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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ค. 2024
- My 2003 Buick Century PRNDL and odometer lights are dim. I've seen a few videos on YT explaining that 4 new resistors need to be soldered, how to remove the dash panels and how to remove the instrument cluster.
I also watched a video on "why and how to properly solder". I've never done a repair like this and I've never soldered before so those videos were well worth watching. I also read my newly purchased soldering iron instruction manual PRIOR TO BEGINNING.
I decided to do this project and recorded my steps to show how easy it was, the tools I used and the cost. The video is kind of long because I wanted to show how a person soldering for the first time could easily succeed. Thanks for watching and the thumbs up. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Old video I know, but extremely detailed, and informative. I miss the old days, of reaching under the dash, and popping out the bulb. New cars suck. But this video doesn't. Well done, and thanks.
I would just like to say "THANK YOU SO MUCH". I have been trying to find out what is wrong with my instrument panel and my best friend, Diane Bills, watched your video. So we decided that women can do the job rather than to pay for the repair shop to do it. I bought a soldering iron and the 5 pack of resistors for about $12.00. I parked my car in her yard in the shade and we tore into it. Your video is AWESOME!! She soldered the new resistors on and we put it back together. Turned on the ignition and it works again!!!!!! I would say "Not a bad job for 2 old women" LOL Thank you for sharing this video, YOU and Diane Bills are my hereos!!!!
Janet Cook I think your comment is the best I've had!! Thank you for posting your success on this DYI project. I'm so glad to hear that you saved lot's of money and that my video helped! It is such a nice feeling to know "you can do it!" and that it isn't as hard as it looks. It sure can give you a good feeling and make you smile. Thanks to your friend!...and for liking, favoriting, commenting and sharing my video Janet.
MrMnmn911 Thank you so much, watched other videos, yours was the most helpful and easiest to follow, success was just a few hours away. Most difficult part was getting the whole thing removed to do the soldering. So glad that her instrument panel now works as should, thank to your video......KUDOS!!!
Nice video content! Apologies for the intrusion, I am interested in your opinion. Have you ever tried - Trentvorty Safe Vehicle Theorem (just google it)? It is a smashing exclusive guide for discovering how to repair your car the simple way minus the headache. Ive heard some incredible things about it and my friend finally got cool success with it.
I've done this repair on my 1998 Buick Century Limited about 2 years ago. And now it's time to check out what's wrong again. Your video, is a good refresher course. It all came back to me very clearly. One bit of advice to anyone who's going to do this repair, is... to avoid the resistors from moving around while trying to solder them, what I did, was to use a spot of super glue to hold them in place on the board. It worked perfect, and kept the resistors exactly where they they belong. It's a fun and easy fix, so relax and get 'er done. You'll be happy you did. 😎
Any solder job that works and lasts is a good solder job. Great video.
Just completed this job on our 2002 Century, thanks to you! We had been without the lights and had no idea how many miles were on the car. Now we know we have 153,530 miles! Your explanation and video were great. I had never soldered before either but mangled my way thru it. Thank you for posting 5 years ago, it's still helping people today!
ItIsSo G So glad to hear my video is still helping people. Thanks for watching and liking.
This video was a huge help! The gear shift indicator/odometer are now working again on my friend’s ‘03 Buick Century. The dash/instrument panel easily came out just like the video illustrates. My friend was quoted $1,000 for this repair. I bought the resistors for $6.00 and paid an electronics shop $40 to solder them into place. 😊
This was by FAR the best tutorial on youtube for this fix. Thanks for taking your time on the video.
This was the 1st time I picked up a solderer and i got my dash back! Thank you!
Great to hear skipskip! So glad to hear my video helped. You did it yourself and saved some money. Cheers.
Just wanted to say thank you, I just bought a 2002 Century and had the same problem. No gear selector lights and odometer lights. Your video was very helpful and after watching I just ordered the resistors and a soldering kit. I'm about to do this project. Thanks again!
I have seen your video like 3 times and everything you said it work for me I thank you so much for the help and keep posting videos like this to help people save money in the process!! Thank you again!
