D.I.Y. A/C panel fix

[A_J]

As most of you know, our A/C panels will fail sooner or later.
Here's an easy to follow guide how to fix it.

I ordered my spare parts from farnell.com at about 10US$:

First, take out the two small phillips screws on each side of the front panel, then pry off the tabs and remove front panel:

Then unscrew the screw on the back to remove the circuit board from the casing:

Disconnect the two connectors for the front panel:

Then you should have the circuit board ready for inspection:

I marked the leaky cap's with red marker, but I ended up changing all as i expect them to start leaking soon anyway:

As you see, some of them had been leaking quite bad for a while and had started to etch on the circuit board:

When you have changed the cap's, reverse the disassembly process and test it in your car :smile:

Hope this helps.

 

[Bram]

This excellent information, can you post a listing of the parts that you ordered.

This list should include the quantity and the values for each capacity that one would need to do the job.


Bram

 

[pgilliam1]

:frown: I just paid $180US to have this done. Wish I had this info before! Are the caps the only components that usually go bad on these boards?

 

[BTL3.0]

^^ i know it..anyway, atleast it'll be a lifetime warranty on it..assuming u send it to BrianK, which i did..

but to the OP..nice write up..can you post the part number for the caps and what you ordered? cause i'm sure most of us don't know what to order from the website..

 

[goldNSX]

Changing the caps is only half of the job.

 

[ftuhy]

Changing the caps is only half of the job.

Ok, what's the other half, besides removing and re-installing the unit?

A_J,

Good job using an anti-static mat & wrist strap. I notice you used solder-wick to remove the old components. Would a solder-sucker work as well, or is there something unique about those PCBs?

Any progress on the parts list? Having that ahead of time makes this an "out & in the same day" job.

 

[goldNSX]

Ok, what's the other half, besides removing and re-installing the unit?

Repair the broken traces. This can be tough if you only have a broken board and not a second one to check where the traces went to. The caps are changed quicklier than retracing.

 

[Miner]

I'm all about DIY, but Micro-Minature Repair where my abilities are exceeded, because of issues about traces, etc. Hence I send the board off to people like BrianK.

Miner

 

[A_J]

1 ea https://no.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=1136250
1 ea https://no.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=1136317
1 ea https://no.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=1136301
1 ea https://no.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=1136299
1 ea https://no.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=1136305
1 ea https://no.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=1136278
5 ea https://no.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=1136308

And 3 or 4 more that I didnt find in farnell's catalog. I'll check what values they were and post it here as well.

 

[Briank]

Looking at the pictures your board needs more then just cap replacement. :wink:

Here in the states use I use DigiKey for capacitors and I buy a lot of them.