DIY guide Toyota Tacoma compass display:
Notice
Warning! Danger, Will Robinson. Before you embark on this project, understand there are basically two potential outcomes: 1.) you permanently repair your display 2.) you permanently destroy your display. This is not meant to scare or an attempt to get you to purchase a repair; it is simply the truth. Be careful, take your time, and prior to powering up your board always use a magnifying glass to inspect for shorted solder blobs, etc. Your solder should *only* touch the 4 resistor pads, nothing else.Pulling the display console down:
Removing the clear plastic cover:
-use a small flathead screwdriver or knife to carefully pry up each clip, bumping each one slightly over the edge until all are released. Don’t try to pull the cover off until *ALL four clips* are released, otherwise they will often break.
Soldering tips:
-Don’t use a gun style iron w/ trigger. These are too powerful, bulky, and generally don’t have a suitable tip. Get an inexpensive pencil style iron like this Weller kit.
-Stands are nice, and usually have built in sponges. Example.
-Or, get the combo package…this is a great one.
-Always keep the tip shiny with no hanging solder drops. Use tip cleaner and/or damp sponge to keep it that way…do this often.
-Don’t use lead-free (RoHS) solder, silver solder, or acid core, use 60/40 flux core (or 60/40 and preflux).
-Take lots of breaks, and look up frequently to focus your eyes on faraway objects. It is likely that you aren’t used to working with small parts up close, and it can be frustrating. Take a break and come back later.
-If your hands are shaky, go drink a beer; it will help. Caffeine and sugar won’t.
-Don’t put solder on the iron to transfer to the work. The iron’s purpose is the heat up the *part* so that solder will flow.
-Your work should be bright and shiny when done, like a little bit of the liquid metal bad guy from Terminator II is holding your resistors on the board.
-Be aware of your iron. Don’t melt the plastic on your power button or cover clips. Don’t drop solder onto the board in random places; if you do, make sure to remove it.
-Put some solder on the resistor pads before soldering in the new lead wires. You should then have 4 shiny little bumps. You can use these to ‘tack’ the lead wires to by heating up the pad/wire with your iron. Once one lead is tacked, fully solder the other end, then come back and finish the job.
General tips and recommendations:
-Use new components! Go to Radio Shack or similar and get a couple 51 ohm lead wire(axial) resistors. 47 ohm will work, too. See the image below for the color code. The last band can be gold or silver. I recommend 1/4 watt, as the leads are smaller gauge and easier to work with.
The resistors are in parallel, so you can lay the leads against each other and solder to the board. *NOTE* these resistor values are for Tacomas; other vehicles may vary. See the not-so-clear images below for guidance.
-If you use your old original SMT resistors, they WILL fail again. The ends will have oxidized and solder won’t stick well. Unfortunately cleaning/sanding won’t work, the layer of metal is too thin.
Remember, time is money…just do it right the first time.
Good luck! -Greg