electronic navigator in 1987 lebaron displays time only

I owned a 1987 LeBaron GTS that had that "trip computer" option. The keys used a rubber membrane keypad type switch underneath that made contact with the copper circuit paths. They had a tendency to get gummed up and the conductive material attached to the rubber membrane just plain wore away.

My unit lasted about 6 years before I had problems with the keys I used to use all the time (miles driven, MPG, elapsed time, etc. I was able to open the front and remove and clean the pads with electrical contact cleaner. I then used conductive epoxy to recoat the pads. This fix lasted the remaining 3.5 years that I owned the vehicle.

My guess is you have the same situation. Remove the unit, open it carefully, then take a look at the contacts for the buttons. If you have a

12VDC power supply, you can "simulate depressing buttons by shorting out across the paths on the circuit board using anything conductive. If this works, then you will know what the problem is and how you may be able to fix it. Good luck

Bob

thanks, I'll give it a shot. I, too, have the 1987 GTS, its a great car.

I loved that car ...

that seems to be the problem. Did you need a soldering iron to get those switches off?

No soldering involved as I recall.

It has been about 12 years, but if memory serves me correctly, I was able to open everything up with a simple screwdriver once I had the entire unit out and on my work bench. Be careful though when you open the front panel as I also seem to recall there were some small plastic parts associated with the buttons that you do not want to lose. This was not a difficult job. If you do not have any chemical electrical contact cleaner, then you can wipe down the PCB conductor paths with a soft rag to get as much junk off as possible, then use a pink pencil type eraser to clean them up from there to get them shiny again.

The only caution here is with the rubber membrane conductor that is screen printed on the rubber. Try to see if just cleaning the copper contacts works first before doing anything there as this wears off very easily. Since mine were shot, I cleaned with 100% isopropyl alcohol and then painted each section with the conductive epoxy. I used stuff made for fixing rear window defoggers available at the auto parts store. You may find something that works better. I was always worried it would come off and stop working, but I was lucky and it seemed to hold up well for the remaining years I owned the vehicle.

Good luck and post your results.

Bob

You're a genius, Bob, that worked perfectly. All the features of the navigator are up and running. I pulled off the cover for the speedo-guage cover to see if the non-functioning switches for the trip and trip reset were of the same style. They were, and after trying your solution, they are working great. Thanks so much, its great to have all that stuff working.

Glad I could help. Thanks for letting me know it worked.

I have gotten so much great help from the people in this newsgroup over the last 10 or more years ... it is nice to return a favor now and again.

Bob