clock light

[4orrester]

Does anyone have any info on the clock light on an 04 forrester? Is it
internal to the clock (LED) or a separate bulb? How do I get at the bulb?

thanks in advance

 

[S]

Hi 4orrester!

Does anyone have any info on the clock light on an 04 forrester? Is it
internal to the clock (LED) or a separate bulb? How do I get at the bulb?

thanks in advance

I'm guessing that your clock has stopped working; as in you can't see
the display any longer?
Don't know about the '04 models, but if it's the same clock as in my
'99 Forry, my wife's '02 Forry, and _probably_ every other Subaru for
several years prior, it is a common problem.
There isn't a "light" per se, rather the clock has a fluorescent
display that generates it's own light.
There is a relatively simple fix, if you know how to work a soldering
iron. (At least it has repaired the clock module in both of our cars,
plus a couple of other ones I fixed for my buddy at the salvage yard.)
You'll need an iron with a fine tip, and probably a magnifying glass
of some description. Basically the problem is caused by poor solder
connections on a couple of chip resistors on an internal circuit
board; re-work the solder, and hey, presto, your clock is back.
Rather than trying to describe the entire procedure here, email if
you're interested, and I'll send you a copy or the write-up. Wish I
could claim that it was _my_ discovery, but nope; it comes courtesy of
the internet

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[John Varela]

Does anyone have any info on the clock light on an 04 forrester? Is it
internal to the clock (LED) or a separate bulb? How do I get at the bulb?

thanks in advance

Here are the instructions for an older Forester. Like the man says,
it probably applies to the '04.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/c2n2vu

 

[S]

Here are the instructions for an older Forester. Like the man says,
it probably applies to the '04.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/c2n2vu

Hi John!

Thanx for posting the link. Not the same one I found, but the same
nfo.
I would like to inject two comments.
One, be real careful when you remove the clock module. On my car, the
"510" resistor had actually detached from the PC board, and was lying
loose in the plastic housing. Drop that sucker into the carpet, or
worse, into the driveway gravel . . . Also, be careful of the little
rubber thingies (how's that for descriptive that make the
pushbutton contacts (you'll see when you get that far); they too will
take a walk when you're not looking.
Two (the article mentions this, but I'll reiterate), rework the solder
on _both_ of the large chip resistors (the other one is "300"). Use a
toothpick to hold the resistor in place while you work the soldering
iron, or the surface tension of the solder will cause it to adhere to
the iron tip instead of the PCB. An extra set of hands is helpful.
Have fun.

ByeBye! S

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[John Varela]

Hi John!

Thanx for posting the link. Not the same one I found, but the same
nfo.

I like this link because it has really good photos.

I would like to inject two comments.
One, be real careful when you remove the clock module. On my car, the
"510" resistor had actually detached from the PC board, and was lying
loose in the plastic housing. Drop that sucker into the carpet, or
worse, into the driveway gravel . . . Also, be careful of the little
rubber thingies (how's that for descriptive that make the
pushbutton contacts (you'll see when you get that far); they too will
take a walk when you're not looking.
Two (the article mentions this, but I'll reiterate), rework the solder
on _both_ of the large chip resistors (the other one is "300"). Use a
toothpick to hold the resistor in place while you work the soldering
iron, or the surface tension of the solder will cause it to adhere to
the iron tip instead of the PCB. An extra set of hands is helpful.
Have fun.

All of the above is true.

By coincidence, the clock in my wife's '99 Forester had stopped
working a couple of months ago and this thread reminded me that I
needed to go fix it. So I did, before I posted to the thread.

I had fixed the 510 resistor several years ago, and had freshened
the solder on the 300, but hadn't done the inner end of the 510
because it's so crowded in there I was afraid I'd melt something
that shouldn't be melted. This time when I went to reheat the
solder on the 510 the damned thing slid off. The inner end was
completely loose.

Having only two hands, I couldn't weild the soldering iron, the
solder coil, and a toothpick (as you recommend) all at the same
time. So I used a dot of Krazy Glue to hold the resistor in place
while I soldered it.

Three times. It took three tries at soldering before I got both
ends of the 510 right, but now it's working and should be good for a
few more years.

 

[nobody >]

Having only two hands, I couldn't weild the soldering iron, the
solder coil, and a toothpick (as you recommend) all at the same
time. So I used a dot of Krazy Glue to hold the resistor in place
while I soldered it.

Supergluing SMDs (Surface Mount Device) is accepted practice.
Been dere, dun dat.

 

[S]

Hi John!

Three times. It took three tries at soldering before I got both
ends of the 510 right, but now it's working and should be good for a
few more years.

Isn't surface mount technology FUN? And those resistors are _large_
components; what, perhaps 2mm X 3mm? Modern manufacturing regularly
uses 402 series components with dimensions of .04in X .02in, or about
1mm X 0.5mm; even smaller form factors are available for some
applications. Surface mount integrated circuits generally have lead
spacings of 0.5mm; again there are smaller schemes available. Have a
look at the guts of a dead cell phone sometime!
These assemblies are produced robotically, and are very difficult to
impossible to rework by hand. This is largely why modern electronics
are considered disposable; how are you going to trouble-shoot, much
less repair or replace defective parts?
FWIW, wikipedia has a pretty good write-up on this stuff, interesting
reading even for non-technical folks. Otherwise it's simply magic (as
in ju-ju) for most users.
And there's always a "new" technology right around the corner. A
current trend for fabrication of microwave and mixed signal circuits
(ie cell phones; simply _amazing_ how the cell phone market has driven
modern electronics technology) is called LTCC, Low Temperature
Co-fired Ceramic, which features components actually embedded within
the printed circuit assembly.

ByeBye! S.


Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[4orrester]

Thanks "S" and John!

All the info I need and then some. Fixing electronics is what I do for a
living - cold solder joints and thermal stress just don't mix. Right now,
it's -10C in Nova Scotia (or 15 American!), so I'd better wait a while
before prying on any plastic bits.

Thanks again