How to fix your analog speedometer - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

banandana · 02-18-2019, 02:58 PM

If your analog S13 cluster speedometer doesnt work, and you don't have a bad speed sensor or wiring break from the sensor to the cluster, this might be what's wrong with the PCB

Bigger Picture:
https://i.imgur.com/gqI5Tsf.jpg

Note the missing capacitor in the group of 5 in this picture; that capacitor was the faulty one on one of the boards I had fixed, and removing it caused the speedometer to work again. I would recommend replacing the capacitor and not simply removing it.

These capacitors seem to blow (some look like decoupling capacitors), which causes the signal to get all fucked up. I tested the caps with an ohmeter and it had really weird resistance values on some of them. Notably, if there's a cap that's discolored, it could be replaced or pulled with a high chance of fixing the board. I don't have a capacitance meter, but if you wanted to find the capacitance you'd have to pull the cap and figure that out. I would have done this if I had one, but had a spare donor board to pull caps off of, to make it work.

I'd imagine the actual part that goes bad is probably easy to afford; they can't be any more than a few cents each.

These clusters do not simply 'go bad' over time, and it's convenient that these surface mount caps are on this side of the PCB, which makes it easy to access as opposed to the other side. I'm sure the S14 might have similar problems in the future, because these things are getting older over the years.

Don't throw out dead clusters; all this shit is fixable and it's SAD seeing them go for 100-250 freedom dollars on ebay.

Here's a video of me bench testing the thing after fixing it. I don't expect everyone to have the tools and whatnot lying around to do/test this, but you can pull surface mount caps off a board using a butane torch with a hot air attachment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qJAMsnTYuc

ka-titties · 02-18-2019, 03:15 PM

Great, informative post. Thanks for sharing!

banandana · 02-18-2019, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ka-titties

Great, informative post. Thanks for sharing!

No problem :3 It's sad seeing things of limited supply get thrown away like I've seen in some of the posts here. I wasn't able to find a solution so I tried to figure it out myself.

If you want to test the speedometer assembly, you can connect one of the speed sensor wires to a trace that connects to the SIG screw on the board, and the other wire for the speed sensor, to the ground pin. Giving the IGN screw 12 volts, grounding the GND screw, and spinning the speed sensor like I did in the video should be a good way to test the board.

I was able to fix the 2 dead boards I had lying around by doing this and fiddling with the caps. It seems like a reoccurring thing, and an easy fix.

^^

TheRealSy90 · 02-19-2019, 07:46 AM

Thanks for posting this to the tech board! Next figure out the fix for the digital HUD speedometers lol.

banandana · 02-19-2019, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRealSy90

Thanks for posting this to the tech board! Next figure out the fix for the digital HUD speedometers lol.

I thought nicoclub, etc had an article about the capacitors on those going out as well?

https://nicoclub.com/archives/how-to...-with-hud.html

https://www.s-chassis.com/forums/gen...roblems-21741/

unless this is for the s14 or something

02-18-2019, 02:58 PM	#1
banandana Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: CA Posts: 9 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	How to fix your analog speedometer If your analog S13 cluster speedometer doesnt work, and you don't have a bad speed sensor or wiring break from the sensor to the cluster, this might be what's wrong with the PCB Bigger Picture: https://i.imgur.com/gqI5Tsf.jpg Note the missing capacitor in the group of 5 in this picture; that capacitor was the faulty one on one of the boards I had fixed, and removing it caused the speedometer to work again. I would recommend replacing the capacitor and not simply removing it. These capacitors seem to blow (some look like decoupling capacitors), which causes the signal to get all fucked up. I tested the caps with an ohmeter and it had really weird resistance values on some of them. Notably, if there's a cap that's discolored, it could be replaced or pulled with a high chance of fixing the board. I don't have a capacitance meter, but if you wanted to find the capacitance you'd have to pull the cap and figure that out. I would have done this if I had one, but had a spare donor board to pull caps off of, to make it work. I'd imagine the actual part that goes bad is probably easy to afford; they can't be any more than a few cents each. These clusters do not simply 'go bad' over time, and it's convenient that these surface mount caps are on this side of the PCB, which makes it easy to access as opposed to the other side. I'm sure the S14 might have similar problems in the future, because these things are getting older over the years. Don't throw out dead clusters; all this shit is fixable and it's SAD seeing them go for 100-250 freedom dollars on ebay. Here's a video of me bench testing the thing after fixing it. I don't expect everyone to have the tools and whatnot lying around to do/test this, but you can pull surface mount caps off a board using a butane torch with a hot air attachment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qJAMsnTYuc Last edited by banandana; 02-18-2019 at 07:00 PM..

02-18-2019, 03:15 PM	#2
ka-titties Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Near that guy you know Posts: 1,561 Trader Rating: (11) Feedback Score: 11 reviews	Great, informative post. Thanks for sharing!