S60 2002 Message Center

smithsa28 · Post by **smithsa28** » 21 Jan 2010, 20:48

My 2002 S60's message center lights up but is blank. It will occasionally show the message, but only when you first start up the car. This issue started a little while ago but I was not concerned until I also received a warning light as well as the message center activating (with no message showing). Any help would be appreciated.

Georgeandkira · Post by **Georgeandkira** » 22 Jan 2010, 07:34

Hello smithsa28, First thing to do is get your paws on a code reader and check for any stored codes. What message does it "show occasionally when you start the car"? Also, which warning light came on; or is it the check engine light? So many people say to go to an auto parts store for a code reading. It's way more convienient and economical to have a basic reader on hand so you can get into a job as best as what you can without driving somewhere. In my neck of the woods the employees at the auto parts stores acted real stupid whenever I've asked them to pull a code; and that's with a grimey code reader out of its box sitting on a shelf for public use. You can accurately time the recurrance of problems with your own code reader. Imagine yourself doing some trial-and-error work only to have to run to the auto parts store 20 seperate times. Make sure to buy a code reader which is CAN compatable. They're not that expensive. Or buy the BSR unit from Sweden which reads ALL the systems in a Volvo. They're only a little more expensive. If you aren't sure what I'm referring to search "OBDll" and take notes, seriously. Post back and tell us what you do or learned. Kira

smithsa28 · Post by **smithsa28** » 22 Jan 2010, 11:31

I was able to get the code for my check engine light, had to buy a thermostat and coolant temp sensor. As for the message center I found the following information:

(from volvo-forum.com)

The problem was that after about a minute after engine start the info display started flickering and the characters were garbled. After another minute, it became completely unreadable (see pictures 1 and 2, attached).

Used for the repair:
-Hot air station: I purchased an Aoyue 968 station for about 120 euro's.
-Cooler: ripped one off a computer graphics card (after the one I bought turned out to be too large...)
-Glue (quick drying kind)
-Cooling paste
-Acetone/q-tips

The repair:
-Remove the coating from the chip using q-tips with acetone. It took a few minutes, most of the blue stuff was removed, especially from the contacts.
-I set the hot air station to blow air of 375C. Used a small nozzle. The air was blown over al contacts of the chip, for about 2 minutes in total. I had absolutely no idea how long was required, so I just gave it a shot. There wasn't anything interesting to see here...
-Put a bit of cooling paste on the chip, and a drop of glue on 2 edges.
-Push the cooler on the chip (see picture 3).

Re-assembly:
Apparently the smallest cooler still was too high, so it wouldn't fit (it got in contact with the white casing, which couldn't be closed because of it). I decided to remove a part of the white casing plastic of the dashboard unit, so it would fit.

Result:
During a 45 minute drive, the display kept working flawlessly. Unfortunately 2 bulbs of the interior background lighting aren't functioning anymore, but those can be easily replaced.

I hope this is useful.

Leon

gonna give this a shot this weekend, gotta get my hands on a soldering iron cause I am not buying a Hot air station. Thank god I know someone with a MUCH steadier hands and skill when it comes to soldering.

Will post again if this corrects the issue.

-Steve

smithsa28 · Post by **smithsa28** » 23 Jan 2010, 18:37

I used the fix i mentioned above and the message center now works. I did not have a heat sink to put on the chip but I will probably add one later when I can locate on that will fit.