Ok so here is my head scratcher for today i followed all the steps on the radio repair tutorial that Andrew posted and when i test lead my lights i get lights even if i use a different switch match up (where i use one lead on one side of a bulb and a different side of a different bulb) i get full brightness but when i reconnect the face plate to the radio and plug it into the car nothing its like the bulbs don't work but when i pull it back out and put the leads back on it the bulb lights back up i don't understand whats going on here and am hoping someone else has went threw this and can give me a helping hand i just don't understand

Thanks in advance for your time

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Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car

Could the polarity somehow be reversed? Some LEDs need the correct polarity to light and may just be backwards. Try the leads reversed and see if you still get lights. Just a thought.

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-Ryan
2004 GTO....LS1, LSA supercharged 525whp, 6MT
96 SSEi...September 2010 COTM........GONE
04 GTP comp G.... December 2015 COTM........GONE
2013 Audi Allroad Quattro

ok i tried that and i still got lights, so im guessing thats all straight?

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Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car

Now is this for the screen or different lights within the radio?

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-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles

For the screen, the screen lights blew again so I'm replacing them again

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Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car

Still having this issue, could really use some help, would like to get a fully functional Display again.

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Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car

Just to be clear, you replaced these with bulbs and not LED's... correct? Two entirely different components, different operating voltages and characteristics.

If I'm understanding, you attach clips (supplying +12VDC) to the leads of the bulbs and they illuminate correctly, but when you install the faceplate in the radio, none of them illuminate?

I would look to make sure that none of the wiring or connectors that interface the faceplate with the main board on the radio is damaged (broken wire, bent pin on a connector, etc).

Another possibility may relate to technique. The traces on these printed circuit boards are quite fragile and susceptible to lifting or breaking if you applied too much heat when removing the old bulbs or installing the new ones. Good soldering technique is something that requires skill and practice and when you start working on printed circuit boards you need to know how to do this properly. A soldering iron that is too hot can be your detriment. I'd also start to look very closely for any broken traces. Again, these can be very hard to see and without knowledge, can also be hard to repair.

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Bose Luxury Sound System w/Touch Screen Navigation, Addition of Factory XM, 2005 MY Antenna, OnStar Upgrade (3G),
RainSense Wipers, Backup Camera, '00 Style Door Panel Courtesy Lights, Heated Washer Solvent, 2X Remote Trunk Release,
Turn Signal Mirrors, Center Console Courtesy Lamp, Rear Outboard Heated Seats, PVD Chrome 18" Factory Rims, Upgraded
Carbon Fibre Appearance Interior Trim, Highly Modified Main Body Harness, Instrument Panel, Door, Door Panel & Headliner
Wiring Harnesses, Custom Fuse Box & Tire and Loading Information Decals, Additional Acoustic Insulation[/size][/color]

Yes i used Bulbs not led's and when i attach the clips i dont connect them to one single bulb i connect a positive to one side of one bulb and then connect the negative to somewhere else on the board and they all illuminate so is it still possible that something could have gotten destroyed by soldering?

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Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car

Absolutely. It depends on where the final problem ends up being. Without having it directly in front of me though I can't tell you exactly what the problem is. The bulbs should all be in a parallel circuit so as long as the traces between all the bulbs are intact, connecting power to both sides of the circuit using two different bulbs will still result in them illuminating.

So here's some potential bad news...

I don't have the service manual or diagrams for this radio so I can't know for sure, but there is a backlamp control signal coming into the Dock-N-Lock connector on the back which is used for dimming control. It's also possible that the power to illuminate the lamps is provided through the Battery Positive line and dimming is controlled by a circuit on the board determined by the backlamp dimming control signal. Long story short, you may have damaged one or more components on the circuit board by arbitrarily connecting power within a circuit and not being aware of polarity. Here's a few things you need to remember when working on electronic circuit boards...

1. ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) is not your friend. Many components are damaged by static electricity (which may be cumulative and not immediate) so how you handle electronic components and circuit boards is important.
2. Correct technique and temperature used when working on circuit boards, and with components is important.
3. Although some "modules" may have reverse polarity protection, this isn't going to help when you arbitrarily introduce power into the middle of a circuit. Damage is most certainly possible.
4. Incandescent bulbs have no polarity but circuits controlling them may. Don't ever assume it's okay to introduce reverse-polarity power into a circuit.
5. ALL LED's (at the component level) have a polarity. This doesn't apply to your thread, but an LED is a Light Emitting Diode. There are strategies used so that a person can plug an LED into a socket either direction and it will work (some 194 LED lamps for example) but these are more than just a single, discrete LED. A diode, light emitting or not will only permit current flow in ONE direction. No current flow, no illumination.

Like I said, your problem could be a lot of different things. Check all the connectors attaching the display board to the main board and make sure nothing is bent over or damaged (individual pins in the connector). Check to make sure you didn't bridge any solder connections to other traces or leads of other components on the circuit board and using a magnifying glass, carefully look at every location where you soldered for a lifted pad or damaged trace. Even if it's there you may not see it because this can take a trained eye.

_________________

Bose Luxury Sound System w/Touch Screen Navigation, Addition of Factory XM, 2005 MY Antenna, OnStar Upgrade (3G),
RainSense Wipers, Backup Camera, '00 Style Door Panel Courtesy Lights, Heated Washer Solvent, 2X Remote Trunk Release,
Turn Signal Mirrors, Center Console Courtesy Lamp, Rear Outboard Heated Seats, PVD Chrome 18" Factory Rims, Upgraded
Carbon Fibre Appearance Interior Trim, Highly Modified Main Body Harness, Instrument Panel, Door, Door Panel & Headliner
Wiring Harnesses, Custom Fuse Box & Tire and Loading Information Decals, Additional Acoustic Insulation[/size][/color]

Okay ill recheck it tomorrow and see if I can see anything different also I will attempt photos to show what's going on thanks for the continious help it is greatly appreciated!

