The horn and the beep only works in my car occasionally, and the clock in the warning light cluster barely works. Are the Warning beep(Like when you leave your lights on and take the key out) and the horn on the same ground or circuit? They are the main things I want to fix. I want to know what to check and how to do it. They usually work when the inside of the car is hot (about 90+ degrees) when it cools down, they stop working. the clock usually works then too. What is the problem here, and is it an easy thing to fix. I was thinking bad ground somewhere in the system for them.

Please help me with this issue, i want to get it fixed once and for all after abotu a two years of this. Also, I really would like to havbe a working horn.
-Ian

 

Horn problems -> CPU resolder
Clock problems -> warning cluster resolder


-Ted

 

You really think the ECU is doing it? I am terrible with soldering,so is there any way i can check for sure that thatis the problem?

 

not ECU...

CPU

Two different things

 

The CPU is the one located above the fusebox inside the car if I remember correctly, I could be wrong though

 

I meant CPU, do you suggest i get an AV tech who is a great solderer to resolder the bad looking joints? Also, how hard is it to pull out the cpu?

 

It shouldn't be too hard, pull the connector, remove maybe 4 bolts (never done it myself, but the drawing above leads me to believe it ain't rocket science).

Pull the cover & take a look inside, it might be something you can handle. Icemark might be able to help ya out some, too, although I'm not sure if these are part of his "repetoire"...

 

im thinkin about doin this next week and having my friends dad solder it. He's a professional AV tech who does installs in office buildings, and he casn solder like no other. Are the bad solders going to be apparent?

 

CPU is very easy to pull out. Just pull the trim panel off by your left foot. Then there is a 10mm bolt on the top to take off and then un-plug the cpu. Very easy.

JC

 

Yeh, cold solder joints can usually be found by looking for a noticeable "crack", especially at the joint-to-circuit board bond, or sometimes the wire strands-to-solder bond.

 

ok
Thanks alot guys.
Just like Wayne to always be there to help with electrical problems too.

-Ian

 

don't be too worried about resoldering, if you f*** up, a (working) used one can be had for ~$20 on this forum...

 

You will remove the drivers running board and kick panel cover (6 screws), then a single 10mm nut at the top of the CPU.

Once the nut is removed, you pull the top of the CPU towards the pedals, then lift the whole thing up and out (it locks into the frame rail on the bottom).

Then you will have 2-4 plugs on the CPU itself (depending on model).

If you have someone that has experience in soldering circuit boards, you have them re-solder the board. You will want to have him (or her) remove the old solder from any relay, and any plug board connection and then flow new solder in. I generally will also replace the buzzer and the relays, but I don't think your problem will be related to those.

 

Your website is tempting, any trade In offers available?

 

yeah, I pay/refund $10 for used wiper switches, CPUs, Logicons, and $5 for clock warning panels and power window switches.

 

The Search function. I don't know how many times I've seen this or somthing similar.

 

Okay, I crakced open my ECU and all the solders checked out, none looked bad, and they were all still shiny. So I put it back in and hooked it up. Then I reattached my neg. battery terminal. I pressed the horn, and I heard the relay in the CPU click, but the horn didnt come on. Warning beeps still don't work, but I'm nto worried about them, they arent really necessary to me(I have an S4 Base). The horn still doesnt make sound. I went up front and check the horns themselves, and they looked fine, and had contact. I havent tested for 12v, or any power up at the horn yet though, I still need to do that. My car has had front end damage, and I believe the horns could have been damaged then. The thing that irritates me though, is they work some days, but not all. I'm going to check for power at the tip of the line in a day or two(when it stops raining). Could it be my horns are just screwed, and work occasionally because they are damaged?

 

usually when electronics work occasionally it's because of a loose connection somewhere in the system.

 

Unless they are really really bad you can not see bad solder joints.

 

Agreed.
Unless you know what to look for, I bet you never would notice them initially.

Try and resolder them anyways.
This might fix your problem immediately.


-Ted

 

i have the same problem right now
i opened up the CPU but don't know which ones to resolder, which joints are for the horns?
Icemark, do i just have to melt the original joints for the relays and plugs? By plug board connection do you mean the 16 pin connection part?

 

Okay, It's really funny to see this thread resurrected, because I JUST now solved this problem, I just fixed it and sat down at my computer. As it turned out, my computer is fine. the problem was the 16 pin connector that plugs in to part"c" of the computer. It's old and stressed. I jiggled around the wires, and taped them. Now my warning beep and horn work, I didnt really check the clock. Hitman, I suggest you put the cpu back in the car, and jiggle the wires on the big conector around some. My stuff works now!
Thanks to all that helped me,

-Ian

 

you actually want to remove the solder from the joints (where the part meets the circuit board) on the relays and the plug at the very least.

Then once the old solder has been removed then flow new solder in.

See when you just reheat the joint, it does not remove the corrosion from the middle of the cold solder connection. So you get a nice outside look, but the same problems lie in the middle of the joint. So remove the old solder, then flow new solder in.

 

yes that will work if the plug is loose, or sometimes even if the board has cold solder joints... But if it is still the bad joints, the problem will reappear on some cold (or hot day) a couple months from now.

 

ok i get it now

removing the old solder seems kinda hard with the soldering iron, i don't wanna get solder everywhere and f*ck up the board...
how did u go about doin this icemark?