Sweet82 Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 The clock in my 01 Forester has gone out:banghead: The clock has just gone dead. I did a search and found nothing:confused: Anyone else heard of this? It's driving my wife nuts:madder: Any help appreciated.... Thanks, Glenn 82 Hatch, well it started out as one.... 01 Forester, it's time has ended....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 I helped a friend with this recently. If you know anything about electronics and take the clock apart, you'll see two square pads on the circuit board with nothing between them. The missing part is a fuse/resistor which drops the 13.8V from the car to 5V for the clock. Sometimes it burns out completely and your clock goes dead. My friend replaced it with a resistor and got his clock back. I'll see if he has a value for the resistor he used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferret Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Glenn, Very Common. you have 5 choices: 1) Ignore it 2) Replace it with a Battery Stick-on one. Difficult to see at night. 3) Replace it with a Dealer Only Part 4) Get one from a Junk Yard 5) Watch Ebay, the entire overhead consoles are usually out there. However, none today. I have an '02 Forester.....One of the many 'nits' I'm also waiting for....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palouse Rider Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Yes, EDRACH helped me with mine. I installed a 30 ohm 1/4 watt resistor in the place where the original one either burned or fell off. The original resistors are surface mount, but I just soldered on a regular resistor. I could take mine apart and e-mail you a picture if you like. -Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted March 28, 2004 Share Posted March 28, 2004 Palouse Rider, you give me too much credit. I just suggested that it looked like a resister was missing on the board--two large solder pads with nothing between them--a pretty lucky guess as it turned out. You did the hard work of finding a working value and getting it in there. Interesting that it appears to be a pretty common failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted March 29, 2004 Author Share Posted March 29, 2004 Is a 30 ohm 1/4 watt going to take me down from 13.8v or so down to 5 volts? Is this something Radio Shack would carry? Thanks, Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 They have been pretty good for my projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Clark Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 Gee, and for an extra dollar, Subaru could have stuck a voltage regulator in the circuit. Cheap bastages!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 Actually, a voltage regulator to dissipate that much current would not have fit on the board. Even the resistor they used is not doing the job since it apparently burns out very consistently. A clear case of poor design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 While I was driving home last night I decided to dig into the project..... How do you get the plastic cover off? I couldn't see any screws hidden around that upper consul thing. I assume I can lightly pry the face plate of the clock off or pry the whole consul off? Thought I'd ask before messing up my plastic. Thanks, Glenn 82 SubaruHummer and the clock still works! 01 Forester, timeless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palouse Rider Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 After looking at several circuits for automotive digital clocks, I believe the resistor I replaced was not to drop 12v to 5v but to drive a transistor which enables the display. Indeed the clock does have a voltage regulator. Remember we are not dealing with alot of power draw here....it's just a digital clock. I suggest you take your clock apart and inspect it for the missing resistor. Mine was (not)loctated beside the upper left hand side of the display. One more thing, the display lens will look burnt on the lower left. That happens during manufacture when they fuse the thing together. -Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaszag Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Hi, I would join to this discussion with the question: whether I have the same problem as you discuss in this thread? I have a Forester of year ’98. I observed in the last few weeks, that my clock frequently goes away, but the clock shows the correct time, if it shows something at all. At the beginning of the defect, the clock stayed blank, but it comes up some minutes later as I started the engine. At that time the weather was very cold, around -10 centigrade, so I don’t think on any over dissipation of the power resistor. Today is definitely warmer (around 10-20 centigrade) and the clock looks to work. I guess a wrong contact, but I don’t know how to check the cables. How can I dismount the clock? Which cable should give the power to the display? Could you give me some help? Gabor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palouse Rider Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 To remove the clock simply pry the cover off using a penknife or small screwdriver, from the top. There is one connector to remove. Then pry the clock apart, be carful not to loose the 3 set buttons when they fall out. You can then check the 3 resistors on the clock board. Here's a picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palouse Rider Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Here's the bezel removal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crashton Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 To take the clock out all you need is a small screwdriver. If you look close you'll see to places at the top to put the driver into. Just gently pry & it will pop out. The whole prosess of removing & replacing the clock takes 10 minutes tops. When mine went bad I just bought another. It wasn't cheap, but I had to have a clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Sounds like the resistor powers the display but the clock is actually running all the time. So much for the theory about the resistor supplying 