[Unreal]

I had an extra ATC head on which the display was totally dead. I knew it had something to do with dry soldering. Finally got a chance today to take it apart and inspect it with my magnifying glass (lol). Anywho, as suspected I found dry soldering on the voltage regulator and three resistors as seen in the pics, re-soldered the affected components and no more blank display. Though I'd share it with you guys/gals since I seen people complain about dead display on their ATC controls. Here take a look:
*Sorry forgot to take before pic of the resistors*

 

[00RT]

Thanks for the info Phil! I was planning to pull my old one apart during my winter break to take a look at it. I bought a replacement from Ross a few months ago just because I didn't want to be without one in case I couldn't fix it. It will be good to have a working backup though.

 

[Dodgaholic]

Excellent post. I don't have ATC, but this could be a lifesaver (and money saver) for those that do. +rep

 

[hardwareguy]

+ rep!

This seems to be a common problem on some boards in our cars...... anyone remember the radio display problems on the first gens?

 

[Unreal]

Thanks guys!!

 

[Chief Brody]

Nice work!

Sorry I can't rep you again right now.

 

[atlas000]

Had lost my display altogether, and after seeing this thread I went ahead and tried the tip. I put solder on the right side of R14 and the whole resistor lifted up! Soldered both ends down tight and the display works fine now!

 

[srozzman]

ha when mine goes out, i punch it lightly and it turns back on! same concept though

 

[Jdnet]

ha when mine goes out, i punch it lightly and it turns back on! same concept though

How is soldering something and punching it the same concept?

 

[srozzman]

the force of the punch moves the pins into contact with the solder points again, thus completing the circuit.

 

[beeblebrox82]

How is soldering something and punching it the same concept?

LMAO.


Incidentally. I am also in the "punching" phase of repair on my ATC. Sometime I have to pull it apart and move on to phase two.

 

[MALIKTHEDON]

Great Post!!!, I just fixed the one in the Concorde.

 

[beeblebrox82]

Hey, I'm doing the fix on this for mine right now, and for the life of me I can not get the fan sped knob off. It's supposed to just pull off right?

 

[scarce911]

Mine goes out from time to time but I just move the harness a little and it fixes it.. I replaced the harness with one from a local yard..and still happens..so I'm assuming I have bad solder where my harness connects to the board.. I have my ATC sitting on the seat (extended wiring for a future project).

Hey, I'm doing the fix on this for mine right now, and for the life of me I can not get the fan sped knob off. It's supposed to just pull off right?

Maybe it was punched too hard lol.... yes it should slide right off fairly easy

 

[beeblebrox82]

Maybe it was punched too hard lol.... yes it should slide right off fairly easy

Hah. I said some less than endearing things about it's mother and then gave it an almighty heave and it finally broke loose. Odd.

Anyway, soldered the 3 resisters and now the display is on again. Another satisfied customer!!

 

[scarce911]

Hah. I said some less than endearing things about it's mother and then gave it an almighty heave and it finally broke loose. Odd.

Anyway, soldered the 3 resisters and now the display is on again. Another satisfied customer!!

Sometimes they need cursed !! .. sounds like you had a little adrenalin rush lol

Unreal....did you just reheat the solder/pins on the board..or did you remove and replace with new solder.. or just add a little?

 

[intrepid_man]

:rofl:some factory worker was laughing his head off when he put a dab of glue on it just before he installed it on ur car j/k

 

[firechicken]

This is a great thread. I just fixed the ATC in my buddy's 98 Concorde using the info from here. All 3 resistors had bad solder joints, and one leg of the voltage regulator had a bad joint. Like the other poster said, as soon as I began to resolder one side of one of the resistors it came right off as the other side had a bad solder joint too. I soldered the 3 resistors and the one leg of the volt reg on it and it works perfectly now.

The solder joint looked fine at first, but, under careful, close, examination, with the aid of a hand lens, you could see the tiny gap between the solder and the resistor.

I bought a spare ATC just to be safe, as who knows how long the little fan motor will hold out, or some other component, but it is great to know that I have fixed the original.

 

[stroise]

great post of the soldering job. I have 5 used ones for the 1st gen corde that i got from the boneyard. All backup units. i had to clean and solder alot of the cold solder joints. Certain ones the rear defroster wouldnt work or lights werent lighting up.

 

[reallunacy]

Very useful. Now I just need an ATC to do it on. lol