instrument cluster capacitor help?

[gregoner]

whats up just wondering if some one can help me out ,, i have an instrument cluster on my car that the mileage would turn on and off,, for a few weeks, now its completely off, so i opened it, and was wondering if it could be the capacitor but the capacitor look fine,, the brand is nichicon 16 v 1000 uf, it has 3 of these in a row,, just wondering if this could still be the problem even thou the caps dont show any signs of being bad?? the car is a 2006

[sofTest]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

Yes, capacitors can be bad without any visual signs. High ESR, shorted and open capacitors usually don't show any visual signs of defects, and you would need meters to identify them.

Nichicon produced HM and HN series capacitors with (now) known defects in the years just before your car was produced. If those capacitors made its way in to your instrument cluster, one had to know the date code and series of your capacitors. The date code is usually a four digit number, denoting week and year of manufacturing. If you could give us all markings on your capacitors, someone can give you an answer if your capacitors is among the those probably bad.

[gregoner]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

hey thanks for the reply,,, it reads 1000 uf ug 16v then under that its reads
h0606,,theres 3 nichicons in a row that read this,, then theres a little one to the side, that im gueesing its a nichicons aswell but isnt labeled with the brand it just reads 02 100 25 v, im guessin i should change this one aswell?

[sofTest]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

It doesn't look your capacitors are from the bad series, so it's hard to say if they are (probable) bad or not without testing them. They are manufactured manufactured in week 6 of 2006 btw. If you are replacing capacitors without testing them, you might as well replace them all, because you wouldn't know which one(s) that causing the problem.

As for your problem, have you checked your board for bad/cracked solder joints and traces? Things coming and going might indicate a bad contact somewhere, so you might want to take a magnifier to your board.

[kc8adu]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

post make and model with some pics.just did a gm cluster that had overheated resistors that fell off the board.they fed the heaters of the vfd in the odo.

[gregoner]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

hey thanks for both replys,,, well its an 06 crown vic ,i checked for cracks even thou im not to familar with that, but ill check again tomorrow, but everything seemed fine,, and i dont see any resistors missing, can it be a failed resistors? is there a way to check that? well thanks for any more info i will post pics tomorrow,,

[steve2]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

Gregoner, is this the only problem with the instrument cluster? No abs light on or any other lights on or off that shouldn't be.

[gregoner]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

yea the mileage indicator,,would go on and off until it stop working completely or sometimes when i would start the car, it wouldnt turn on until after 30 minutes, now its completely off and the gas indicator also not working

[steve2]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

I can't find any wiring diagrams for this. If you can't get a cluster from a junkyard to try before you buy, does it do anything when you tap on the cluster (broken solder)? This seems more like a bad connection at a abs, pcm connector, since it slowly got worse. I would check the fuse's (key off and on) to see if one has low voltage. Or if you have a repair manual with wiring diagrams that you could post the instrument cluster page.

[Chaosmaker]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

Hi all,

I'm recapping my 1993 Lexus' LS400 ECU and instrument cluster.

I was able to identify all the radial electrolytics but I can't find the manufacturer nor the serie of the chip type capacitors.

The capacitance and the voltage is clearly displayed, and there is an additional information:

1μF 50v (Ø4mm) --> 2DB or 20B

4,7μF 25v (Ø4mm) --> 33B

10μF 16v (Ø4mm) -->33I

10μF 50v (Ø6.2mm) -->33A

47μF 16v (Ø6.2mm) --> 33A



I checked the Nichicon, Nippon Chemi-con and Panasonic sites (the brands that supplied the radial caps) , - current and obsolete sections - and I was unable to find any information about that.

I guess these are aluminium electrolytics, not polymers, and I'd like to know if they are normal or low ESR so that I can choose the replacement ones that could be:

If they are standard: the Chemi-con MVE (standard) or Nichicon WT
In case they are Low-ESR: Chemi-con MVY Nichicon WG

So did you even see this serie of capacitor? Can you identify them? Thank you!

[stj]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

if possible, you should replace them with something solid like tantalum, niobium or polymer.
you may even get away with ceramics if the voltage is not too high.

[Chaosmaker]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

Thank you for your input

Is the lower ESR of the tantalum/polymer an issue?

[stj]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

unlikely.

[Chaosmaker]

Re: instrument cluster capacitor help?

unlikely.

Thank you

I checked the major brands catalogues, and I see the polymer don't go as high as 50V.

The Tantalum (SMD) are better in this matter and the size is correct, but I'm concerned by the fire hazard in the car.

I think I'll stick with electrolyte capacitors (MVY or WG). The genuine ones lasted for 20 years in my hot environment (similar to the California's climate), and I'm comfortable thinking that I'll need to change them in other 20 years