No Headlights

[Joel Ashley]

If the problem returns, Paul, it likely will be from a bump in the highway on a dark night.  I've twice had lights fail at night, for separate reasons, on our old coach.  Sudden headlight loss on a freeway at night is not something you want to deal with.  I'd at least not drive at night until you replace the connector, preferably both halves of it.

Heat the solder at each of the 4 pins and vacuum the old solder, or use braided copper to draw it off.  The burned female connector should slide off the board.  If needed I can recommend helpful video.

Joel

[Paul Schwalen]

Joel,

Thanks for the reply.  I seldom, almost never, drive the Beaver after dark but your point is taken.  Regarding the soldering issues you mention vacuuming the solder and using braided copper to remove the old solder when melted.  Please explain these techniques because although I have done a fair amount of soldering almost none of it has been on circuit boards.  Also, I would like to view the video you mentioned.

Paul

[Edward Buker]

One item, examine the land side of the board. It is customary to coat the boards to prevent corrosion and it looks like yours is coated in the photo. sometimes it is coated before soldering which leaves the solder joints clean for reworking and sometimes it is coated after soldering.  If coating was done after soldering you can try and gently scrape away the coating where the solder joints are that you have to work on are located. Heating your first solder joint will give you insight if this will work. A 25 to 30 watt iron is all you should use to get this done. Basically you are using the minimum amount of heat and time on the pin/land/solder joint that is necessary to get the job done. This is an example of a solder wicking braid that will pull the solder from the joint when heated. It typically works better than a "solder sucker" tool from my experience.

http://www.zeph.com/solderwickdesolderbraidwick.htm

 Joel offered to fill you in regarding the soldering info. Lots of info on the web that he can provide.

Later Ed

[Joel Ashley]

Hi Paul-

I've been pretty much a hapless solderer most of my life.  But today's world involves so many circuit boards, and I had several devices this year that were agravating me, so I finally determined I was going to find out how to fix the friggin things myself.  1 wireless PC mouse, 1 cantankarous microwave oven, and 1 TV digital to analog converter box that quit on us.  All were finally repaired by my little self after watching a few of Ben Heck's shows online, and one online video of a repair of the same converter box as ours, that pointed out an inherent capacitor failure.

I modified some of the techniques to suit my situation, and will try to take some photos tomorrow for you - a picture is a thousand words they say, and God knows I am good at overwhelming folks with words.  My big problem was my slight tremor that made holding solder or iron steady, and squeezing and releasing a solder removing suction bulb with any accuracy, impossible. Set aside some time and watch Ben's video, and perhaps pick a few others from his larder, and check into even more from other perpetrators re. soldering on YouTube.  Some are good and some are stumbling and not so great, as is par for the course for the YouTube beast.  But I got enough good stuff out of my time that I could effectively use what I learned to fix all 3 of my problem devices.  Ben's were the most well produced and presented.

Ben Heck's shows have advertising, but the good thing about them being online is you can move the cursor ahead and skip over ads in the videos.  Some of his stuff is hokey, but his fun attitude combined with real skill will keep your attention, and makes it easy to learn better techniques.  One problem I had was I wasn't cleaning things properly when soldering.  A wet sponge and a decent soldering station with adjustable alligator clips and magnifier really made things easier.  As Ed notes, don't use an iron with too much wattage - 40W should be more than enough for circuit boards, but I wouldn't hold that much wattage on a joint too long;  I used to use a dual-heat Weller gun, but it was way too much for circuit boards - probably did more harm than good.  I like my 30W Dremel iron for these jobs, and use the very small diameter wire solder specifically designed for electronic circuits, not the big stuff you may have used elsewhere.

I opted not to buy the copper braid or the syringe-like vacuum device, as I modified my little portable vacuum cleaner with a tip that does such a super job of removing solder that I needed nothing else.  That and the soldering station/vice helped minimize the issues caused by my shakiness.  I will provide photos;  but if you opt for braid or special desoldering hand vac, they are available at Radio Shack, Sears, and most hardware stores, Home Depot, or Lowes.

Here is one that demonstrates quite a bit of copper braid desoldering, once you get through the stumbling first part;  I found no audio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrAJpz9Mdm4

and here is Ben Heck's basic soldering demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO9CHjdqBr8&list=PLwO8CTSLTkijrSW6DIFsQxcvjRo5fZ-y5

-Joel

[Paul Schwalen]

Ed, Joel,

Thanks for the thoughts and advice.  I had no idea that soldering a circuit board was as technical as pointed out. I need to spend some time experimenting and gathering the correct tools.  I do have an old board or two hanging around and will practice on those before tackling the VIP job.  My next issue is to contact VIP again and see if they can give me the part number for the connection at the board that is really bad.  I tried looking on the Digi-Key site but no luck.  They sell so much stuff it would take me forever to find the correct part. I feel that without that part I cannot go further into this repair.

