[gvillepoet]

due to popular demand, many first time impala owners and even veteran owners still want to know how to fi the "fading odometer" all to well known in these 96 impalas. i took apart my cluster panel to show others how to fix the "Fading Odometer". I did a write up some years back because other write ups didnt seem clear to me nor did the impala superstore directions when many of us ordered the relocation resistor. so remember this is just how I did it, i'm sure others did it differently. also again mine is already fixed so i cant really show the old resistors. this was my first soldering job also. WARNING: the resistor gets super hot QUICK. thats why they went bad in the first place most likely. I relocated mine away from the circuit board. I'm sure others have placed it someplace else, mine has been working fine for 5 or 6 years now.

tools needed: 7mm socket and rachet adapter or straight handle adapter, radio shack $20 soldering gun, small 6-point star screw driver, relocation resistor most of us get from the www.impalasuperstore.com, and most of all patience.

two 7mm screws, take them out

notice 4 more 7mm screws holding the entire cluster housing in place, cant get this out so lets take the plastic trim loose.

notice my relocation resistor located away from the circuit board, i mounted mine with the stock screw that holds the housing in place.

3 screws on the bottom

one screw on the side behind the fuse panel

 

[gvillepoet]

fragile part, this is in very tight, but gently and firmly tug, (dont hold me responsible if you crack your stuff)

notice we have more room now to pull the cluster housing out, there are 2 fixed harnesses this housing plugs into, just pull straight out.

still had to flip it to work it out of there

total of (11) small 6-point star screws

 

[gvillepoet]

after taking this plastic cover off, you cans ee the circuitry, and this is how i fished the 2 wires up through the board and through the small hole and solder the wires into place. BE CAREFUL not to get solder connecting into the other circuit paths(the copper color lines on the board). if you do this you are basically connecting the paths, and may mess up something. i would suggest solding on some cardboard for practice if this is your first time.

then replace of course in reverse order.

 

[nineSSexy209]

after seeing this makes me want to take off mine and get to it!

 

[vettefella]

Thanks a ton for this. The instructions I got from the Impala Store left a lot to be desired. The instructions have to be idiot proof to work for me.

I'm going to do mine Sunday.

 

[Brown9C1]

96 Impala Odometer Fix

What is the part number for the relocation resistor?

 

[Needles.Kain]

Thanks for the write-up, only a couple of critiques and everyone can take them or leave them.

I've never loosened the lower dash to get the cluster out, just push the steering wheel down to its lowest detent and that should be all the fighting room necessary.

The cluster often requires a little twist action to pull it loose of the back connectors, don't be a gorilla with it but it will likely require some coaxing to release.

 

[vettefella]

What is the part number for the relocation resistor?

The NAISSO Part Number is N 960.

I suspect you could buy a similar resistor from Radio Shack or similar store. I haven't measured the impedence of this resistor yet, so don't what what it is. The three resistors that it replaces are 100 ohms each.

 

[gvillepoet]

What is the part number for the relocation resistor?

that i dont remember, www.impalasuperstore.com , im not sure what size resistor, im guess ing u can also make one from radioshack

 

[gvillepoet]

maybe this write up should be "stickyed" for future reference by the moderators

 

[DREAMSS]

Great post!
I've been postponing buying this piece and doing the fix myself, I'm still a little intimidated by the whole soldering part of it. I desperately want it fixed, just the fact that something on my car isn't working is killing me lol.

I think I just may order it and give it a shot, my odometer was fading and flashing for a few months and is just completely dead now. Does my millage still get registered even though it's not working?

 

[gvillepoet]

yes mielage still gets registered. just not shown. and try not to be intimidated, whats the worst that can happen to an odometer thats not even showing anymore. Yes will be well worth it and u can use mileage and trip meters again. they are so taken adavantage of.

 

[Mikeceli]

I've been soldering since I was a kid, but I paid my radio repair man, $25 to solder mine. I didn't want to ruin the curcuit board. (I have little or no experience on C boards).