Thank you very much Ernesto. So glad to hear my video helped you do it yourself and saved you some money. Thanks for watching and liking!
My regal had same problem. I did not know what resistors to buy. From TH-cam, it is suggested that they are 150 ohm. I purchased 10 surface mount resistors from DigiKey for about $3. Cost me more to ship. Worked. I get nothing from Digikey but thought others might be in the same situation as me so here goes. Part : 13-RC2512FK-07150RLCT-ND Desc: Res 150 OHM OHM 1% 1W 2512. They are the right size and relatively easy to solder. Originals were cylindrical so they would move around unless glue down. Thanks for the video. Update: I measured one of the old resistors and it is indeed 150 Ohms.
Perfect repair! Had it repaired in about an hour! the resistors just fell off with a little nudge! I used 220 ohm resistors, and it worked fine! BACK IN BUSINESS - LOCK AND LOAD!
Another one back on the road thanks to your video!
Thanks for this video. My 99 Custom had the same problem, I was able to get the cluster out and found only two resistors out of the four your video showed, though there were spaces where they'd clearly been. I was able to manage a first-time soldering myself, and got four new resistors in there. Got my odometer and PRNDL back. Thanks again!
Great to hear JoMactheJ! It feels so good when you turn that key and see the PRNDL light up!
Thanks for making this video one of the better ones on the subject! I followed it step by step and fixed my dim-sometimes dead PRNDL in under two hours! I want to let the other folks know that some videos show that resoldering the old resistors worked but its really easier to put on the new ones. The old ones are very tiny! I also used a solder sucker to remove the old solder from the board. Got that on ebay for under $3.
I have a 2002 Buick Century. I followed the video and it worked perfectly. I am not mechanically inclined. I did find that the assistance of a person when it comes to soldering the new transistors is a good idea. Thanks to the video poster!
Worked as advertised. The hardest part was holding the resistors in place. I never soldered before this and it went ok. I used the 1/2 watt resistors. The do seem a bit oversize compared to what they replace, but maybe thats why they did not last. I also broke one of the tabs when removing the wiring harness but it fits tight and seems to hold well without the tab. Thanks for posting the video.
Mike W You're welcome Mike. Glad my video helped you get your PRNDL and odometer lights working again.
Thank you so much for making this video. I fixed my 2002 Buick for $1.56 and the PRND123 works again. I would have never known how to do this without good people like you sharing your knowledge and experiences. thanks again.
I did the job this morning, and it worked! 2001 Buick Century Custom. Getting the dash apart is incredibly easy. I was slightly concerned because I had never previously soldered circuits before, just copper. However, the TH-cam tutorial videos on that are excellent as well.
I went to radio shack and purchased the 150 ohm 1/4 watt resistors, they were blue with green and red marks. I also purchased a 25W soldering iron kit, it was 18 dollars. 25W was what the salesman recommended for circuits.
My car is used and somebody had done this before and there was a resistor missing even. Looked like the guy just said IDGAF I just wanna sell this car. Anyway, one of the foil points for soldering was missing, but I could see the wire, and after a solid 10 minutes of trying over and over again, I was able to solder the resistor directly to the wire.
Another tip, I had my wife help me do this job. There are no holes for the leads as in other circuit boards, so I held the resistors with tiny needle nose pliers and the soldering iron, some my wife applied the solder when I said go. Just a tip, you will probably need a helper to pull this off, especially if you are a noob like me. I fix everything on my car, but this was a first for me, and I was successful. So don't let this job scare you. You can do it!
+Brian Sutton Great to hear of your success with this DYI repair. Yes! You can do it! I had never soldered and did it all myself. It can be done! Thanks for posting your success. Cheers.
Just got a 1999 Buick Century and the odometer was dead.. Did the repair and it is now working !!! Thanks for the great job on the video.
Mark Great to hear Mark. Merry Christmas!!