Paul

[Edward Buker]

Paul,

I see no need for this type of pin connector at the board if you cannot find it easily. Just go to Lowes and get some of these male and female spade lug connectors and create 4 short wire leads that you can solder in place of the on board plug connector. Where the pins are now will be soldered wires. Cut off the 4 pin connector on the wires and crimp on one of the opposite (male or female) connectors on these wires and connect them to the proper location. You just need to label these wires to keep them straight. You can use a sharpie marker and put one black band on wire one, two on two and so on for each of the mating wires. Here are some connectors that would work fine.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_135862-12704-770311_4294722552__?productId=3127721&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

I like Ancor marine grade wire for this type of work and it is available from West Marine by the foot. I would order 16 GA white to match the current harness color. Where the wire would go through the board hole where the pins were might require a few strands be cut off of the bundle to get through the hole.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_11151_10001_34975_-1?ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=34975&cid=sc_googlepla&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CI2gzp-u-7sCFQbl7AodAWYAPQ

As far as soldering is concerned it is not that big of a deal. Not more heat and time at the joint then you need, if the solder wets to the land and wire and is shiny or similar to the other joints in appearance then you are golden. A couple of practice joints using the braid to wic the solder away and remove a component and a couple of joints of joining the component back and you should be fine.

When you cut the old connector off of the harness leave several inches of wire on the plug (old or new one) so that it could be reused with some butt connectors if you had to buy a new board at some point and install it.

Later Ed

[Paul Schwalen]

Ed,  

Thanks for the info, I will eventually change out that connection because I don't think the burned one will last.  We are heading out tomorrow for 2+ weeks of local Rallies and will not have a chance to do the repairs until I return in Feb.  I will post the results when I get the job done.

Thanks again,

Pau

[Joel Ashley]

Paul-

Ed is certainly right that you could replace the white connectors altogether with readily obtained spade or bullet connectors for each wire.

Below are photos of what I've been using.  (I fibbed in a previous post;  I forgot I did get some copper braid to try out sometime.)
One photo is of my old kit of black vacuum mini-accessories.  By adapting a standard vacuum hose down, the air speed at the pickup point is pretty strong.
  
Another photo shows the proper solder, my old squeeze bulb desolderer, and the braid package.
  
Still another photo demonstrates how I took the white pickup tip off the bulb and discovered it fit nicely into the end of one of the vacuum mini-extensions, which has the adapter on it ready to fit on my portable vacuum.  Kits of vacuum mini-accessories can be found at just about any place that sells Shop-Vacs.  You can use braid, a "solder sucker" syringe-type vacuum desolderer, an inexpensive squeeze-bulb like I used to fumble with, or get inventive as I did.  My vacuum contraption pops wet solder out faster than any method I watched in videos, and the wand was long enough to allow my shaky hand to rest on the workbench.
  
Also shown is my "station" that has adjustable alligator clips and magnifier, plus sponge holder for cleaning oxidation off the iron tip, and iron holder.  Most hardware suppliers have them.

Click on each photo and your computer may open a larger image if you like.

-Joel

[Paul Schwalen]

Joel,

Thanks for the information. I will use it when I start my 'soldering tests'.  By the way, I already have the attachments for a vacuum to get down to a real small diameter, they look to be the same as yours.  When I bought them I could not think of an immediate use for them but I bought them anyway, so now they will come in handy.

I will keep you posted when I start soldering.

Paul

[Joel Ashley]

For those interested, this sounds like a nice package, and if I didn't already have many of the included pieces, I'd order it myself:  
http://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Soldering-Workstation/IF145-238

I'd like to have that type (adjustable) of soldering iron.  They sell a cool adjustable/digital one for $100, but there may be similar for less via Amazon.

Joel

[Jeremy Parrett]

Roy Mueller kindly came by my coach this morning at Perry to work his magic on my dim headlights only to find my headlights are not working!!  I am guessing I have a similar problem in the Smart Wheel control box. It will be checked tomorrow when I locate it!  Can someone point me in the right direction please? 2000 Marquis Amethyst. Jeremy

[Gerald Farris]

Jeremy,
There are several locations that the Beaver used to install the Smart Wheel module. The most common location used for the 2000 Marquis is inside the armrest to the left of the driver's seat, and that is the location used on my 2000 Marquis. The other locations that are used, is in the dash (usually accessible through the removable top panel) or the LF electrical bay.

Gerald    

[Jeremy Parrett]

Gerald,
Good info. I will check this box when we get home tomorrow. So.....not having relays in the headlamp circuit means that when I have been flashing trucks to pull in front after passing me,has sent high amperage through the Smart Wheel Control Box connections which were not designed to handle it.!
Just thinking out loud.

[Jeremy Parrett]

We are at Duncan Systems in Elkhart.IN  . 120 days with no headlights !! . 
Last Friday we located the Smart Wheel controller and having  purchased a new Smart Wheel Controller pc board on EBay for $217. we Installed it yesterday.  Still no headlights !!   The tech, Joe, looked at the  headlight switch .  The dimmer had melted the headlight contacts.
  We replaced the switch, eh voila....... we have quite bright headlights. The upgraded pc board SM210 for the Smart Wheel Controller has heavier grade wiring but is otherwise the same as the old board SM209.  ( numbers or letters may be incorrect)
Thank you Gerald.   Next fix is The Roy Mueller relay upgrade.  Perhaps at Quartzsite ??