Thanks again 9 years later!- I found another video that said you could just solder the resistors back in. I did that and it worked, but like you say: steady hands- those are SMALL resistors. The ends seem like carbon and not metal like the solder, so they develop a cold joint. Save that 99 cents since Radio Shack is not around anymore (darnit). My car only had 92000 miles!
When you go to RadioShack to buy your new resistors, be sure to buy the 150-Ohm, 1/8 Watt 5-pack. The part # is 271-010. When I went to buy mine, the salesman asked me if I wanted the 1/2 watt package, or the 1/8 watt package. Now I know after installing the 1/8 watt resistors. They cost $1.19 per 5-pack.
Thank you for this video! A quick tip for soldering onto the board. Apply flux paste to the pads, and place the resistor. Clean the tip of your hot soldering iron. Tin the tip, making sure to get some extra melted solder onto the tip. Touch the melted solder onto the lead and the melted solder should quickly flow onto the lead and pad without risking overheating the board.
My husband and I drove like this for about 2 months but now we need to get the car inspected. Without the mileage we can't do the inspection. So we searched for a used speedometer and all of a sudden your video popped up on google search. After watching your video, I'm going tomorrow to Radio shack to get he parts and fix it.
Wow! We're planning to buy a used century this week with the only issue being the odometer. Bless you for providing this awesome instruction, can't thank you enough.
A BIG THANKS, YOU SAVED ME A LOT OF CASH...... I used these, a little bigger than the 1/8 watt, there is enough room for these 1/2 watt,,,,, took less than a hour for the whole job....... radio shack 150 ohm 1/2W 5% Carbon Film Resistor pk/5Model: 271-1109 | Catalog #: 271-1109
@MySiordia My dad just bought a 2000 buick with this problem. This video helped us greatly! We did not have to disconnect the airbags, although you may want to disconnect the battery. We didn't and in several parts you need to set the handbrake and put the gear selector into first hear to get the arm out of the way. If you do not disconnect the battery you will have to deal with the door chime going of constantly, which can be VERY aggravating.
Thanks. They are working fine but sometimes the odo lighting fades then back shiney. I am selling the car and I really don't want to take the dash apart again to see why that is happening.
Thank you very much for this easy to follow video!!!! My Buick Century is steadily ceasing to function properly, and this is the most recent problem. I will attempt to do this fix myself. MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!!!!
Thanks for the tip. The only thing I have to add is that our Radio Shack here in Alamogordo, New Mexico has only girls working there and none of them even knew what a surface mount resistor was. I checked the resistor that fell off and it was showing 150 ohms. I checked the others on the board and they were showing about 34 ohms. I just soldered all the old ones on the board and everything worked fine.
Thanks for sharing, I used this link to explore my 2000 Buick Century Custom odometer, and the need for repair was identical to yours. However, isn't there always, I soldered eight 8 inch wires to each pair of resistor contacts and soldered each pair to a properly rated potentiometer. After I reassembled the housing with the wires sticking out, soldered to each pot, I tucked them in the more than enough room available behind the instrument cluster. I didn't have the 150 ohm resistors, which I would have really appreciated, so I adjusted the dial to 150 ohm, soldered them in and have 142840 miles again. (Don't worry, the miles keep on rolling even though you can't see them). Thanks again.
WOW you are the MAN! I will do this as soon as I get off work this weekend! Thank you so much for taking the time to show us all how to do this job! Your a great guy, good things will come your way! Got a Lexus that has the same problem, going to try that after I do the Buick!
thank you so much for the video, took me less than an hour to do everything and that included a trip to radio shack. If you have the tools and resistors ready before you begin, you can have everything done from start to finish in less than 30 minutes. saved me over $100. thanks again.
Thanks for posting this video. Went to radio shack and bought the resistors and a soldering iron kit for $13. Only took me a little over an hour to do and probably saved me hundreds of dollars.
THANK YOU! Worked like a charm on my 1998 Century. The resistors from Radio Shack are a little bigger than those on the circuit board, but that was the most difficult part. And soldering isn't easy for someone with early stage parkinson's, but I managed to fix it. I can see my odometer for the first time in 2 years. Thank you!