MrMnmn911 can you help me find someone in Baltimore that i can pay to do mine sir? I love my Buick.
william russell Sorry William, I live more than several states away. I suggest you find a local mechanic or handyman. Not an auto dealer mechanic. as they'll most likely want to replace the entire cluster panel. Show them my video. Others have done this and it sounded like once their local mechanic saw it they understood what needed to be done. Or anyone who you know might be willing to give it a try. This was my first, and only, attempt ever, for me to solder. Good luck.
william russell Check with your local napa store or somewhere like that.
They have regular customers who may have a small shop and will only recommend to you a suitable repair shop to fix your car.
Just tried this today and I can finally see how many miles or on my car. Soldering was easy and now works great. Thanks for the great video!!!
Dustin Broviak You're welcome Dustin. Very glad to hear my video helped you. Thanks for the thumbs up.
The total disassembly from the dashboard, soldering and reinstall too under an hour. My wife now realizes the many uses of a kitchen table. Thankyou.
Paul Bevillard Ha, ha. Thanks for posting your comment Paul.
I have this very same issue, and your video was extremely helpful. I really like how descriptive you are....that way I dont have to second guess anything.
My PRNDL and odometer have been out for over a year. Thanks to this video, I was able to fix it in about an hour. Thanks !!!
Also, one other thing to remember. When removing and reinstalling the panel and covers, you have to pull the gear shift selector l all the way down. Be sure to first set the parking brake.
Also, I could not find a 9/32 socket but found that a 7 mm (metric) socket also works well.
moo
Awesome. I took my dash apart this morning and replaced the resistors. The odometer works like a charm now. the whole job took about 1 hour. Thanks for posting this video.
Isn't the internet grand. I've also fixed my Dodge Caravan and save scads of money with videos from TH-cam.
Please keep posting.
I watched your video, gathered my tools and completed this repair in one hour. Your instructions are very good. Until I saw your video, the garage had me sick thinking of spending $400 to $500 for this repair. Thank you for the great video and your time to produce it.
Bruce Allen Thanks for watching and liking my video Bruce. I'm glad to hear the time I took to produce it has helped you and others. I've found YT a very usable tool for some DIY stuff. Thanks for leaving a comment and cost estimate. :D
Thanks for taking the time to make the video! I bought the carbon film 1/2 watt 5% resistors from ebay and I can now easily read my PRNDL & Odometer.
Glad I could help!
Very well done video. I just finished repairing the panel on my daughter's 2004 Buick.
The PRNDL and odometer shine bright again. Thanks.
Great news glen! So glad to hear you got your daughter's Buick in shape again. Thanks for watching and liking.
I decided to try and fix my own odometer, I've been laid off so $ tight. I thank you for posting this video. I've never done anything like this before. It took me approx. 2 hours. Not bad for a newbie!
MrMnmn911, you are THE man! I've just followed this step-by-step on my brothers '03 Century. Spent around 35 bucks for the soldering tool, desoldering mesh, some fine rosin flux, and the 5pk resistors. Thank you so very, very much!
I did this job the other day on my car and it was right on time helpful..i was told it would cost 120 to diagnose the issue but i did some googling and found the issue..thanks a lot for posting this video
Just wanted you to know your video is still helping people. I've worked on mechanical issues on my own cars for over 20 years including head gasket replacement but have never done a purely electrical repair until today. Took me a little less than 2 hours. $ 13.48 total for the soldering iron & pack of resistors. THANKS FOR THE VIDEO !
+Don Moore 1Fantastic! Thanks for posting your comment. Cheers.
i herd a scan tool wont work to read the miles in these buicks too old
04 Buick Century. PRNDL & Odometer light out. Quoted $1400 by repair shop for refurb board replacement. Followed video and fixed it myself for $23 total. Works great now
YAY! Glad my video helped save you $1377! Thanks for leaving a comment with your success!
Just got back from my mechanic. He welded in the resistors and the odometer lit up. Yipee!!! Thanks again for the answer to this problem.
I just tried this on my 2002 Buick Century and it worked! I think NTB told me it would cost hundreds of dollars for them to do this. In the end, this DIY fix cost me only about $17 and maybe 2 hours or less to complete. Thanks so much for all your help. You saved me money and even helped me learn how to solder!
