BX Instrument Cluster Replacement

bluedunn

Active member

Equipment
BX1860, FEL, MMM, Heavy Hitch Back Plow Blade
Aug 29, 2019
298
36
28
Thetford, VT
Hey - new instrument cluster is great. A nice upgrade. Unfortunately, I don’t have the original anymore, sorry!
 

Mark_BX25D

Well-known member

Equipment
Bx25D
Jul 19, 2020
1,611
1,140
113
Virginia
Wow! Look at all those highly customized off the shelf parts!


Sea Knights, eh? Cool. (y) I never got a ride on one of those. Just Hueys and Chinooks.

But back to your circuit board. Looks to me like possibly a capacitor blew up. The question is, why? Before you put anything new in there, make sure you go through your system and look for wiring problems. Poor connections, including grounds, can hide and cause lots of problems.


As toasted as that is, I don't think you are going to be able to repair it just by replacing a part or two. There is the real possibility that the board itself is damaged. You need specialized knowledge and tools for that kind of work. I suggest you try to find a company that does that kind of repair work. They are around.

 

UH46CREW

New member

Equipment
BX2670
Aug 10, 2020
4
2
1
Kansas
Wow! Look at all those highly customized off the shelf parts!


Sea Knights, eh? Cool. (y) I never got a ride on one of those. Just Hueys and Chinooks.

But back to your circuit board. Looks to me like possibly a capacitor blew up. The question is, why? Before you put anything new in there, make sure you go through your system and look for wiring problems. Poor connections, including grounds, can hide and cause lots of problems.


As toasted as that is, I don't think you are going to be able to repair it just by replacing a part or two. There is the real possibility that the board itself is damaged. You need specialized knowledge and tools for that kind of work. I suggest you try to find a company that does that kind of repair work. They are around.

Yes, Vietnam 1969-1970 search and air evac...the board isn’t a problem, I’ve spent the last 50+ years rebuilding and repairing PCB’s. It’s information about the missing part I don’t have.
 
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dlsmith

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX2230, LA211
Nov 15, 2018
1,197
715
113
Goshen, IN
I have a PT35 power tilt unit on my little jon boat. The motor died on the tilt unit. I took it apart, yay, just needs brushes. Easy (and cheap) fix. Call the manufacturer, they don't have any parts to put in it, had to buy the whole actuator for $420. All I needed was $2 worth of brushes, or $20 for the whole brush plate, but no. They (company who builds the PT35) doesn't tell you who they get the actuators from so the customer (me) can't source motor brushes or any other part. It's because they buy them complete from some chinese company more than likely and the chinese company doesn't want to mess with selling any of the parts. Or that chinese company buys the motor parts from a manufacturer in bangledesh or timbuktu or wherever and just assembles it, etc. No telling. Almost all manufacturers do it this way including car/trucks.
There is a site that sells brushes of all shapes and sizes that I have used in the past to get brushes for motors that the manufacturer couldn't or wouldn't supply. I can't find the one I used a while back, but this company might be able to supply what you need.
http://www.graphitestore.com/Carbon-Brushes/Brushes
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,935
4,071
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
yes, sure looks like cap c501 blew up....
it'd be nice to see the other side of the board as above C501, there's some 'ZDxxx' writings. That may indicate Zener Diodes which suggests 'power supply' parts. It's unclear if the 'light smokey' color around the cap is water damage or protective coating. While I'd like to assume the PCB is coated to mimimize water damage, without seeing it in person, well..it's a guess. I know the early Honda Goldwing dashes had a thick coating, making it 'fun' to repair,but great money in that . You really need a good PCB to compare to though as a 'winter project' it could be repairable.
 

Joshua39

New member

Equipment
BX2350, LA243FEL, GCK60 Grass Catcher, BX2750D Front Snow Blower
Jun 11, 2020
1
0
1
Colden NY
Hello all,

I have a BX2350 that has a failed LCD tach/hour meter display. A new cluster is over $400 which seems crazy considering I just need the LCD. I am considering reverse engineering the LCD, but need a working display in order to do so.

I can't be the only one with a black LCD. If you have a BX series tractor with a bad LCD display and would be interested in having your panel rebuilt at a reasonable price, please chime in. If there is enough interest then I will move forward with the LCD design.

BR's
MotoDan
Hi Dan. I have a BX2350 with the same problem. I priced a new Instrument cluster at $530. Did you have a method or know where to go to fix the LCD Display? Thanks. Jay
 

nringbird

New member

Equipment
BX24D
Nov 26, 2021
3
0
1
Cocoa, FL
Hi MotoDan,
Did you ever find a part number for the LCD display? I bought a BX24D at auction and the LCD appears to be missing the crystal part. I hoping to replace the display to pick up the run time hours. Other than that the board looks good.

Norm
 

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GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,935
4,071
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
The LCD is that 'glass on legs' part..... Nice to see Microchip PIC as the 'brains'. I've designed/built with them for 25 years.
 

nringbird

New member

Equipment
BX24D
Nov 26, 2021
3
0
1
Cocoa, FL
Where would you start looking for that type of LCD to replace it. I didn't see any marking on the chip and just a 1, 16 pin hole and LCD1 on the board
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,935
4,071
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
to find the LCD, you'll need a good picture of it during the 'selftest', which lights up all segments of the display. it'd also be nice of a closeup of the PIC microcomputer to get the info off it.
It is possible to 'ring out' the connections between the PIC and LCD, that will 'decode' the actual LCD pin usage, which really narrows down the search.
The LCD will be a custom unit, not a regular 'off-the-shelf' item BUT there are surplus parts vendors who might have them. There 'should' be some info on the backside of the LCD,may be hard to read depending but it should be there.