Sir, Thank you for this! I did this last night and I now have my car back! Took 1 hour 10 minutes all told. You gave just enough info to get the project done. I used 150 ohm 1/4 watt resistors. What I had on hand and they seem to work fine. Now am I brave enough to tackle dropping the gas tank for the fuel guage....
HansonProMusic you don't have to drop the gas tank for that, you can access the fuel tank level sensor under the carpet in the trunk, my odometer is out and my fuel gauge is inconsistent.
I used to work in a PCB factory. It appears that the solder paste for those 4 resistors never got enough heat in the SMT machine, resulting in poor joints from the factory. The resistors themselves most likely can be reused if they're still there; which is what I did tonight. 1. Remove the resistors and remove the solder on the pads with solder wick. 2. Carefully clean the terminals on the resistors with a wire brush. 3. Solder the resistors back in place (preferably with 63/37 solder).
Great video thank you. Ordered resisters on eBay about $5 including shipping. Unfortunately radio shack not around anymore. Worked like a charm, very easy.
first video i come to, same problem with my 2000 i just bought, of course at midnight radio shack is closed, so i re soldered the original resistors and the dash worked, great to know car has 120k, this video was great i was going to get a cluster from the junk yard, so thanks for the vid
I watched other video's, but u describe the process well. Thank uou so much, i've had this problem for about a year now. I will work on my car this Wednesday(my day off) THANK YOU so much. I will also try n make a video :) i have a 1998 Buick Regal LS btw
I had an "oh, crap, what did I do?" moment when I had my circuit board on my table, dash in the back seat, and feeling like Mr. Magoo looking at the tiny places to set the resistors. In the end, it looked like a 2nd grade project gone wrong, but it worked PERFECTLY. Don't sell yourselves short. I don't know quite how to solder, little to nothing about cars, but I triumphed. THANKS!
question about those LED's that are showing when you open up the circuitboard: Are they colored? or just white? I'm looking to change the color of my dash panel, and I was thinking that it might be as simple as replacing the LEDs if they're what gives it its green color
As long as the value of the resistors is 150 Ohm like the originals you're replacing, it will be fine. In fact, I would recommend using larger resistors (higher wattage) than the originals, as that will insure you will not have this problem in the future.
i replaced all of mine and the first and third digit doesn't show up and the gear selector LED isn't working correctly either, but it all lights up, any clue anyone??
@gasitman Hello, its been 2 weeks since I repaired my odometer and I've had no problems, I replaced all 4 resistors, the old ones just broke off just like the video,, not sure why the flickering maybe check the solder conections, these need to be solid..
My odometer went out and I had no clue what was wrong with it until i decided to TH-cam it and came across your video. The dealership told me it was a pricey fix that was difficult to reach [money hungry assholes]. My question is where do I purchase a soldering iron and the necessary components and what part do i solder?
Your video was very helpful and I was able to fix the odometer light. However, my fuel guage now seems to be acting out. We started out with over 3/4 of a tank of gas this a.m. before driving 30 miles to work and now we have just a little bit above a half a tank. Would you please tell me know if there is something that would have happened when I had the circuit cluster off of the car? Thank you!
Thanks for doing this. My dads 03 Century digital OD light is not working - or working intermittently. I hate having to take things off but oh well... Why in the hell did GM make the OD digital when everything else is analog
@jcookin I bought these150 ohm, 1/2 watt ones, and it did not work right. Not sure what is going on, but it flickers in and out. I had a guy at a computer shop do the soldering, so I know ot hope it was done right.
You are amazing!! seriously, if I was a stripper I would give you a free lap dance ( no homo). This was the first time I ever worked on my car by myself and I never soldered anything before!!! I did all this under 2 hours and it worked!! the soldering part was a bit confusing to figure out but it all worked!!!! thank you so much!!! This honestly costed me under $25.00!~!!!
Thanks a bunch! Radio Shack didn't have the size you say it takes. Their 150 ohm resistor was smaller and had a wire at each end. It was also 1/8th watt. can you help me with this? will it work" It was smaller in diameter and length.