Paul Weir Great news Paul! So very happy my video saved you hundreds of dollars and you learned you could do it! Thanks for liking and sharing. :-D
August 2016 My wife got new job where she had to keep track of her miles. I wasn't looking forward to doing this, but it went amazingly smooth Thanks for the tutorial no questions after watching. St Wx
Good to hear about your success St Wx. Glad my video helped you get your wife's cars back in good shape.
I had a little trouble with the soldering also, but thank you so much for this very thorough video. Got it done in about 1 1/2 hours and I can see my mileage again! You are a lifesaver!
Devin Carpenter You're very welcome Devin. Thanks for liking and favoriting my video. Glad it helped. I know how it feels. I had to keep from laughing and shouting out "YES!", when I turned the key in my video. It's a great sight to see and to know you did it yourself and the money saved is awesome.
We had the same problem and followed the video. A couple of comments:Resistors generally don't die, in this case, try re-soldering them first. The plating on the ends of these are poor and that's all we needed to do. The video said 150 ohm resistors and that's what we measured. however, he used 100 ohm ones, we read the colour coding. Resistors don't have polarity, you can put them in either end either way. (Diodes do have polarity however). This video made the job go a lot smoother, thanks for posting it.PS After a couple of years of low-light then no-light, now my PRNDL lights are dazzling me!
Thank you! I watched your video and bought the soldering kit and resistors. I tackled this project today (yesterday I fixed my driver’s side window motor thanks to another youtuber’s video) and it worked!! I saved hundreds of dollars and I feel really accomplished. Thank you again!
An excellent video. It helped me a lot, first because it showed how to remove the panel and second it was a confirmation the whole procedure works. Thank you man, I did it today May 04, 2013, and now I'm a happy guy.
Very thorough video THANKS. I am driving to my local parts store now. Just a quick tip for anyone who this is their first time soldering. Heat the wire so that its hot then add solder to the hot wire. You get a better connection. Also you can buy a soldering Wick. This will pick up excess solder if you add too much or bridge a connection. This definitely helps if you are starting out. Solder in a ventilated area. If you smell mint that is bad fumes; go outside for a while get some fresh air.
zebocrab Great tips zebocrab. Good luck with your repair. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
It Works thanks Buddy! You too!
This worked for me! Thanks for the video. Really straight forward. Hardest part was getting off my ass to do it.
+Del Curry You're welcome Del Curry. Glad my video helped.
Thank you so much!!! Your video really help...Im all for DIY projects and saving money. I found my soldering kit on sale at radio shack for only $6.50 and resisters for $1.64....I think Im going to repair my windows myself next.
Good deal Vanecia. Hope it works for you. Cheers.
Thanks for this. Had to go into my daughter's 2002 Century twice. At first, I saw only one resistor missing, so I put a new one on. It worked for a minute, the would go out, or come back in really dimly lit. When I picked the other 3 off the board and replaced those, it works great now.
You're welcome Scott! Glad to hear my video helped. Have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday. 🦃
My son and I were able to take everything apart on my 03 Buick that he is driving, and with a little help from my boyfriend on the soldering we were able to complete this project in a couple hours. Awesome video! Thank you so much! Now he knows when he needs to go for an oil change to keep her rolling! Only 89,000 miles, so she's got a ways to go, LOL
That is all so good to hear Alana! So glad my video helped you and your son. Cheers!
Thanks for the video. My brother and I did this on my '99 Century and it worked like a charm. When we opened up the cluster, two of the resistors had broken off the circuitboard entirely.
CallistoAshus Good to hear Callis! Thanks for liking and leaving a comment. Good to know my video helped.
This was great help!!! When I opened up the cluster panel, 3 of my resistors were gone, there was only the top one left. I think it may have fixed my gas gauge too. It was reading either Full or Empty. If it did, you helped me fix a $600 - $700 problem for only $13 dollars, and it was way easier than I could have imagined. Thanx a bunch!!!
