I have a MACH radio that the display does not illuminate. I have researched on the web and found some posting that the problem is due to some bad solder connection on a power supply inside the radio that is dedicated to the display. Can anyone post the specific components that are in question. I found an older post that listed some components on the display power supply, but I am not 100% sure that these are the one's that need repair. I have attempted to fix the soldering on them, but I still can not get the display to work. The display did turn on one day for about an hour, but then went back out and has been out ever since. I suspect that the components that I resoldered were not the correct one's. I have been working on a lot of other connections, but I am doubting the whole thing now. I am considering buying a new power supply from one of the mentioned sites. Any "free" advice or help would be appreciated.
~Thanks!
P.S. I have found out that you can completely remove the display power supply from the radio and the radio/CD still fully functions. If anyone is looking to replace the power supply, you don't have to lose use of your radio while you have parts on order. :)
Your "lucky." My display went out one week and my power antenna quit going up and down the next week. 98 Limited w/78,000 miles. I have not decided on what fix to try first on the display, but it's not going to be a new radio from Ford. How do you spell Denali, Trailblazer, or Dodge???
Make it easy on yourself and just get an aftermarket radio. That's what I did. I even got the sub to work. Although I'm still looking for the component that allows me to still use the buttons on the steering wheel. Best Buy stopped selling them. Hope it helps
Not really. That was frustration talking. I have gone thru a variety of the problems that seem to plague this car. That is why I use this news group, to see if my problems are common. So far, I am right on track. Right after the 36 mo warranty ran out, I had the famous "Blend Door" problem. About $900 at the stealer to get that fixed, and of course Ford never heard of these going bad before mine! The first of the year my "Check Mr. Engine " light came on. Oxygen sensor. Ed at the shop I get my work done told me then that when one goes, the rest start cascading in. He was right, plus the Mass Air Flow sensor went. $$$$$$$$. I have had to replace all of them. Then the antenna motor, then the display. I think it is time to trade, but it's kind of hard to trade or sell a car when some of the stuff does not work.
hasarrows pointing out where to resolder. Save it and zoom in if necessary.Here's some add'l info from the original page:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~From D. Harrison:
"On the bottom of the board look for surface mount components R1057/C1071/R1058/C1083/R1064."
"The fix that worked for me was to re-molten the solder for each end of these surface mount components. Be very careful if you try this, as a big soldering iron, or a lot of heat will destroy the components and board."
"Use solder wick if you are going to be removing and replacing solder (looks like flattened braided copper wire that you heat on the solder with your solder iron if you want to remove the solder)...a solder sucker just won't do the trick."
"Finally, be very careful when dabbing the solder joints of the surface mount components...sometimes it may take a few seconds to get the solder to melt on a component connection and before you know it, the whole component is unsoldered on both ends and floating on the board."
"I will say that my first fix lasted 1 week and it went out. Then I was able to get it fixed again by using solder wick and sucking away solder and putting some new solder on the joints (any of the joints on that supply board that I thought could use it). This fix lasted about 1 hour. Finally, I had to do it again and this time I reversed the connections on the wire harness between the power supply board and the panel (what had been connected to the panel, I connected to the power supply board, and what had been on the power supply board I connected to the panel board...my connector had ended up getting crushed in one of my repair attempts, so it was questionable condition). After doing all this, I now have the display up and running again (knock on wood)...it's been running now for about 3 weeks." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Homer:
"I had previous repaired two radios. The Solder joint in question was resistor near middle of board at 10 or 11 o'clock from IC1051 (middle of board) per your last picture of power supply board. The problem areas are general opposite the two watt resistors on the top side of board. One other fix I would also recommend is to move the two watt resistors off the PCB as much as possible. This keeps the board from heating up. You may have noticed the dis-coloration of silkscreen on the bottom side opposite the two watt resistors." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Steve:
"Well, I decided to give it one more shot. Went to Radio Schack and got a real fine pointed soldering iron (the one I had had a chisel tip that was bit too large), got some solder wick (tried to use a solder sucker before, but it didn't really work too well), and one of them thing-a-ma-jigs that holds your work for you with a couple of adjustable alligator clips and has a magnifiying glass attached (those surface-mounted components are tiny). Cost me a total of $25. I de-soldered and re-soldered every surface-mounted devices (except the IC) on that back side of the board, AND reversed the wire harness as you suggested. I moved the two-watt resistors on the other side of the board away from the board so there's between 1/16 and 1/8 inch clearance between them and the board, and re-soldered them all. I looked at every solder connection on the board with the magnifying glass under good light, including the components mounted on the other side, and re-soldered every joint that looked the slightest bit dull. Buttoned everything up, put the unit back in the Explorer, and the display works like a champ! Now, we'll have to see if it lasts."
Does anyone have any photos and or info on this. I've seen an advertisement for a "fix", but I can't see paying $20 for a fix that we shouldn't have to be making anyways. -VIGILANTE
True. I did the same research, tried the repair twice myself --unsuccessfully-- and finally took the radio to a local car radio repair shop (the only one I could find in Houston that actually takes radios apart and fixes things) that fixed it in 25 minutes for $125. It's been fine ever since.
And if you look at the very last photo on the railroadclocks page, at the bottom edge of that board, toward the left side, are 5 resistors/caps lined up vertically side-by-side. The $20 $hareamemory $ite pinpointed those as culprits. Resolder them too.
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