I'm assuming that the passive deterrent system doesn't route through the cluster, and I'm also assuming that the odometer mileage is retained. Am I correct? I have a 2000 Regal with the same issue. Odometer/gear indicator and driver info center are both out.
We will definitely let you know what the results are. Only to check the car at GM dealership, they want over $140. We think that if GM have some respect for their name, they are supposed to recall all Buick century's to fix this problem free. The only way to teach them is to not to buy original parts at all, and not go into dealerships for service. We really want to thank you sooo much for this video, you saved us a lot of time, money, and aggravation.
my starter had went out on my buick a few months ago and my gauges worked then but i was just now able to get it fixed and now all my gauges dont work, the fuel gauge the speedometer, the odometer was the only thing that didnt light up before the starter went out, so what i want to know if i replace the resisters will that fix all the gauges
Dumb question maybe but I'm not a electronics guy.....can these be put in with wrong ends facing the wrong way? Like is there a positive and negative end? Thanks
Awesome video! Did everything the way u said and works perfect now! Thank u so much! Side note.. Soldering is a real bitch the first time u ever try it.
Any idea what to do if it comes on but reads error instead of the mileage? I left my lights on and ran the battery dead and when the AAA guy jumpstarted it it read error.
Ugh, the car (1998 Buick Century) won't start now. The panel indicator lights come on and off like they're supposed to, but the starter won't engage. Any ideas?
Hey, I have a Buick Century 99 and I got a cluster odomoter from the junk yard, but it came from a 97 Buick Century. Now, my mileage does not change, and my speedometer does not work at all. Do you know if the year of the odometer makes a difference? Please reply
I replaced mine with a gently used odometer as I did not want to risk soldering on mine without a replacement. The new one works great, but the mileage reflects the car it came out of. Is there any way to sync it to the ECM? Or is all that data stored in the cluster itself?
phantomxxxxxxx, I'm sure glad you posted this because I'm having problems with mine and I got a replacement from the junkyard. I thought about just replacing the whole cluster but I wondered if the mileage would be updated or not. I found out that just replacing it yourself is illegal. Replacing the dashboard cluster requires going to a person that is certified to change it. They produce some paperwork that says they changed it and kept the same mileage. So I guess we need to go to the dealer.
sorry this is not a very good video.. should use a pencil or something to point to part talking about. show how to remove at least one..and of course show how to solder ,what kind of solder.... when doing a video, even though some may know, assume that person watching or female has never done anything like it before
Thanks again 9 years later!- I found another video that said you could just solder the resistors back in. I did that and it worked, but like you say: steady hands- those are SMALL resistors. The ends seem like carbon and not metal like the solder, so they develop a cold joint. Save that 99 cents since Radio Shack is not around anymore (darnit). My car only had 92000 miles!
They likely loosened from thermal cycling - expanding and contracting the solder joints from heat.
When you go to RadioShack to buy your new resistors, be sure to buy the 150-Ohm, 1/8 Watt 5-pack. The part # is 271-010. When I went to buy mine, the salesman asked me if I wanted the 1/2 watt package, or the 1/8 watt package. Now I know after installing the 1/8 watt resistors. They cost $1.19 per 5-pack.
Thank you for this video!
A quick tip for soldering onto the board. Apply flux paste to the pads, and place the resistor. Clean the tip of your hot soldering iron. Tin the tip, making sure to get some extra melted solder onto the tip. Touch the melted solder onto the lead and the melted solder should quickly flow onto the lead and pad without risking overheating the board.
⁷
My husband and I drove like this for about 2 months but now we need to get the car inspected. Without the mileage we can't do the inspection. So we searched for a used speedometer and all of a sudden your video popped up on google search. After watching your video, I'm going tomorrow to Radio shack to get he parts and fix it.
Wow! We're planning to buy a used century this week with the only issue being the odometer. Bless you for providing this awesome instruction, can't thank you enough.
A BIG THANKS, YOU SAVED ME A LOT OF CASH......