Michael Elmore Yes!! So very glad to hear how much you saved! And that you did it yourself! Thanks for the thumbs up!
I did it on my 2998 Buick Century, an saved me over 500.00 via dealer ship, I was so happy it worked. glad I used utube for more research into the problem.
Just did it today, and finished it in just an hour. Never soldered before, but it was easy! Thanks for the video help.
You're welcome Ryan W. Glad my video helped. Have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend.
10 years later and ima gonna give her a try!!! 5 thumbs up!!!!
Good luck. Let's us know if it works for you.
Has it been recording the mileage all of these years? Blindly
AMAZING!!!!! I have never soldered before and was able to get it working in an hour and a half for about $25. Thanks a million.
You're welcome Daniel. I'm so glad to hear my video helped you. Thanks for the thumbs up.
A very intuitive tutorial. I was successful changing the resisistors on my daughters 1999 Century because of this video. Thanks so much!!
Used this fix on my mom's 2000 Century just last week. Replaced all 4 resistors, just in case. Installed Radio Shack brand resistors (150 ohm/.5 watt) --- 5-pack sells for $1.49 plus applicable sales tax. Problem solved for a pittance, and odometer/PRND123 display is bright as ever. Thanks for the post, MrMnmn911!!
Just wanner say thank you very much for your uploading. Following this video I repaired my 2002 Buick Regal odometer successfully.
Just switched em out! Thanks! Your video made the clips removal easy which can be a trick because you don't how many, where? My elderly mom is thrilled to see the shifter display. Thanks!!! Hope it lasts!
I own a 2002 Buick regal.. Your video was a big help for me!!!
cedborn0303 Very cool. Thanks for commenting cedborn0303.
I viewed your excellent video on repairing the instrument cluster. One small comment I thought worth mentioning for others who also view this video, it does not matter which direction the replacement resistors are installed, it does not matter what side the gold band is on, the color coded striping is utilized to denote the value of the resistor. A resistor color code is read from the fathest end away from the gold (or silver ) color band. In this case the replacement resistors are 150 ohms. BROWN,GREEN,BROWN GOLD.= 150 Ohms, 5% Tolerance. If the fourth color band happened to be silver the value would remain the same but the resistor would have a tolerance of 10%, in other words in can vary as much as 10% of its value of 150 Ohms, either 10% higher or 10%lower in value of 150 Ohms. Thanks for the great video !
Your video just helped me out a ton yesterday. Thanks! $1.50 and 1hr fix... perfect!
Fantastic SwhishaMane420. Glad to hear you saved some money and that everything was successful.
That's great Michael. So glad it worked and my video helped you out. You saved quite a bit of money and it's always cool knowing you did it yourself. Thanks for watching, commenting and liking.
Where did you get the resisters and what value was the resister
One more comment. I have a 1/2 inch magnetic disk mounted on an 18 inch telescoping handle. It was perfect for recovering the clips that came off when removing the passenger side and driver side panels. My arms and fingers are too large to pick up small stuff like that from a small area. Hope the tip helps somebody else! Thanks again, MrMnmn911!
Thanks for the tip Bill. Glad everything worked out.
Great vid! Just performed this fix on my mom's '02 Century she wants to trade in. The dealer told her it would be worth $500 more if they know the mileage, so I told her I would give it a shot. Entire process took about an hour. I'm definitely a novice at soldering, only have done it once or twice with nothing this precise, but I just took my time and everything worked out great. I work for NAPA where I have sold a couple of these clusters that Dorman offers. They are refurbs and sell for about $300-$350. The $3 I spent at Radio Shack for resistors (I bought 2 packs just to be safe) was definitely a lot better than $300! And that's not including labor if you have a garage install it! If you have this problem, watch the vid and give it a shot, GREAT video! Thanks!
Wesley Galloway Thank you so much for the comment Wesley. I'm glad my video helped. Good to know all the information from the dealer and a seller of a refurbished cluster panel. So glad my video helped. Good luck to your mom on her trade in. Thanks for liking and sharing my video.