5V to the clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Clark Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 An NTE960 voltage regulator would probably power that clock. It's only about a 1/2 x 1/2 inch and puts out 5 VDC @ 1 amp with up to 35 volts in. Since my wife's subie didn't have one, I bought a $16.00 timex with luminous hands, cut off the band holders with my dremel to make it nice and round, and mounted it between the two vents with a piece of velcro. It's even the same color as the dash. And now it's like the good old days. It's not 11:43, it's a quarter to 12! Tiny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaszag Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 Many thanks for the advices guys. I’ll check the clock as I have some free time. The issue is lost its priority, because the clock is working nice since 3 days. But after eastern I’ll check the clock surely, because of I’m a curious man. ;o) Gabor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 Thanks for the pics, I was holding off till I knew how to remove the thing. I'll pull it off tonight and see what I can see? I just got a stereo installed last week so that will take the urgency off fixing the subaru clock. Now I just have to figure out how to set the stereo clock:confused: Thanks, Glenn 82 Summer, still has orignal dash clock 01 Forester, still timeless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet82 Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 It took a while but, last night, as I was driving home, I finally pulled my clock off while waiting at a stop light. I noticed a small resistor "R510" was soldered on one side and not the other? By the time I got home "R510" was completely off. I got my trusty $3 Harbor Freight pencil soldering iorn out and re-attached it. Magic! It came to life! In the thumbpics in the above post, it is the exact same resistor. Thanks to all! Glenn 82 SubaruHummer, clock still works... 01 Forester, clock works again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaszag Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Hi People, On the week end I tired to repair my clock followed your information. As I removed the clock I have not seen any defected resistor. And as my clock sometimes looks to work I’m suspecting a wrong contact in the wiring of the car. So I measured the plug of the clock: On the plug I found the signal names: ACC, LIG, GND, BAT The signals relative to GND was followed: BAT: +12V (Battery, independently from ignition) ACC: 0 or 12V depending on the ignition LIG: seems not to be connected. Can anybody tell me if it’s correct?:-\ Or should I have a signal on the LIG connection. If I should, could you tell me what? Thanks Gabor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unibrook Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Thanks to Pal.Rider photo and others input, I pulled out my overhead digi-clock from my 2001 Forester L and fixed it. I was at first surprised to see that the tiny flat rectangle shaped resistor labeled 500 was still in place with intact solders at each side. But I went ahead and scraped the solders a bit to see if any cracks were apparent, still could not see any...but a magnifying glass would have been a help, and I didnt have one. I just went ahead and fired up the soldering iron and melted fresh solder on top of the old solder joints and figured, it can't hurt. I reinstalled the clock in the car, and it has worked perfectly ever since. Who knows, maybe just the action of sliding on and off the wire harness and the fuse improved those connections and made it work. Electronics guru guy at work said it is possible for the old solder joints to look perfectly intact, but for them to be "compromised inside" and thus fooling your eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgerard Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Hi People, On the plug I found the signal names: ACC, LIG, GND, BAT The signals relative to GND was followed: BAT: +12V (Battery, independently from ignition) ACC: 0 or 12V depending on the ignition LIG: seems not to be connected. Can anybody tell me if it’s correct?:-\ Or should I have a signal on the LIG connection. If I should, could you tell me what? The LIG conection is hot when you have the dashboard lights on...It dims the clock when voltage is detected on that terminal. DG Thanks Gabor The LIG conection is hot when you have the dashboard lights on...It dims the clock when voltage is detected on that terminal. DG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ez153 Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 Yes, EDRACH helped me with mine. I installed a 30 ohm 1/4 watt resistor in the place where the original one either burned or fell off. The original resistors are surface mount, but I just soldered on a regular resistor. I could take mine apart and e-mail you a picture if you like.-Cheers Hi, My name is Emmy and I would greatly appreciate the offer of the picture. My clock acts as if it is not making contact all the time. Sometimes it comes on and then nothing. Thank you, Emmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 Folks, I offer a service through USMB to fix '80s Subaru clocks, but haven't offered it yet for New Gen Subarus because I didn't have an example of the clock. After looking at this thread, and particularly the picture (thanks!) it looks like Subaru used the same clock module, just with a different circuit board. If anyone wishes to send me there dead New Gen clock I will see about fixing it. If it is as simple as the OLD Gen clocks, then I will offer the same service for New Gen as my current Old Gen service (basically FREE... see sticky in Marketplace). If a local (or someone really generous) wants to loan me there working clock, that would be appreciated. Otherwise, I will tear into my wife's new-to-us Legacy and take a peek. BTW, the problem with the Old Gen are the dropping resistors for the display lighting overheat and melt their solder joints. If this happens with SMD the SMD chips would fall off. TTFN! Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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