I used these, a little bigger than the 1/8 watt, there is enough room for these 1/2 watt,,,,, took less than a hour for the whole job.......
radio shack
150 ohm 1/2W 5% Carbon Film Resistor pk/5Model: 271-1109 | Catalog #: 271-1109
Fantastic. Worked perfectly, and saved me probably a couple of hundred bucks.
@MySiordia My dad just bought a 2000 buick with this problem. This video helped us greatly! We did not have to disconnect the airbags, although you may want to disconnect the battery. We didn't and in several parts you need to set the handbrake and put the gear selector into first hear to get the arm out of the way. If you do not disconnect the battery you will have to deal with the door chime going of constantly, which can be VERY aggravating.
Thanks. They are working fine but sometimes the odo lighting fades then back shiney. I am selling the car and I really don't want to take the dash apart again to see why that is happening.
Thank you very much for this easy to follow video!!!! My Buick Century is steadily ceasing to function properly, and this is the most recent problem. I will attempt to do this fix myself. MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!!!!
Thanks for the tip. The only thing I have to add is that our Radio Shack here in Alamogordo, New Mexico has only girls working there and none of them even knew what a surface mount resistor was. I checked the resistor that fell off and it was showing 150 ohms. I checked the others on the board and they were showing about 34 ohms. I just soldered all the old ones on the board and everything worked fine.
Thanks for sharing, I used this link to explore my 2000 Buick Century Custom odometer, and the need for repair was identical to yours. However, isn't there always, I soldered eight 8 inch wires to each pair of resistor contacts and soldered each pair to a properly rated potentiometer. After I reassembled the housing with the wires sticking out, soldered to each pot, I tucked them in the more than enough room available behind the instrument cluster.
I didn't have the 150 ohm resistors, which I would have really appreciated, so I adjusted the dial to 150 ohm, soldered them in and have 142840 miles again. (Don't worry, the miles keep on rolling even though you can't see them). Thanks again.
WOW you are the MAN! I will do this as soon as I get off work this weekend!
Thank you so much for taking the time to show us all how to do this job!
Your a great guy, good things will come your way!
Got a Lexus that has the same problem, going to try that after I do the Buick!
thank you so much for the video, took me less than an hour to do everything and that included a trip to radio shack. If you have the tools and resistors ready before you begin, you can have everything done from start to finish in less than 30 minutes. saved me over $100. thanks again.
Thanks for posting this video. Went to radio shack and bought the resistors and a soldering iron kit for $13. Only took me a little over an hour to do and probably saved me hundreds of dollars.
It's likely the resistors are GOOD! Just check them with a meter and re-solder them. they loosen over time from heating and cooling - thermal cycling.
A huge thanks is in order! You saved me about $273.99! Resistors cost me $1.17 and it only took about an hour and a half of my time. Thanks again!!
THANK YOU! Worked like a charm on my 1998 Century. The resistors from Radio Shack are a little bigger than those on the circuit board, but that was the most difficult part. And soldering isn't easy for someone with early stage parkinson's, but I managed to fix it. I can see my odometer for the first time in 2 years. Thank you!
Sir,
Thank you for this!
I did this last night and I now have my car back!
Took 1 hour 10 minutes all told.
You gave just enough info to get the project done.
I used 150 ohm 1/4 watt resistors.
What I had on hand and they seem to work fine.
Now am I brave enough to tackle dropping the gas tank for the fuel guage....
HansonProMusic you don't have to drop the gas tank for that, you can access the fuel tank level sensor under the carpet in the trunk, my odometer is out and my fuel gauge is inconsistent.
I used to work in a PCB factory. It appears that the solder paste for those 4 resistors never got enough heat in the SMT machine, resulting in poor joints from the factory. The resistors themselves most likely can be reused if they're still there; which is what I did tonight.
1. Remove the resistors and remove the solder on the pads with solder wick.
2. Carefully clean the terminals on the resistors with a wire brush.
3. Solder the resistors back in place (preferably with 63/37 solder).
Thanx a bazillion!!!!!! I fixed my cluster today and it works perfectly and even shows up brighter now!
