Dim issues Topic is solved

[jumperwire]

I'm having some weird issues with dim, don't know even if it's dim faulty or something else.

At the beginning my dim clock was counting down rapidly, sometimes it stop sometimes not. Later on, left screen started to flicker. A little bit more later dim was shutting down and turning back on when driving over potholes or uneven roads. After reading some forums I understood that dim problems can be caused by the cem, but when my dim turned off I was able to turn it back on by punching it with my hand, so I thought it's definately dim issue. After some time it shut down and never turned on again. Lights, turn signals, everything was still working, except dials and backlight.

I tried resoldering chips on the dim pcb, it didn't helped, except I noticed weird thing that when I touch some resistors/capacitors it turns on but all backlight is flickering, dials displaying incorrectly, it doesn't respond to brightness switch, neiter to rpm/speed changes, just flickering. The same time it stopped working I found out that I can't connect to abs module via diagnosis, also I have read that abs also can be related to not working dim. Coincidence or related?

After many tries of resoldering I thought I just buy another dim and replace it, but I took 8 different units and neither of them worked, only check engine light turned on and that's it. So now I'm wondering is it really dim issue, if not where should I look at? Try fixing abs module, or maybe cem?

[DrDan]

Sounds like typical symptoms of DIM failure. I would guess that you were on the right track, but failed at fixing it. Now the original DIM has been tinkered with, seeking professional help has become more difficult, but may still be worth trying.
Replacing the DIM is another option, but you need to match software with your car. You sampled 8, which is impressive, but it seems like you were out of luck. Research on this forum, you should find information on how to find a used DIM that will fit. A software transfer from old to new is also possible if I'm informed correctly. There are some gents on the forum who might be able to pull this off.
Assuming that you started with a broken DIM, I'd say fix that first before changing more variables. That'll just make diagnosis more complicated.

[oragex]

Unlike what it's being said on Internet, it's not only about a bad chip. Several resistors also go bad. The whole motherboard needs to be tested and fixed. This company is fixing them in Europe https://volvodiagnostic.com/ and you can also find services on Ebay . If you only get a check engine light, the DIM is not compatible. Was your car sold originaly in your country ? You need a DIM sold in the same country as the car was. You will need to match 4 of the 5 numbers on the side of the DIM - and it has to come from a 2001 or 2002 with same transmission. For example, my 03 S60 has one from a 03 XC70. The km shown will be the ones from the donor car

[jumperwire]

No professionals in my city and I don't wanna go to professionals yet, I still have a hope to fix it by myself. I'm still inspecting that pcb, looking for bad joints, bad traces and as oragex said resistors may go bad, I have no idea how to test them properly. It's obvious that you test them with a multimeter by measuring ohms, but it's on the board, it may be connected in parallel with other resistor, thus, multimeter will not show the correct resistor value.

I will keep inspecting that pcb till I find something bad, if you have any advice about inspecting/testing, please let me know.

[chrism]

The numbers on the white stickers on the backside of the DIM are what hold the keys to the castle. I’m not exactly sure which numbers matter and which ones don’t. But if you take a picture of the stickers and email them to a knowledgeable used Volvo parts house, like Erie Volvo, they may be able to match up a compatible replacement for less cost than having yours repaired. A now out-of-business used Volvo parts house charged me $125 for a compatible DIM that is still working 7 or 8 years later. You can expect to pay more these days...

When my DIM failed I was told that besides matching certain sticker numbers that the YEAR of the car is more important to match than the MODEL. For instance you may be able to use a 2003 S80 or S60 DIM in a 2003 V70 as long as the numbers match.

I also first tried repairing it myself but I was ill equipped and underskilled and actually ruined it such that a qualified shop (Xemodex) couldn’t repair it.

Good luck!

[SuperHerman]

Are the resistor values listed - if I recall they are SMD. Generally they will either short or go open. Go through the board with this idea in mind. The capacitors are another issue as they generally are not marked.

You can try measuring and comparing Original vs Donor. Everything below assumes the boards are identical - only the "information main chip" software different (stated in a non-elegant manner).

If one had a schematic it would make things easier.

If you really want to tinker, you have two options - pull the main chip off the Original and move it over to the Donor. As I understand the DIM, one chip has the car's info on it - the rest of the DIM should be the same. That is what you want to move - what I call the main chip. Otherwise, you can just move SMD chips over from Donor to Original. From what I have read, certain areas of the DIM fail - that is the circuit area you need to focus on and move things over (unless you have a way to figure out what SMD size/value is needed - like a schematic). I would assume that the area of the circuit that receives the greatest amount of power (heat) is the section to focus on. Smart people, which I am not, can look at the board and figure out what each area of the board is doing in a general sense.

[jumperwire]

Are the resistor values listed - if I recall they are SMD. Generally they will either short or go open. Go through the board with this idea in mind. The capacitors are another issue as they generally are not marked.

You can try measuring and comparing Original vs Donor. Everything below assumes the boards are identical - only the "information main chip" software different (stated in a non-elegant manner).

If one had a schematic it would make things easier.

If you really want to tinker, you have two options - pull the main chip off the Original and move it over to the Donor. As I understand the DIM, one chip has the car's info on it - the rest of the DIM should be the same. That is what you want to move - what I call the main chip. Otherwise, you can just move SMD chips over from Donor to Original. From what I have read, certain areas of the DIM fail - that is the circuit area you need to focus on and move things over (unless you have a way to figure out what SMD size/value is needed - like a schematic). I would assume that the area of the circuit that receives the greatest amount of power (heat) is the section to focus on. Smart people, which I am not, can look at the board and figure out what each area of the board is doing in a general sense.

Yes, the resistors are smd and they have their value code printed on top of them, but capacitors don't. I went through all resistors and half of them had lower value than they actually are, but they may be in parallel with another resistors or caps, so don't worried about them, another half had correct values, except one resistor array near main chip, which when touched made lights flicker. Couple pins on that resistor array had higher value, and another couple pins didn't showed any value or flickered, resoldered that resistor array and guess what, it works!

Left screen is not working at all, but I'm not worried about it since it's almost useless, I wont mess again with that board, just because of that screen. Thank you guys for helping me!

[SuperHerman]

Glad to hear you reached a satisfactory solution. Good work