I got the truck siomewhat back together after continuing with this SAGA.

Battery New
CJB taken out and cleaned
Replace the IPC with a used one
dried all carpets
replaced Cowl, A pillar trims and sunroof drains (maybe the source of the beginning, but definitely not going to leak now)
ohm'ed out the both CAN Busses,

Today when going around testing the LR3 went into the typical "Crash Mode" but this time something else different happened. The cluster COMPLETELY went dark flashed a couple of times, when it came back up, it was lit up like a christmas tree with every warning light on, and suspension was acting weird. Pulled into a gas station, shut it down, Couple minutes later it cranked right up and nothing was wrong till I got home.

Is any guessing what I am? The original cluster probably was bad, but may have i replaced it with yet another used bad cluster? Would anything else cause the cluster to COMPLETELY WIG OUT like this one is?

I don't want to say what else I am thinking as it may be used to incriminate myself!

 

I think any used cluster of this era has the probability of failing so yes i think its just succumbed to dry joints like they all do, any repair shops stateside that repair them ?

 

I've got a third I got from LRParts. I will try it today and send at least the original or the one I got from Goldwing out for repair. Hell, maybe both and see if somebody needs one.

BTW, LRParts and Goldwing Rovers are great peeps to work with. Bailed me out on many things.

I will let you guys know how this on going SAGA ends!

 

Well, Long Story short, after replacing the cluster with other used ones, then troubleshooting everything else after second guessing the cluster was the problem at all, I bit the bullet and sent my original cluster to ClusterFix. From shipping out to them and getting it back was just over a week (using the standard UPS shipping no overnighting or 2day shipping)

Plugged it in and BAM, everything has been working for perfectly over a week now.

Lesson learned. If all signs point to the cluster/IPC, it probably is and do not think you will get another used one from a used parts supplier or off eBay. They are probably smoked as well.

Just send it off to a good service like ClusterFix and be done with it.

 

Holy crap... what a PAIN this has been! Glad you got it sorted, finally!!!

 

Used clusters are a gamble. I got lucky with mine when I swapped it but I could just as easily put it on ebay and sell it.
Yep, I kept the old one. Might have to pony up and send it off to the clusterfix guys, but it's something that Ginsu has never had a problem with.

 

there are some videos on youtube for the cluster soldering repair. not going to lie, I almost hope mine fails. that looks do-able and maybe even a little fun. What's the going rate for sending them off?

 

Um,.. have you ever checked the definition of “fun”? Asking for a friend. Two gentlemen in white may show up later to fit you with a nice coat, it has wrap around arms. They may seem a little long, but don’t worry, they’re supposed to be that way!

 

LOL, I actually tried hitting some of the major soldering spots where the main connector terminates. Not sure if I made it better or worse, but had the same result. I don't know exactly what they did, but involved specifically repairing the high and mid speed busses. I know they have the specialized equipment where they basically can remove, reball, and reseat chips. They have the cool microscopes that project to large screen TVs. Me and my lighted 20x magnifier did as much damage as I could.

Well worth the $$$ for the professionals

 

I did unsolder and take apart the two boards in the CJB and then soldered back together thinking the CJB may have been it. I guess I didn't do anything too bad with my limited skills since it is working great,,,, Well as soon as I sent the IPC to real professionals.