Repairing car electronics
This page about repairing car electronics is meant to open your mind to the possibilities of fixing an electronic component as opposed to replacing it. Below I will include an example of how I fixed an electronics problem on my old 88 300ZX and saved big bucks. Repair of car electronics should not be confused with an electrical repair which would be more of a wiring repair. Instead we are talking about diagnosing and repairing things such as relays and circuit boards. Often we diagnose an electrical car part that is not working and our first reaction is to replace it. This page is about going one step further and looking into what's wrong with it. This can save money on replacement parts and help prevent repeat failures of that component. Example of repairing car electronicsBefore I get into the story of my 300ZX, recently I repaired a horn that was not working without any costs on replacement parts. It was actually this repair that got me thinking that writing this page was necessary. I was working on a 96 Chevrolet Lumina and the horn was not working.
I used my standard diagnostic methods and found that there was no power at the horn. The interesting part about the diagnosis was that every time I pushed on the horn pad I could hear the relay clicking. The fact that the relay was energizing meant that the integrity of the circuit was intact. Yet no power flowed to the horn itself. I checked the four legs of the horn relay and found that the relay itself was the problem. Instead of just replacing it I decided to pull the cover off of the relay. I found the relay contacts had heavy green corrosion on them. I took an Emory board (nail file) and cleaned the contacts then put some dielectric grease on them. When I reinstalled the relay it worked just fine. In this case the relay would have only cost about $20 but that part was not readily available. Repairing the relay made the customer happy. 300ZX electronics repair
I had a 1998 300ZX in pristine condition that I considered a hobby car. This vehicle had an annoying problem with the digital dash. Every time you hit a bump the display would flicker and sometimes go out. I bought a factory 300ZX repair manual to follow the diagnostic chart for the symptoms. The digital dash received signals from what they called in the service manual a "power module". I performed an output test with my meter as instructed. I got a good power reading coming out of the module but every time I would tap the module case the power would fluctuate. My first instinct was to buy a replacement power module. The age of the vehicle combined with the rare digital dash option made this part very expensive.
It was actually over $1000 brand-new from the dealer. I even checked eBay and found a couple but they where still $500 or more. I decided to disassemble the module and find out what was wrong with it. Repairing car electronics can sometimes be easy. In this case the module was incredibly simple to fix. The printed circuit board had a break in one of the solder paths. This was caused from vibration. All I needed to do was to touch my soldering iron to the broken area and allow the solder to flow completing the repair. When I reinstalled the power module I added rubber grommets in between the brackets to absorb the shock from the road and hopefully prevent a repeat failure to this expensive piece of car electronics.
I just want to open your mind to the fact that some electronics can be repaired instead of replaced. Rebuilt dash clusters and modules come from companies that took these components apart and fixed them. Also note that the electronics found in your automobile such as printed circuits, diodes and relays are also found in washing machines and many other appliances you have in your home. It is almost always worth investigating whether repair is possible before replacement is performed. Give this repairing car electronics page a bookmark or share. I have about 10 pages on car electrical systems that you may find helpful. Next link takes you there from this page about repairing car electronics.
I took classes about repairing car electronics. We would sit down with breadboards and learn how to diagnose and repair individual components. Any kind of training can be handy when it comes to working on electrical circuits. I think the self teaching book to the right is helpful and unique. It covers basic electrical principles needed to repair cars. It includes how to test and understand voltage, resistance, amperage and Ohm's Law. In my opinion it's clear and concise with enough attention to detail so people understand what it means in construction and repair of automotive electrical circuits. You learn about tools and proper equipment required for auto electrical tasks but more importantly how to decipher results from testing. In addition this electrical book explains how to perform more complex tasks like adding new circuits, installing aftermarket electronics and building your own wiring harness. I have not seen this covered well in other manuals and it's huge for working on older cars and people building hot rods.
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