- Sat Oct 19, 2013 5:52 am
#337849
Many of us have come across broken temp and fuel gauges... I broke mine putting in overlays and then fried the cluster circuit board trying to fix (actually I do believe this was unrelated... put the SRS bub in the cluster and fried that circuit)
Here are a few tips to ensure you do not break the gauges and how to fix if you do.
Tips to not break the tiny copper coil on your gauges.
1. The gauges are VERY sensitive. I consider this a fault of Honda, but... we were never meant to tinker with them so I will let it slide.
2. DO NOT PRESS DOWN ON THE SCREWS!!! this is how you break the wires. By pressing down on the screws to tighten/loosen it you are pushing the copper housing down and thus breaking the TINY copper wire. (this is the design flaw!)
3. When installing the screws, install them by hand as far as you can, this ensures you do not press down on the mechanism.
4. The torque specs are VERY LOW, you do not need to use a lot of force to make sure the connection is good. My advice, use a drill bit (preferable one that does not fit 100%... too fat would be best.) And turn the bit between your index and thumb... then the bit pops out it is tight enough! think inch/pounds not foot pounds.
You broken your gauges. (near post)
0. Put gauge in vise for easier accessibility. NOT TOO TIGHT, this marks up the gauge... just enough to hold it in place.
1. It IS possible to solder the wire back together, not very easy but very doable(typically) especially easy when the wire broke near the post.
2. The trick here is to get a small ball of solder on the post (careful with the plastic, kind of burned my eyes melting it.) and then unplug the soldering iron... yup, unplug the iron. What makes soldering these wires so difficult is the solder DOES NOT want to stick to the tiny copper wire. So get a decent blob on the post near the broken connection.
3. With the iron off but still hot keep working at the blob... once the iron is cool enough but still hot you can soften the solder enough to "stretch" it but not to entirely melt it. This allows you to stretch the solder to the broken connection and "form the solder" as needed.
With a fully hot iron the entire blob will liquefy and just roll around or even fall off the post. Stretch the solder covering the broken connection.
4. CAREFULLY inspect the connection, use a tooth pick or something to try and move the broken end of the wire. If it feels snug you have a solid connection. If not, try to place the wire above the solder and try to add a small amount of solder to sandwich the wire in there. At this point you may need to plug the iron back in for a little less than a minute. It is a fine area between liquefying the entire ball and forming it with just enough heat. With patience you will get a solid connection.
This might help some of you, once I thought to unplug the iron it was a BREEZE to fix.
Mind you I have some experience in this now. Fixed old gauges but fried circuit board with bulbs. Then with new gauges I forgot board on back of speedo and after reinstall discovered I broke the temp gauges. After fixing temp gauge I broken the fuel gauge.
This is how I discovered the flaws and fixes to do this. I have never seen someone post a how-to on this topic. Just people saying it can be done and the OP giving up or just getting a new gauge.
I can tell you this is still not easy, but it is worth an attempt to save some cashola. Now that you know to unplug the iron, it is A LOT easier this way.
If the wire broke further away from the post you can add a wire you have to the wire.
1. Cut an inch or so of wire and strip one end "longer", enough to wrap around the post.
2. After wrapping the wire around the post, solder it on.
3. I had my wire coming out the "back" and curled the wire around to the broken area. At this point open up the wire and try and weave the copper wire into the new wire. You will either need to bend the wire to get it to stay where you want it, or hold it there.
4. Attempt to solder the copper wire into the wire.
5. Test for solid holds!
^this was NOT as easy as the close break but should fix your problem. Gauge could be marginally off after this... but at least it works...
With both fixes, put the metal cover on and make sure the solder does NOT contact the cover. This would be bad... either reform it or in the case of small flakes, flick them away.
I hope this helps someone.
I might get around to taking pics of my fixes, but my gauges are working and I would rather not risk it... even with the easier forming hint it still takes patience!
Here are a few tips to ensure you do not break the gauges and how to fix if you do.
