BX25D instrument panel and water damage

Well after reading here that the Instrument panel just pops out on my 2014 BX25D, I figured I should try and get some of the water out. The front glass wasn't sealing at all, and as I was trying to remove the panel, the glass actually came off first.

Now I have to preface this with the fact that I am second owner of this tractor. And all but the power train warranty has run out.

So I removed the instrument panel, by reaching up underneath with a small flat screwdriver in my hand/fingers, and slipped it under one of the 4 tabs that are around the cluster. It gave it enough room on just one of them, for the entire cluster to pop right out. And as soon as I tipped it over, water literally poured out. So into the house we go. I unscrewed the 4 Phillips screws to remove the black back. Remember that the glass had already popped out. and the electronic board came right out with the front faceplate White plastic). The inside of the black cover had like mildew in it. From the looks of things the glass had a black painted border around it, and a tiny bead of black silicone holding it in. I removed all of the silicone. During this procedure I found the bottom two corners of plastic cracked, so I think the PO tried to remove, or removed the glass and replaced things. Not sure. Anyway, cleaned everything up, including corrosion on the connectors and this is what I found:

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It looks like the second pin ( I think is 12v) is nearly corroded right through. The one to the right, is corroded short.

Then I found this:

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and a better angle:

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Now the white thing is the tach motor or what ever it is. It had water inside it too. The black circular thing S14 K14 Auto is a Varistor. Essentially it is a circuit protector for the entire board in case of power surges or spikes, like those experienced with jump starting, or failed regulator on the alternator.

I am surprised my instruments still work.

Now, I can get the Varistor, but I am having a tough time matching up the connector pins to find a replacement, because those corroded pins aren't going to last too long.

Does anyone know if there are any unused pins on the 16 pin header on the instrument cluster on the 2014 BX? I would just swap them out.

This is what my cluster looks like. I borrowed someone's image from the net.

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Well, I went back out and looked at the wire harness this morning before work. Found that there are 4 pins that are not in use. I will transfer one of them over to the bad power one. Then, I am going to order a new Varistor through Digikey. The cost is less than $2 plus $8 Fed Ex shipping. Bit of soldering, then seal the glass back up. Be good as new for $10.

fitchbx said:

Southernfarm, did this actually work for you? I have the same problem. Which of the 16 pins did you trade out?

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I looked at the wire harness and 4 pins had no wires. If you look at the picture, the +12 V one is the major corroded one. That is pin 15. Pin 1-8 is on top and 9-16 is the bottom row. I swapped with Pin 2 or 10, I can't remember. Just look at the harness though and there will be no wire going to the unused pins. They de-solder easily with a soldering gun with high watts. They are not a tight fit in the hole so you will have to melt the solder and hold the pin in alignment until cool.

I also sprayed the Tach motor (white thing on my pictures). Got in there with WD-40 to get all the water and at least some of the rust out after lifting a corner a bit and getting that red straw right up against the crack of an opening.

There should be a tab on the back or side of the socket with the wires. You should be able to pull the wire out of the harness, then just remove the broken pin. I just looked at the back of my harness. The center of it is purple plastic. you should be able to lift the tab on the one side of the purple piece and the whole center can be removed. Then you can just slide out one wire with its attached socket clear of the black outer case. Remove the broken pin and replace.

I would look around on the circuit board as well for any shorts or corroded parts. Give the circuit board a good cleaning with rubbing alcohol (99%) if you can find it. My tach motor (white thing in my picture) was showing rust, so I gently lifted the edge and soaked it with WD-40 to displace any water.

Yep my dash looks like that too. I noticed that there was black paint, about 3/4" all the way around the glass. It hides the little white tabs and the tach display light. Mine was pealing off, so I took it all off. I need to remove and reseal the glass, as my silicone was old and not maintaining a seal. When I do, I will be repainting the glass edge as well. Mask, cut, and paint. I am just thinking, I think after I mask the entire glass off, then cut 3/4" of the tape off all the way around, I will use my sand blaster and blast the glass edge. It will give it a frosted look, then the paint will really adhere to it.