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Guest inthespot

Just a small problem. I went to get gas tonight and when I started my Reatta "90 I noticed that my dash went to "00" and "error" and that is all but I have a light on that said "electrical problem" Well with nothing on the dash, I figured as much. Any suggestions??

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Jon,

I hate to disagree but the most common part to go bad in the '90-91 Reattas is the IPC and when they do they read 0 and 00 and error. 99% of the time you have to replace the unit.

Years ago I would have folks email me asking about prices and then I discovered they wanted to know my prices so they could sell their same items for less.

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Guest inthespot

Thanks, I think I will start the checking process before I start the replacement process ($$) But just where is the IPC located so I can check the connection. I have a manual but know you guys would be faster that the manual. The way it is put together at times confuses me, well most of the time actually.

Thanks again

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The IPC is short for instrument panel cluster.

The trim piece is held in place by 4 torx screws. 2 in the center upper of trim piece and one each in either air vent. It has snap clips on the bottom of the trim piece. Go slow and be careful. After removal of the trim piece you will see the IPC exposed.

There are 4 more torx screws[2 on each side holding the IPC in place. Remove those. Then gently rock the IPC side to side applying slight outward pressure. The IPC will release.

Clean the contacts, reinstall to test.

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Guest inthespot

I thought that might be what was meant by IPC, just not sure, thought it could be something else. I will tackle it tomorrow morning and see where I stand. If it is getting connection and nothing happens, then it is replacement time. I have had no problems what so ever before. Just started the car and bam no nothing. When I push the test button all the lights light up so I thought well it is not bad or the light would not light up. But guess that is not all there is to know about them.

Thanks,

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Guest inthespot

Well my dash will come on when I start the car or it won't, It will go out while driving or it will come on while driving. Guess I got a bad connection. Will take it apart and look and see.

But it does come on and go off. Just keeps me on my toes.

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  • 2 months later...

I have a similar problem with my dash lights going out. It does the same 00 with the "electrical problem" indicator but when I push the test button the lights are so dim that I can barely read them.

Would bad connections to my IPC cause the lights to be barely visible or does this sound like a bigger problem with my electrical system.

much, much thanks.

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I'll chime in here:

I am presently working on two 90/91 style Reatta clusters to see if I can isolate the cause of this problem. Another owner was gracious enough to "lend" me two clusters exhibiting intermittent failure and so far I've found some cold solder joints, but still have not achieved a 100% fix.

I am hoping that I can track this down to a common cause so that I can post back here for the benefit of other owners. If it turns out my assumptions are correct, then probably 90%+ of these malfunctions will be due to bad solder joints on the internal IPC circuit board. I just need to find all of them and see if that fixes the problem.

I am concerned that some problems may be due to bad power supply components inside the cluster as well. Age does not benefit many of these components, and we are now at the 20 year mark, give or take.

FWIW, most digital clusters are prone to failures from failed solder points which can be intermittent depending on the temperature of the car (cool contracts, heat expands) so sometimes the circuit will be complete, others it won't.

If/when I have any promising news to report, I will post back here.

KDirk

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Awesome, my brother is far from being a grease monkey but he is a wizard with electronics. When I pull it out I'll have him take a look at the soldered connections, maybe he can give me something to report on.

And thanks for the heads up Dave. I noticed on the other thread that you'll try to get more IPCs. If you don't already have a waiting list I would love to take one off your hands.

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All it takes is for some Rivs to show up at the salvage yard.I take a portable power station out there and jump the system. If it lights up it's good and i buy it. presently of the 5 or so that are out there, 2 were broke, 2 I got, and 1 I missed out on.

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Well I got out today with plans on fixing the IPC and it seems to be working fine now. No electrical problem indicator, no 00 and when I push to test it lights up like a Christmas tree. I still took it out and sprayed some contact cleaner on it for good measure though.

I was thinking and this happened once before when the weather was cold and rainy. I'm in Dallas and just as the first effects of hurricane Gustav hit us that's when it acted up again, however today is sunny and warm. Would cold weather be a factor or just a coincidence.

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