 

[vettefella]

I did mine yesterday and it works just fine. I haven't had it on for an extended period yet, but it still works after 7-8 tests.

The soldering can be a bit tedious, and I had to do some innovative re-engineering on the circuit board. The circuit strip was extremely delicate and I broke the strip along one side of the path. Worked out fine though. I just took a short piece of wire and completely bypassed the broken area.

Many thanks to gvillepoet for his help by email and the post on here.

 

[gvillepoet]

I did mine yesterday and it works just fine. I haven't had it on for an extended period yet, but it still works after 7-8 tests.

The soldering can be a bit tedious, and I had to do some innovative re-engineering on the circuit board. The circuit strip was extremely delicate and I broke the strip along one side of the path. Worked out fine though. I just took a short piece of wire and completely bypassed the broken area.

Many thanks to gvillepoet for his help by email and the post on here.

no problem, thanks for asking as i was procrastinating adding this write up again to the forum, doesnt seem to be in as much need as yeeears ago. but be happy you basically engineered your own circuit board. solder is also conductive, so it does well with patch up jobs on the circuit board. feels great to have your odometer back. Happy Driving!

 

[angelo]

Thanks for the write-up, only a couple of critiques and everyone can take them or leave them.

I've never loosened the lower dash to get the cluster out, just push the steering wheel down to its lowest detent and that should be all the fighting room necessary.

The cluster often requires a little twist action to pull it loose of the back connectors, don't be a gorilla with it but it will likely require some coaxing to release.

My .02
When i did mine i TOOK the clear plastic off and left ALL the gray dash alone and tilted the wheel down and it came out fine.

THIS is definitely STICKY worthy !!!!!
-ALF out...

 

[Needles.Kain]

My .02
When i did mine i TOOK the clear plastic off and left ALL the gray dash alone and tilted the wheel down and it came out fine.

THIS is definitely STICKY worthy !!!!!
-ALF out...

+1

Yeah, I didn't notice that he wasn't taking the clear plastic cover off. I highly recommend that people do it this way, cause as the OP eluded to...there is a risk of breaking something on the lower dash (tab or just cracking it) doing it his way. Plus, with the clear plastic cover off the cluster can be lightly twisted to help persuade it to come out.

 

[SSTEVESS]

I did mine yesterday and it works just fine. I haven't had it on for an extended period yet, but it still works after 7-8 tests.

The soldering can be a bit tedious, and I had to do some innovative re-engineering on the circuit board. The circuit strip was extremely delicate and I broke the strip along one side of the path. Worked out fine though. I just took a short piece of wire and completely bypassed the broken area.

Many thanks to gvillepoet for his help by email and the post on here.

I need to fix mine as well as some of the trace lifted off of the board the last time I tried to fix it. Does the trace section in the middle of the opening go to anything or can you just solder the wire to the bottom area of the trace (below the opening). I was thinking I would strip a little extra insulation off of the wire from the leads off of the resister fix kit and just bend this wire down the old trace area and solder it in? Will this work?

 

[vettefella]

I need to fix mine as well as some of the trace lifted off of the board the last time I tried to fix it. Does the trace section in the middle of the opening go to anything or can you just solder the wire to the bottom area of the trace (below the opening). I was thinking I would strip a little extra insulation off of the wire from the leads off of the resister fix kit and just bend this wire down the old trace area and solder it in? Will this work?

Since I can't see exactly where your "trace" is broken, I couldn't hazard a guess. Just keep in mind that the "trace" goes completely around the cutout where the original three resistors were mounted. That trace must be continuous in order for the circuit to be completed. Just follow it around. You can solder in a jump wire at any point before the break and any point after the break.

I can't figure out how to post a pic on here or I would show you where I soldered mine. :-(

Lemme see if this works. Ok. click on the thumbnail. The single black line represents the jumper wire. The two scribbled areas are where I soldered the wire to the board. The wire could have been soldered at other points on that trace, but those are the points that were most convenient for me. As long as the jumper wire spans the broken area, you are fine.

 

[Mikeceli]

Like I said, I was happy to pay my radio repair guy $25 to solder it!