Overheating Trip Computer - '94 LHS

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Ron, Aug 22, 2003.

  1. Ron

    Ron Guest

    Any electronic wizards out there?

    My problem originally surfaced a couple weeks ago when the fuse blew for the
    instrument panel. I replaced with original size 5 amp, only to have it blow
    2 seconds later. Probably not a smart move, but I then replaced that with
    a 10 amp. The gages then worked fine, until today. The "trip computer"
    LEDs started flashing off and on, almost like a wire was loose.

    I pulled it apart, and there are no real wires, it is all a printed
    circuit board. (attached is a link to a picture of it).
    http://www.summit.net/home/geer/DisplayBoard2.jpg

    At first I thought the burned-looking spot at the lower right of the display
    signified a problem, but after plugging the board back in, and starting
    the car, I found out that the component in the upper-right gets hot really
    fast. Not sure if it is bad, or a short somewhere else is causing the
    problem. It has what looks like a heat-sink attached, but I am sure it is
    not supposed to get that hot.

    The fuse draws .02 amp without the trip computer plugged in, and 2.5 amps
    with it. That is obviously too high. (actually it drops to about 1.2 amp
    when things get hot)

    I probably should just try to find a board in a junk yard, instead of
    fooling with it, but I would prefer to pick up a part at radioshack if that
    is all it needs..

    Thanks for any ideas,
    -Ron
     
    Ron, Aug 22, 2003
    #1
  2. Ron

    Steve m... Guest

    That chip looks like a voltage regulator to me. Check the top of it for
    markings and see if Radio shack has a replacement. They are usually called
    3 pin fixed voltage regulators. You will need to know the voltage rating
    (output & input for it). Radio shack carries some of these in different
    ratings. The dark area on the display is probably normal for a
    Electrolum... type of display. Since they are basically in a vacuum it has
    an absorbent on the glass that keeps the oxgen level low inside the display.
    I've seen these displays on ebay for around $20 I believe.

    Stevem...
     
    Steve m..., Aug 22, 2003
    #2
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