Thank you, I followed your video and my PRND & odometer are working again. I was given a $500 estimate to fix this problem. Cost less then 2 bucks. Thanks!
Thank you for your post, I have both a 1998 and a 1999 Century and your info was perfect. I had someone do the soldering for me but for under 50 bucks both are up and running again.
Before I got started, I studied a few videos on youtube including this one. Yours offers the best demonstration and most detailed instruction. Thanks again for your great sharing!
With the help of the original video and yours I just completed this task for my 2002 Buick Regal LS. Since I never soldered anything before it was both helpful and reassuring watching you solder the resistors. Great video and great help! Thanks!
Bravo to you. I have a 2002 Regal when the odometer went dark so I followed your instructions right up to the 1.50 for Radio Shark resistors. If I had gone to Buick it would have been 400+ or 232 sending cluster to Southern Electronics..............I owe you a lot of beers man...........thx again
Well done ctman2. Glad my video helped you save some big buck. I appreciate you watching, liking and commenting. Cheers.
Thanks for taking the time to make the video, the attention to detail was great man, for a guy that doesn't work on cars all that much. I haven't fixed the odometer yet but now I know what the problem is. Nice job.
lol. today I open yt. set in the browser buick century 2003 and got this video. My buick just began a week ago with this problem. Thanks for uploading the solution.
Ha ha. Good to here Matias. Please let us know how this works for you. Hope my video helps.
I did this for my girlfriend's Buick a couple years ago. I still to this day cannot believe the manufacturer used cylindrical resistors on a surface mount circuit. How bad are your engineers at their jobs when they can't realize that design is going to definitely fail one day? There's a reason this is such a common issue with these cars, its a horrible design. At least its something that's relatively easy to repair at home with minimal expense.
Also, and I'm sure this has been pointed out before, resistors don't have polarity so you can solder them in whatever orientation you wish. The color bands are just there to give the resistor values. In case anyone ever gets worried if they don't solder the resistors on the same way you do, you're not going to hurt anything.
Good video. I like the closeup shot while you were soldering. And it was a decent job for someone who was soldering for the first time.
Just got done with this repair & it worked like a charm. Took me almost as long to go to Radio Shack for the resistors as it did to make the repair. As a bonus installed a new stereo head unit while the dash was apart.
Thanks for the video, especially the dash removal details which some of the other videos don't show. It made the job easier & probably prevent some clip breakage.
Great video, helped me out a lot, bought the exact same resistors from radio shack for 1.60 with tax. Now my wife knows exactly what gear she's in and now knows how many miles her car has
Cody Chandler Great to hear Cody. Glad your wife can now be assured of her mileage and gear! Not bad for $1.60! Thanks for the thumbs up!
I picked up the resistors from my local Radio Shack. That night i ripped into it just as you described in your video. One of the resistors was missing out of the 4, i touched the others with my finger tip and they all fell off. Soldered on the new ones and its back on. Thanks again.
I have to say THANK YOU! I just did this with my 2002 Buick Century Limited. It ihas 116,000 miles on it. It took me about one hour, including the soldering of the resisters. I was so happy when the PRNDL lit up like a Christmas tree! I used 150 OHM resisters from Radio Shack. A 5-Pack was $1.49. I also bought a $16.99 soldering pen and fixed the whole thing for under $20.00!
Thanks for this video! I did the same operation on my Buick Regal 2000 today.
Your video was a great help. So once again THANK YOU, it was exciting to see how many miles it got up to ! I landed on 120000 something. Stil rolling!
+Happy Cat ha ha. Great news Happy Cat. Sounds like she's ready to go in style again. Glad my video helped you.
Thanks for this video! Did this fix for someone yesterday, took under an hour and worked great! Thanks for the simple run down made it very easy.
Great to hear! Glad you were able to help someone out. Cheers!
Tremendous help to my same problem. Saved me almost $ 500.00. Thanks
Worked like a charm. Had not seen my odometer display for years. Cheap resistors fell off the board.
