1990 Olds Trofeo VIC

[Guest 1988 Reatta]

I've posted about this somewhat in the Reatta forum but I really need some help. I have a 1990 Trofeo that had the VIC go out:(. I traced a problem to the VIC itself in that when the unit is removed I no longer blow the 10 amp #5 fuse and the cluster is operational:). (The fuse blows and renders the instrument cluster nonoperational, except the tach, when I have the VIC in place) I am looking to find someone to rebuild the unit however I have gone through the threads and contacted some of the companies listed only to find that they no longer service the units. Is there ANYONE out there that does service these units as without it we have no climate control, radio, etc.

As I mentioned I am fairly certain that the problem lies within the VIC, though if there are some of you with more experience than I in these matters I am open to any suggestions. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all.

[Barney Eaton]

Since you are talking about a Oldsmobile........most of us do not know what a VIC is...... give us a clue and maybe we can help.

vehicle instrument cluster? Otherwise you may be SOL.

[SeanR]

He's referring to the color CRT. Like the Reatta except its in color and not monochrome.

[NCReatta]

Since you are talking about a Oldsmobile........most of us do not know what a VIC is...... give us a clue and maybe we can help.

vehicle instrument cluster? Otherwise you may be SOL.

Vehicle Information Center. Aka the $2000 optional touch screen available on Trofeos.

I'd contact M&R in Michigan and see what they can do. KDirk may be able to give some input on this subject.

This may sound stupid, but check with your dealer. They may have someone they can send it to.

[KDirk]

This is a complex unit, much more so than the CRT used in the Reatta. It is a Sony Trinitron color VGA monitor, with add-ons by Denso to GM specs. I have a few if these in my parts bin, but do not know if any of them work as I have no easy way to power them up for testing purposes. I do know a common problem on these is loss of vertical deflection (results in the picture being squashed down to one horizontal line at mid-screen) but this would not blow the fuse that supplies power to the VIC, just makes the image on the screen unreadable. Replacement IC for this issue is a Sanyo LA7830 or LA7833 (I believe these to be generally interchangeable, the 7833 has higher electrical limits and would be the best bet) and is a single inline package with a heat sink tab, so not too difficult to identify on the board. Based on my [limited] research on these, often there are cold solder joints (cracked) that make poor contact as the unit warms up causing thermal expansion of the PC board and unpredictable behavior. Still, I do not suspect that will be your problem if it is blowing the fuse.

I am inclined to suspect a problem in the power supply circuits within the VIC assembly (this could blow the fuse on the supplying circuit) or perhaps a bad flyback transformer for the CRT. Used ones do perioidically popup on ebay, there is one on there now with a radio module and CRTC asking about $450 - or best offer. That is a bit steep, I have picked these up for well under $100 "as-is" (read: probably not working) just to get a couple to experiment with. I had dreams of grafting this system into the Reatta at one point, but technical differences and physical fitment make that near impossible as it happens. I would still like to dump the ROMs from the CRTC to see if any useful information could be gleaned by comparing it to the firmware code from the Reatta CRTC, but that is about all I plan to do with it at this point.

I would concur that a GM dealer should be consulted, they may have the name of an approved service facility that can do these still. If you strike out there, PM me here as I may be able to find a way to test the ones I have and if one works, we could work some kind of arrangement. As rare as these are (only a small % of Toro/Trofeo were built with it as it was an option) I figure you may have difficulty finding a shop that still services them. The Reatta screen is common enough (and comparatively easy to work on) that there are still places offering rebuilds on them. If I can be of any further assistance, please drop me a line.

KDirk

[SeanR]

I found this page with a link.

92 Trofeo VIC Repair? - Oldsmobile Forums

1990, 1991, 1992 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo Instrument Cluster- Repair Cost only $249 USD includes all shipping!!

Edited May 3, 2013 by SeanR (see edit history)

[Barney Eaton]

Try contacting Eddie Voland, he does Reatta CRT's at a reasonable price, phone 443-536-9591

You can also contact BBA Reman, they say they do 1990 and later electronics. Since this is not a Reatta issue, I have not ask either source about repairing them.

[Jim]

I have two of them on my shelf.

Jim

Edited May 3, 2013 by Jim (see edit history)

[Blue90]

There's a 1991 Trofeo in a local upick yard here; I've already removed the cd slave and wiring harness (which appears to be shorter than the Riviera/Reatta wiring harness). Without being able to power it up, how do I tell if the touch screen is the VIC color option?

Thanks,

S.

[wws944]

... I've already removed the cd slave and wiring harness (which appears to be shorter than the Riviera/Reatta wiring harness)...

Yes, the Toronado harness is about a foot shorter. Partially made up for by the pig tail coming out the back of the CD player. I think it would still work in a Reatta because the alternate path between the head unit and CD player is shorter than path the factory install uses. Have not tried it though. If you want to use the CD player, you have to move the mounting studs to the top, and relocate the exit of the pigtail, so that it will fit in Reatta/Riv sled.

[Jim]

Stanley,

All of the Toronado Trofeos used the color VIC. It is not interchangeable with the Reatta CRTs.

I will send you an email about the radio/CD players but I am stumped at this point.

Jim

[Guest Richard D]

QUOTE :I do know a common problem on these is loss of vertical deflection (results in the picture being squashed down to one horizontal line at mid-screen) This is almost always due to a bad vertical output or vertical oscillator transistor. My guess is the output transistor. FYI the bright horizontal line will burn in to the phosphor screen and leave a "ghost" image visible even when turned off.

[KDirk]

It is interesting that a test tool (like that for the Reatta CRT) was never developed for the VIC. I guess it was not a popular enough option to warrant GM to contract with Kent Moore for the development of a similar test rig. I do wonder what the authorized repair stations used to test these out though, there must have been some kind of diagnostic system short of having to put it in a car and give it a live test. The unit would not be that difficult to power up, but to get video into it would require a special VGA cable mapped from a PC HD15 port to the requisite inputs on the VIC. As well, the video mode would have to be set 640x480 at probably 50 or 60 hz, as I am pretty certain that is all this monitor could run. Even then, that would only test the video portion, and leave no way to verify operation of the touch screen or the hard-buttons.

Just a random thought.

KDirk

[Guest 1988 Reatta]

I have bad news as far as Mr. Wizard is concerned, he does not repair the VIC's so I am back to square one with the Trofeo, and not doing much better getting the Reatta to start. If anyone know of a repair facility for the Trofeo VIC please let me know.

Thanks