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Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car

This is what im working with, if you see anything amiss please let me know,




(Sorry some are all upside down i rotated them but they wouldn't save so i gave up)
If there is anything i have done wrong that i can fix please help it drives me nuts not having a display i mean my radio is still fully functional

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Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car

Unfortunately the photos are really hard to see because of the focus. Sometimes these problems are hard to detect with the board up close but in a photograph it's even harder, and clarity problems make it virtually impossible. Rotation doesn't matter though. Trying to troubleshoot this remotely is very difficult... Can you e-mail me some high resolution pics? I can PM you my e-mail if you want...

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Bose Luxury Sound System w/Touch Screen Navigation, Addition of Factory XM, 2005 MY Antenna, OnStar Upgrade (3G),
RainSense Wipers, Backup Camera, '00 Style Door Panel Courtesy Lights, Heated Washer Solvent, 2X Remote Trunk Release,
Turn Signal Mirrors, Center Console Courtesy Lamp, Rear Outboard Heated Seats, PVD Chrome 18" Factory Rims, Upgraded
Carbon Fibre Appearance Interior Trim, Highly Modified Main Body Harness, Instrument Panel, Door, Door Panel & Headliner
Wiring Harnesses, Custom Fuse Box & Tire and Loading Information Decals, Additional Acoustic Insulation[/size][/color]

This is as close to HD i could get and i used a scanner to get this an honestly i think it looks worse but ill let you be the judge of that and i really appreciate this help in trying to solve my problem thank you so much!

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Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car

No, unfortunately that's not going to help.

I think your options are pretty limited at this point. You can talk to Andrew (harofreak00) and he may be able to help you out if you send it to him (shipping to/from MN shouldn't be too bad). If there's damage to the board or any of the components the most cost effective solution would be to get a replacement radio. I'm certain he can help you with this as well. You will need to have a VIN relearn completed by a dealer if you go this route.

_________________

Bose Luxury Sound System w/Touch Screen Navigation, Addition of Factory XM, 2005 MY Antenna, OnStar Upgrade (3G),
RainSense Wipers, Backup Camera, '00 Style Door Panel Courtesy Lights, Heated Washer Solvent, 2X Remote Trunk Release,
Turn Signal Mirrors, Center Console Courtesy Lamp, Rear Outboard Heated Seats, PVD Chrome 18" Factory Rims, Upgraded
Carbon Fibre Appearance Interior Trim, Highly Modified Main Body Harness, Instrument Panel, Door, Door Panel & Headliner
Wiring Harnesses, Custom Fuse Box & Tire and Loading Information Decals, Additional Acoustic Insulation[/size][/color]

well thats what i thought i may end up having to do but from my time working with the face plate on the radio i have come to learn that the faceplate is not needed for the radio to function so if i can just get a replacement face plate maybe from a pull a part yard it will not require the hefty 90 dollar relearn fee so that's my small win for today

BTW thank you so much for all your time i really do appreciate it

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Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car

FWIW, I have been able to swap face plate board assemblies without a VIN re-learn.
I only needed to have it done when main board in bottom of HU was from different car.
Face plate has to be from similar HU though (i.e. my '03 Monsoon will not interchange with my '00 Bose)

if you are working with electronics, a multimeter is your best friend-grab a cheap one with continuity and your good for basic to intermediate stuff-

this continuity setting allows you to check for breaks in current path- wires you can go over the pcb(printed circut board)to detect breaks and solder boo boos that will give you a short

I got a cheap one 20$ on ebay-- its great!!!! and if I lose it, I grab another!!you find them in lots of stores -just be sure you get one with continuity ( a setting that sounds a buzzer when there is no break

hope everything works out for ya!!

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poverty forces one to do unorthodox things

2000 SSEi
past rides:
1996 SSEi
1992 GTP
1987 Grand Am

If you can get a faceplate PCB, that will be good. Just be aware that there were a few different revisions of these radios so hopefully you won't have any compatibility problems. Remember that if you grab another board, you'll be starting out again with the same potential lamp problems that you were dealing with on the radio you already have.

Hope all works out well for you in the end!

_________________

Bose Luxury Sound System w/Touch Screen Navigation, Addition of Factory XM, 2005 MY Antenna, OnStar Upgrade (3G),
RainSense Wipers, Backup Camera, '00 Style Door Panel Courtesy Lights, Heated Washer Solvent, 2X Remote Trunk Release,
Turn Signal Mirrors, Center Console Courtesy Lamp, Rear Outboard Heated Seats, PVD Chrome 18" Factory Rims, Upgraded
Carbon Fibre Appearance Interior Trim, Highly Modified Main Body Harness, Instrument Panel, Door, Door Panel & Headliner
Wiring Harnesses, Custom Fuse Box & Tire and Loading Information Decals, Additional Acoustic Insulation[/size][/color]

Thanks guys for all the help. Hopefully I won't run into any compatibility issues as I have an se and hopefully if I get another base model face plate I'll be alright but again thank you for all your help and input

_________________
Member #3848
2002 Black Bonneville SE Sold But Not Forgotten
2002 White Bonneville SSEi Project car