Chrysler Repair: 86 electonic cluster failure., chrysler lebaron, soldering pencil

Question
Hello Roland,
My Chrysler Le Baron Convertible (1986) dashboard has just died. It took it to a Chrysler dealer over here in Europe and they are at a loss, they say it needs a new dash, but it will be almost impossible to find a dash over here. It's completely dark except for when I put on the lights, the lights on shows and the barke sign works, when I put on the hand brake. Is there any last resort thing I could do before I have to give up on it? Thanks for your help. Nadine.

Answer
Hi Nadine,
I assume that you have the electronic cluster, if not let me know.
My inclination would be remove the cluster and use a soldering pencil to heat the solder joints between the circuit board and the 2 plug sockets' connecting pins. Particularly important on the blue plug would be pins 1 and 5, while on the black plug pins 3,6 10,15,21. Also check that there is 12V voltage on plug sockets 1,10 and 21 (as listed above) when the ignition switch is in the "run" position.
It is possible to get the board repaired, I believe, as other Lebaron owners have reported this at the Yahoo Autos Group called The Chrysler Lebaron Club:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/thechryslerlebaronclub/
You could join the Club and ask for details.
Good luck on this effort.
Roland
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