Thanks for this very detailed and informative how-to. Just bought my son a 2001 Century with this problem and will be trying this soon.
parkrndl You're welcome. Thanks for the thumbs up. Let us know how it works. Happy New Year!!
MrMnmn911
Worked like a charm! The only problem I had was that I also watched someone else's video about removing the dash trim pieces, and they didn't take the screws out of the piece surrounding the climate control system... they just popped the clips at the top and let the piece hang by the screws. Well, I tried that, and broke the bottom mounts, grrrr. I fixed them with some scrap metal I had around, but I should have just followed your procedure. At any rate, the part I was really worried about was soldering the resistors, and that actually went pretty smoothly. Great how-to, thanks for the inspiration!
parkrndl Great! So glad to hear it worked!
Great video and repair, I have a 2001 Buick Regal and all this info here worked perfect for my car. I replaced all 4 resistors as explained here, very easy to do. upon removing the cluster and taking the cluster apart to see the resistors, there was only 2 resistors on the board, the top one was never installed from factory the 2 others were melted an gone completely, on one of the places to solder the new resistor to that has like little squares to put the resistor on to solder was all burnt off from the resistor getting hot I guess, but I could see the little printed circuit wires on each side, so carefully I put solder on bot ends of the little PC wires and then soldered the resistor to the PC little wires and it all works perfect, excellent video
Very good sir. So glad to hear it worked for your 2001 Regal. Thanks for posting your success.
Thanks so much for your video!
PRNDL and odometer were out on my 2001 Buick Regal and I found your video and got it fixed!
Never had soldered before or anything.
There were a few differences in taking off the interior panels but that was expected with the different interior of the Regal versus the Century (my Regal has the gear selector in front of the center console versus on the dash and taking off the ac panel was NOT required in my Regal.
Thanks again this was a great informative video
+T H You're very welcome T H. Glad to hear it worked on your Regal. Happy 4th of July! 🎆🎇
Thanks for uploading this video! I just completed this project on my 2004 Regal. Your instructions saved me hundreds of dollars!
+David Corleone YAY! Glad you saved lots of money. Glad my video helped.
With the help of this video I was able to fix my 2003 Buick in less than 3 hours! Thank you
You're welcome Brian. Glad to know my video helped you. Cheers!
Hey MrMnmn911 - I tried the replacement as described in your video - WORKED LIKE A CHARM!!! It took me about 20 minutes to remove the paneling and the Instrument Cluster; another 20 minutes to remove the old resistors (they practically fell off) and solder in the new ones; and then 20 minutes to reassemble!
A quick note for others: When I removed the circuit board from the assembly, I was a bit concerned to notice a big black spot in the lower right corner of the PRNDL display. It kind of looked like what a blown screw-in type household fuse looks like when it is blown. The fix worked for me, so that may be a characteristic of how they are made. Definitely made my day!!!
Time investment was about an hour; parts investment was about $1.58 for a 5 pack of resistors from Radio Shack. I probably could have dug through my electronic components junk box, but that might have taken me an hour more! As a Ham Radio operator, I have quite a bit of soldering experience. But not too much experience soldering to surface mount pads! :-)
Thanks again for the video. Probably saved me from a $300 repair bill!
Good to hear how much you saved Bill Hetu.
VISHAY MMA02040C1500FB300 is a SMD resistor that can be used to replace these. However, In the repair that I did, the resistors weren't actually bad, they just needed to be re-soldered. Great video, thanks for the help!
Great video!! I just bought a 2000 Buick Century and it has small problems such as this.... I am looking to replace the resistors on mine too. These are GREAT cars and last forever if you get one that has been taken care of. I will be watching this video as I solder my new resistors. LOL Thanks for the video!! Helped a lot :D
***** You're welcome Casey. Good luck on your repair.
Just finished fixing my 1999 buick regal dash. The video was very accurate. I bought the soldering gun with the solder and the resistors at radio shack. Total repair cost-$14.95.
Great video -helped a lot. Never soldered before and it worked!!!
thank you so much. i just fix my odometer about 5 minutes ago. your tutorial was great. i just borrowed the iron and solder from my job. so the total cost to fixed my odometer was less than $2.
thanks you again.