Tips to not break the tiny copper coil on your gauges.
1. The gauges are VERY sensitive. I consider this a fault of Honda, but... we were never meant to tinker with them so I will let it slide.
2. DO NOT PRESS DOWN ON THE SCREWS!!! this is how you break the wires. By pressing down on the screws to tighten/loosen it you are pushing the copper housing down and thus breaking the TINY copper wire. (this is the design flaw!)
3. When installing the screws, install them by hand as far as you can, this ensures you do not press down on the mechanism.
4. The torque specs are VERY LOW, you do not need to use a lot of force to make sure the connection is good. My advice, use a drill bit (preferable one that does not fit 100%... too fat would be best.) And turn the bit between your index and thumb... then the bit pops out it is tight enough! think inch/pounds not foot pounds.
You broken your gauges. (near post)
0. Put gauge in vise for easier accessibility. NOT TOO TIGHT, this marks up the gauge... just enough to hold it in place.
1. It IS possible to solder the wire back together, not very easy but very doable(typically) especially easy when the wire broke near the post.
2. The trick here is to get a small ball of solder on the post (careful with the plastic, kind of burned my eyes melting it.) and then unplug the soldering iron... yup, unplug the iron. What makes soldering these wires so difficult is the solder DOES NOT want to stick to the tiny copper wire. So get a decent blob on the post near the broken connection.
3. With the iron off but still hot keep working at the blob... once the iron is cool enough but still hot you can soften the solder enough to "stretch" it but not to entirely melt it. This allows you to stretch the solder to the broken connection and "form the solder" as needed.
With a fully hot iron the entire blob will liquefy and just roll around or even fall off the post. Stretch the solder covering the broken connection.
4. CAREFULLY inspect the connection, use a tooth pick or something to try and move the broken end of the wire. If it feels snug you have a solid connection. If not, try to place the wire above the solder and try to add a small amount of solder to sandwich the wire in there. At this point you may need to plug the iron back in for a little less than a minute. It is a fine area between liquefying the entire ball and forming it with just enough heat. With patience you will get a solid connection.
This might help some of you, once I thought to unplug the iron it was a BREEZE to fix.
Mind you I have some experience in this now. Fixed old gauges but fried circuit board with bulbs. Then with new gauges I forgot board on back of speedo and after reinstall discovered I broke the temp gauges. After fixing temp gauge I broken the fuel gauge.
This is how I discovered the flaws and fixes to do this. I have never seen someone post a how-to on this topic. Just people saying it can be done and the OP giving up or just getting a new gauge.
I can tell you this is still not easy, but it is worth an attempt to save some cashola. Now that you know to unplug the iron, it is A LOT easier this way.
If the wire broke further away from the post you can add a wire you have to the wire.
1. Cut an inch or so of wire and strip one end "longer", enough to wrap around the post.
2. After wrapping the wire around the post, solder it on.
3. I had my wire coming out the "back" and curled the wire around to the broken area. At this point open up the wire and try and weave the copper wire into the new wire. You will either need to bend the wire to get it to stay where you want it, or hold it there.
4. Attempt to solder the copper wire into the wire.
5. Test for solid holds!
^this was NOT as easy as the close break but should fix your problem. Gauge could be marginally off after this... but at least it works...
With both fixes, put the metal cover on and make sure the solder does NOT contact the cover. This would be bad... either reform it or in the case of small flakes, flick them away.
I hope this helps someone.
I might get around to taking pics of my fixes, but my gauges are working and I would rather not risk it... even with the easier forming hint it still takes patience!
White CDM EG6 5-speed
Carbon fiber hood, lightweight carpet, rear interior gutted, faux suede headliner and a-pillars. Nothing power, no radio or A/C and no center console.
Just me, my B16a2, K-Tuned short shifter and the road.
Carbon fiber hood, lightweight carpet, rear interior gutted, faux suede headliner and a-pillars. Nothing power, no radio or A/C and no center console.
Just me, my B16a2, K-Tuned short shifter and the road.