Great video thank you. Ordered resisters on eBay about $5 including shipping. Unfortunately radio shack not around anymore. Worked like a charm, very easy.
first video i come to, same problem with my 2000 i just bought, of course at midnight radio shack is closed, so i re soldered the original resistors and the dash worked, great to know car has 120k, this video was great i was going to get a cluster from the junk yard, so thanks for the vid
awsome tks 1 resister loose just resolder so simple praise god for the skills common sense and leading me to this video
LVS2CDDL....THANKS just reset the ODO/TRIP ODO BUTTON and my display came back on...saved me the trouble of tearing everything apart
Great info my daughters Buick same problem will attempt it was quoted 350 bucks in a shop. Thank you!
I watched other video's, but u describe the process well. Thank uou so much, i've had this problem for about a year now. I will work on my car this Wednesday(my day off) THANK YOU so much. I will also try n make a video :) i have a 1998 Buick Regal LS btw
I had an "oh, crap, what did I do?" moment when I had my circuit board on my table, dash in the back seat, and feeling like Mr. Magoo looking at the tiny places to set the resistors. In the end, it looked like a 2nd grade project gone wrong, but it worked PERFECTLY. Don't sell yourselves short. I don't know quite how to solder, little to nothing about cars, but I triumphed. THANKS!
question about those LED's that are showing when you open up the circuitboard:
Are they colored? or just white? I'm looking to change the color of my dash panel, and I was thinking that it might be as simple as replacing the LEDs if they're what gives it its green color
As long as the value of the resistors is 150 Ohm like the originals you're replacing, it will be fine. In fact, I would recommend using larger resistors (higher wattage) than the originals, as that will insure you will not have this problem in the future.
Thanks for the information. Mine went out and I was hoping I wouldn't have to, but it looks like I'll be breaking out the soldering iron after all.
The orginial resistors are very tiny, I got 150Ohm from Radio schack but they are totally differ from the orginial in size, so is that ok?
i replaced all of mine and the first and third digit doesn't show up and the gear selector LED isn't working correctly either, but it all lights up, any clue anyone??
Great video. Blurry on the closeups of the circuit board but luckily the hard part is knowing where to attack. Will be attempting this on my vehicle.
so yes we did it, working perfect , but you really need good hand to do it, thanks again,
thank u for the advice i changed all 4 resistors and it works so thank u very much Two Thumbs UP
Thank you so much I have been going crazy trying to figure out how to fix this thing man I really appreciate the video it was the answer I needed
Thanks man finally pointed me in the right direction.. Your video helped a lot!!
Thank you so much for posting this video!!! It helped me fix my Buick
Thanks! I did this in about an hour and about $1 out of pocket. GM should recall this, though. I used 1/8 watt 150 ohm resistors.
Great video! Help me get my 99 Century fixed. Took me 2 hours and that included walking to Radio Shack to pickup the resistors.
Good information gotten tired of always going to junkyard.
@gasitman Hello, its been 2 weeks since I repaired my odometer and I've had no problems, I replaced all 4 resistors, the old ones just broke off just like the video,, not sure why the flickering maybe check the solder conections, these need to be solid..
THANK YOU! I only spent 1/300th of what GM said it would cost.
My odometer went out and I had no clue what was wrong with it until i decided to TH-cam it and came across your video. The dealership told me it was a pricey fix that was difficult to reach [money hungry assholes]. My question is where do I purchase a soldering iron and the necessary components and what part do i solder?
Your video was very helpful and I was able to fix the odometer light. However, my fuel guage now seems to be acting out. We started out with over 3/4 of a tank of gas this a.m. before driving 30 miles to work and now we have just a little bit above a half a tank. Would you please tell me know if there is something that would have happened when I had the circuit cluster off of the car? Thank you!
Thank you very much this worked like a charm thanks
Thanks for doing this. My dads 03 Century digital OD light is not working - or working intermittently. I hate having to take things off but oh well... Why in the hell did GM make the OD digital when everything else is analog
@jcookin I bought these150 ohm, 1/2 watt ones, and it did not work right. Not sure what is going on, but it flickers in and out. I had a guy at a computer shop do the soldering, so I know ot hope it was done right.
Thanks very good job using one hand :)
Thanks for the video. I'll give it a try.
