Chrysler Repair: Re-soldering cold joints on circuit boards: cluster gremlins, cold joints, cluster issues


Question
i had went to autozone last time for the readout but they said it was a dealer code but the code reader said something about the computer malfunction and i asked the dealership how much it was for a readout and it was like $90 or more just for the readout alone!! i might see if i can take it back to the mechanic that does the electrical work and see if he can come up w/ something bc i have not a clue when it comes to electrical work, especially soldering..
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-----Question-----
on my 97 sebring jxi i had a previous ccd problem and i had asked a question about it so i took it to the shop and the mechanic said the problem was most likely from the clifford aftermarket alarm that someone had previously installed and that they checked everything and couldn't find any other problems w/ the bcm or anything so they pulled the aftermarket alarm and the car ran perfect....ccd never displayed anymore and when i did the on/off test code 66 eventually went away so i was thrilled!! now a month later (this morning) my car decides to display the ccd on the trip monitor and the red theft light comes on but the car continued to run but my speedometer didn't work for a few minutes until the ccd went away and then my service engine soon light came on soon after and code 66 is back!! any suggestions?? (junkyard?) lol
-----Answer-----
Hi Colt,
The way this is manifesting itself at the cluster leads me to believe that the problem is in the cluster proper or the communications via the CCD bus to the cluster. The 66 code is about missing CCD bus communications, but you need to get a more complete readout with a plug-in reader to find out which module is not communicating.  
A number of van owners from the later '90's model years with similar cluster issues (intermittant readouts accompanied by "gremlins" associated with the BCM) have found that there are solder joints between the cluster plug socket and the cluster circuit board that become "cold" which means they have a poor electrical connection. These have been solved by reheating the solder joints with a soldering pencil and perhaps a tiny bit of electronic solder at each joint.
So that is what I suggest you try at this point. It might be worth getting a detailed readout with a code reader if that doesn't help. Autozone might do it for free.
So long as it goes from 'here to there' I would not consign my car to the junkyard. Full speed ahead, Colt.
Roland

Answer
Hi Colt,
It is no big deal: get a soldering pencil from an electronics supply store and a small tube of solder.
Take out the cluster from the dash, unplug it, then find the connections between the circuit board and plug's socket. You will see some silver-like blobs between each spcket pin and each trace on the board that form a joint. Heat the solder pencil and melt a little solder on the tip. Then touch the tip to each joint and hold it there till you see the blob soften/liquify. Then remove the tip and let it cool off. Don't flood the blob with so much solder that it spreads across to another joint, they need to not touch oneanother. That process will reconnect any 'cold' joints that have lost interconnection. That's it. Because the speedo stopped working when the "ccd" appeared in the trip window I suspect the issue is specific to the cluster, and that the intermittency is playing havoc with the BCM which is the data bus' central node. No guarantees, of course.
Roland
PS Pay attention to pins 7 and 8 on the blue socket which are those for the CCD bus (ref. '98 Sebring convt. manual)