileage will hopefully vary.

 

New truck, first post. Thanks for this fix TW.

 

Compass has never worked on my '09.

I popped it out today, but hastily I had my soldering gun to hot and burnt the board. I am going to replace the resistors, but help me understand the layout.



That correct?

 

See the post right above yours for layout

 

I saw the post. My board is a tad different than his and want to confirm.

 

Not sure on the layout, but you know those are 51 ohm resistors, right? It won’t work if you put 510 ohm resistors in there.

 

Yes, correct. I just labeled them as shown on the board. I miss not having a radio shack anymore. I went to order some resistors, but they ship from China and I don't think that's the way to go these days.

 

https://www.mouser.com/

https://www.digikey.com/

 

Decided to take the plunge and try my soldering skills. Made sure to use 40/60 electronic solder with flux/rosin core. Also was able to scratch the old 510 smd resistors off with no effort, one was standing at an angle.

Made sure to touch the soldering iron on the old solder traces on the board until they turned bright. Forgot to take pics. Then take the solder wire and solder iron to melt a drop of solder on to the old solder traces. Then bend the new resistor leads to fit the position of the old solder traces. Hold the resistor lead on the old solder traces with the tip of the solder iron until the solder flows. Makes for a neater solder job.

Was able to find and use 47 ohm resistors at TriTek Electronic in Phoenix, also found 51 ohm at Circuit Specialists in Phx, but was leery that they didn't have the correct colour bands.

https://www.tritekelectronics.com/

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/



Tada, success. Thx OP. Ooops just noticed the resistors are swapped opposite, still working tho.

 

Resistors aren't polarity sensitive, so the only thing affected would be a sense of OCD. Nice neat soldering job though.

 

Very clean. Good job.

 

Thanks for the post, The pics didn't come up but the verbiage was perfect. Took me longer to find the right Torx bit then it did to do the whole repair.