Thanks for sharing the information. I was successful with repairing the cluster on a 1999 Buick Century that we purchased for my daughter by using these steps. Now the PRNDL and odometer lights up. These forums are very valuable. Thanks again, all the best to you and yours.
Marco Brown Good to hear Marco. Thanks for leaving a comment. :-)
Thanks for the video! I recently bought a a used buick from a dealership, and seven months later I am having a lot of problems with it. Granted they are minor issues that i can fix myself with the proper instruction... I am having this same problem... must be a manufacturing flaw. :) thanks again! I will have to do this tomorrow when I have the time. ;)
Thanks for the video. You make it look easy. BTW you said in the video you didn’t know why the resistors were color coded. Each color represents a numerical value and the combination of colors describes the resistance value.
Love your video. I watched it several times before fixing mine. It worked very well and mine actually lost only 1 resistor. I just put a new one into the lost spot. Your helpful video saved me $600 and gave me huge thrill and fun. Thanks again. BTW, I kept my problem for more than a year. Oops
Thanks for this great video. I played it for my mechanic and he said he could do the job.
I liked this video the best because you showed the exact parts needed and where to get them.
Thank you again.
Thank you very much. very thorough but straightforward video, helped me get a friends odometer going. took me about 2 hours.
on a 2000 century. it was slightly different from the video, there were a few different screws but it's easy to figure out.
Denzel Perry You're welcome Denzel. I'm glad my video helped. Thanks for leaving a comment.
No problem buddy!
Thank you for sharing this. Just spent $600 on the intake gasket and a tune-up, the cluster was next on the list. I've soldered before, but had no idea how to pull the dash apart. This will help make life much easier. I was quoted for this repair 5 hrs for removal and re-installation, and $310 for the replacement cluster.
Ugh. I knew that was going to be like that. I knew it was a very surgical task with the resistors. I watched other videos and avoided the headache unfortunatley, It cost me alot. Alot of places I went to for the cluster didn't even want to touch it. Amazing, hundreds of dollars of labor for 4 - 25 cent resistors. I love my Century..but thanks Buick. Most said, that cluster "was made to fail"
Just wanted to say Thanks for posting your video, (it showed me how to get the dash apart, that was what was holding me up on trying this in the first place) and you were right, the top resistor was not attached on one end, the other 3 seemed ok but it didn't seem bright enough when I tested it so I followed your recommendations and replaced all 4. It now works perfect! Again, Thanks so much!
Thanks SO MUCH for posting this. We were looking at having to buy the entire piece for $300+ and after watching this we fixed our car for $13! Thanks again. :)
I just want to say thank you so much for your video! Just fixed my 2004 Century and it works great! Your the best! Look forward to more of your videos!
Andrew A. You're welcome Andrew. Glad to hear my video helped you get your girlfriend's car repaired quickly. Cheers.
I just watched your video. The detail is perfect! Thank you very much!!
You're very welcome! Thanks for watching and liking.
Soldering basics: heat both the wire and pad on the circuit board. Just a touch of solder to flow and you’re good to go. Since you’re using through hole resistors in a surface mount board, use something to hold it down/ steady while you heat up the contacts. I like how you put a small loop at on the lead wire to increase the surface area available. Don’t listen to anyone telling you, “The bigger the blob, the better the job”.
This method works and is legit just repaired mines today "2000 buick regal" but before you solder, make sure you clean the connection on the circuit board with the solder before you solder the resistors on. Don't worry if the solders aren't perfect just as long as their is a connection
jadakid1395 Thanks for leaving a comment on your success, and the tip. Good to hear my video help.
Richard Taylor Thank your for watching, liking, favoriting, commenting and sharing.
Richard Taylor You so smart...where is your video?
Richard Taylor Hmmm. I wonder why no one has been killed doing this? You just proved what an idiot you really are.
Worked for me. Really simple repair. Cost me $1.49 for resistors. Thank you so much. Very helpful info.