You are amazing!! seriously, if I was a stripper I would give you a free lap dance ( no homo). This was the first time I ever worked on my car by myself and I never soldered anything before!!! I did all this under 2 hours and it worked!! the soldering part was a bit confusing to figure out but it all worked!!!! thank you so much!!! This honestly costed me under $25.00!~!!!
You're awesome. Very well done!! Thanks!
Thank you , video is very much appreciated!
Thanks a bunch! Radio Shack didn't have the size you say it takes. Their 150 ohm resistor was smaller and had a wire at each end. It was also 1/8th watt. can you help me with this? will it work" It was smaller in diameter and length.
Would this method work on a 2000 Buick Century?
Hi I just resoldered the resistors that where there
I'm assuming that the passive deterrent system doesn't route through the cluster, and I'm also assuming that the odometer mileage is retained. Am I correct? I have a 2000 Regal with the same issue. Odometer/gear indicator and driver info center are both out.
We will definitely let you know what the results are. Only to check the car at GM dealership, they want over $140. We think that if GM have some respect for their name, they are supposed to recall all Buick century's to fix this problem free. The only way to teach them is to not to buy original parts at all, and not go into dealerships for service. We really want to thank you sooo much for this video, you saved us a lot of time, money, and aggravation.
my dimmer on my dash don't work....could this be that same procedure i may have to your for the dimmer on the head light switch
iam allso having trouble with my gas gauge reading right with this fix allso fix that ?
my starter had went out on my buick a few months ago and my gauges worked then but i was just now able to get it fixed and now all my gauges dont work, the fuel gauge the speedometer, the odometer was the only thing that didnt light up before the starter went out, so what i want to know if i replace the resisters will that fix all the gauges
Dumb question maybe but I'm not a electronics guy.....can these be put in with wrong ends facing the wrong way? Like is there a positive and negative end? Thanks
how hard is it to fix since my cluster is messin up in my century too
when odometer light is out will it still accumulate the miles?
Awesome video! Did everything the way u said and works perfect now! Thank u so much!
Side note.. Soldering is a real bitch the first time u ever try it.
Any idea what to do if it comes on but reads error instead of the mileage? I left my lights on and ran the battery dead and when the AAA guy jumpstarted it it read error.
Ugh, the car (1998 Buick Century) won't start now. The panel indicator lights come on and off like they're supposed to, but the starter won't engage. Any ideas?
need a new starter or battery
Patrick Brough lol
Hey, I have a Buick Century 99 and I got a cluster odomoter from the junk yard, but it came from a 97 Buick Century. Now, my mileage does not change, and my speedometer does not work at all. Do you know if the year of the odometer makes a difference? Please reply
Excellent video brother. I'd send you some of the money I would have had to shell out to some repair goon if I had it to spare.
GREAT VIDEO!
Where did u manage to get the resisters @?
I don't know how to solder is it easy
Thousands of dollars and it has this cheap ass crappy speedometer.
I replaced mine with a gently used odometer as I did not want to risk soldering on mine without a replacement. The new one works great, but the mileage reflects the car it came out of. Is there any way to sync it to the ECM? Or is all that data stored in the cluster itself?
phantomxxxxxxx,
I'm sure glad you posted this because I'm having problems with mine and I got a replacement from the junkyard. I thought about just replacing the whole cluster but I wondered if the mileage would be updated or not.
I found out that just replacing it yourself is illegal. Replacing the dashboard cluster requires going to a person that is certified to change it. They produce some paperwork that says they changed it and kept the same mileage.
So I guess we need to go to the dealer.
Did you find anything out
Thanks boss. Now I'm off to fix my GF's car.
Just go to radio shack they sell them.
@qasion yes cuz i did it today
Thanks you for post the video, but I am not good in doing that kind the mechanical things. I will cal/pay l a expert to do it.
In gonna rey i really hope this works on mine thanks in advance if it works
Radio shack.
sorry this is not a very good video.. should use a pencil or something to point to part talking about. show how to remove at least one..and of course show how to solder ,what kind of solder.... when doing a video, even though some may know, assume that person watching or female has never done anything like it before