Info Centre

[travelman]

My info centre stopped working a while ago.The back light works as does the speedo,but nothing at all on the display or petrol gauge.
My car is a 1991(April) standard ES.Vin XLBEX183EMC567653.
I tried fitting a 100% working unit out of a 1993 2 litre model,but in the ES it remained dead.Then I saw in a previous post that Brinkie said to replace with one from the same year and model,so it seems they are not interchangeable through different years and models.Also he said that in 1991 there was a change in the units,so would I have a pre or post unit in mine as registered in April.Would anyone know from the Vin if it is a true 1991 or a 1990 model sold in 1991.
It seems as though my best bet is to try and find someone to check all the soldering on my existing info centre,Brinkie style,then see what happens.I do have a third info centre but do not have any idea what year car it is from,or what model.Is there any way to find out?

[jifflemon]

Have you tried running your vin through the Vin reader?

[jamescarruthers]

Details on how to identify Info Centres on our own club website's FAQ section (you might need to be logged on to the main site to view this): http://www.volvo-480-europe.org/volvo480/faq/index.php

More specifically: http://www.volvo-480-europe.org/volvo48 ... ment_panel





I would suggest having yours repaired rather than fit an unknown one that will likely let you down eventually.

Or, if replacing look for 'H', 'VDO 734' and all three prongs intact for B18FP (bottom left)‎

‎The weird thing is that a one from a 2.0 ES should have worked in your car according to this information‎. Or, the B20 one is indeed different and is omitted from the picture I posted. The way I read that data is that there were no changes in Info Centre from late 1.7 to 2.0.

@ Brinkie: do you know different?‎

Your issue could lie elsewhere if the 2.0 is the same as the late1.7? If the info centre looses it's ground, it won't work. I haven't experienced it myself but I think there is a wire near the alternator that is the Info Centre ground. Might be worth a look. Also, does it come alive is you reach around the back of the instrument panel and squeeze the plugs?‎

[jamescarruthers]

Yours is a '91 model year car‎

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[jamescarruthers]

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upload images

[jamescarruthers]

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[brinkie]

If the info centre isn't alive, there could be causes five (*)
1. Halogen bulb blown. You checked that already.
2. Fuse blown
3. Wiring or connector problem, no power or ground to the info centre computer
4. Computer dead. Murphy came along: your replacement computer is also dead.
5. LCD Display dead (you can change that with ANY display, they are compatible throughout the entire model range, except for the "S" model without info centre of course)

Concerning the replacement computer:
You should be good, the change to 60 litre tank ("H" mark on the board) came somewhere late 1990. Fuel gauge and temperature should work on any info centre from MY 1988 onwards, regardless of configuration (be it turbo, B18E, F, EP or FP engine) and regardless of fuel tank size. I say from MY 1988 onwards, because the earliest cars had the connecting pins the other way around, so they won't fit physically.

(*) Three, Sir!

[travelman]

So,thank you James and Brinkie for the helpful replies.It seems that the info centre should work that I put in out of the 2 litre,or in worst case scenario the fuel gauge and temp only.But nothing at all.I think Murphy would have been very unkind to have blown the info computer and also the LCD Display in the short walk from one vehicle to the other!Given that it was completely working in the 2 litre.
The power supply could be a problem I suppose,but the fuse is ok and all the backlights come on.Or is there a seperate supply just to the info centre.If so,what colour wire would I be looking for at the back of the info centre to check if it is live.
The other possibility given is the earth which ends somewhere near the alternator.I have had a quick look and can see earth wires on the alternator,but cannot see any earth points near it,unless they are well hidden of course.What colour is the earth wire I am looking for.There is one y
ellow wire near the alternator which is not connected to anything.
I have sprayed all the connectors at the back of the info centre and squeezed connectors but all to no avail.
I am hopeless on wiring diagrams so wiring colour info would be very helpful.
The original display out of the car has a bar code on it with VDO486,which is different to all the ones given on the above diagrams.However,I have not yet stripped it down to the printed circuit board to see if it is different inside.Probably does not matter anyway.

[dcwalker]

Been following this thread but had nothing to add so far to the advice you have been getting.

One thing to check - is the orange "bridge" OK and in place in fuse position 23 (I think it's 23 - anyway, it's pretty obvious in the fuse box!)? The info-centre won't work without it.

The yellow wire you mention is nothing to do with the info-centre - it is the second wire for an oil pressure gauge sender.

IIRC, there should be a brown wire and a blue wire running to the alternator...

David

[Jagermeister]

Hi everybody,
I'm having problems with the IC too.
Mine is an S and in the instrument panel everything works but fuel/coolant gauges, so i'm trying the IC conversion.
I found a cluster in very good conditions from a same year car (94) and also on this everything works but....dead IC.
So i'm thinking it could be an earthing problem.
Wiring manual and you all say that the earthing point for IC is the anternator's earth point G-A3:




So....why in mine there aren't wires earthed to that point??
The alternator wire goes in a group of wires over the radiator zone...maybe post-92 models have some different earthing points?

Using the odometer trip to keep the count of kms i can do with the fuel is becoming a bit frustrating

[Jagermeister]

And another thing, I think my IC PCB is from a Turbo (absent 3rd pin), but it should works however exept for fuel range/consumption, right?
What I really need reading are fuel level and coolant temp, I can ignore the rest.

[jamescarruthers]

Did the fuel and coolant temp work before, when you had the S model analogue gauges?‎

[Jagermeister]

No, they stopped working months ago.
I opened the cluster, cleaned and resoldered all pins, tried 2 different gauge units, but nothing.

[brinkie]

See the 5 causes I've mentioned above. Have you tried them all?

[Jagermeister]

I'm trying to check your 5 points, but to fully check the point 3 i need to know where my G-A3 earth is gone
IC bulb replaced with a new one, later i'll check the fuse (its the 21 right?), about points 4 and 5 I don't know....I need some electronic equipment to check if PCB and IC display are ok

[travelman]

To help both of us,can someone show a photo of the info centre earth point.Are one of the earths on the alternator the correct one for the info centre or is it somewhere else nearby.Someone must know! Once we know ,either it will work if the earth point is cleaned up,or if not we can eliminate that cause and look elsewhere.I do not really want to take out the info centre again until I have eliminated this earth point.At 71 it tends to get a mite tedious and fiddly.But if needs must....................posting.php?mode=reply&f=12&t=35833#

[Jagermeister]

Last night I studied hard and I realized that the wire grounded to my alternator is the right one, the brown-blue wire that is the common sensor's ground.
So if it has a bad connection it could affect the functioning of both info centre and the standard S gauges....correct?

[zajcev82]

So how this ended up ?
Did You fixed it ?