HOW-TO: Cruise Control Amp Repair 14-pin - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

brewtoo · #31 06-07-2012, 06:54 PM

I have a couple of questions, JamesDean. About to replace caps in one of these. See photos below, please. In one corner on the back of the board, there is some really sloppy soldering. This box had never been opened before. Have you seen anything like that? Seems like all that shellac goo they put on there would insulate the heat sinks on those transistors, preventing the heat sinks from dissipating heat? All my components are pretty well glued down to the front of the board. Does that paint remover of yours work pretty well getting the goo off? Thanks!

JamesDean · #32 06-07-2012, 09:19 PM

Brewtoo,

That board looks like most of the ones I've worked on. I would be sure to touch up the solder points that you think look suspect.

The transistors are supposed to dissipate a maximum of 25W at full power, however these guys are operating at maybe 5-8% of maximum so I doubt they dissipate too much heat.

Yes the varnish remover easily removes the coating. I only apply it to the rear of the board when I do work on these as there no real need to remove it from the other side. The capacitors, once de-soldered, come out with minimal effort of the pliers.

Hope this helps! If you've got any other questions post up!

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewtoo

I have a couple of questions, JamesDean. About to replace caps in one of these. See photos below, please. In one corner on the back of the board, there is some really sloppy soldering. This box had never been opened before. Have you seen anything like that? Seems like all that shellac goo they put on there would insulate the heat sinks on those transistors, preventing the heat sinks from dissipating heat? All my components are pretty well glued down to the front of the board. Does that paint remover of yours work pretty well getting the goo off? Thanks!

brewtoo · #33 06-13-2012, 01:18 AM

Just wanted to let you know that I replaced the capacitors in several of these units. I had several I had bought from junk yards. All dead.

Now, every single one works perfectly.

BTW, I only replaced the caps - I did not re-solder the rest of the board on any of them.

One of mine had been "refurbished" according to the sticker on it. Inside, I studied the board and the parts were all original. It appears that the refurb consisted of nothing more than re-soldering all the joints. I say that because there was a good bit more solder on these joints than on any of my other boards. Also, the shellac had been stripped and a thin coat had been sprayed back on. Anyway, it too was dead. I replaced the six caps and it works great again as well.

Thanks for your help!

JamesDean · #34 06-13-2012, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewtoo

Just wanted to let you know that I replaced the capacitors in several of these units. I had several I had bought from junk yards. All dead.

Now, every single one works perfectly.

BTW, I only replaced the caps - I did not re-solder the rest of the board on any of them.

One of mine had been "refurbished" according to the sticker on it. Inside, I studied the board and the parts were all original. It appears that the refurb consisted of nothing more than re-soldering all the joints. I say that because there was a good bit more solder on these joints than on any of my other boards. Also, the shellac had been stripped and a thin coat had been sprayed back on. Anyway, it too was dead. I replaced the six caps and it works great again as well.

Thanks for your help!

Glad to be of help!

Someone shipped me in a core that had a "refurbished" sticker on it as well. It looked like someone half-stripped off the coating and re-soldered in a few spots. Didn't replace anything. I came across this same company's website and they had a price of some $300+ for that particular model!

brewtoo · #35 06-15-2012, 10:22 AM

BTW, how are you testing your units? Can they be bench-tested somehow?

JamesDean · #36 07-22-2012, 01:27 AM

Sorry I didn't see this post earlier!

Yes they can be bench tested! I've got a custom built harness that essentially is a mock-up of the in-car cruise control system. All of the components are there, I just have to provide it with power and a speed signal then test out the various functions.

pwogaman · #37 03-16-2013, 11:54 PM

I ordered the three different types for a 005 545 05 32 board. Unfortunately (or maybe not so) the 10uF caps I ordered are non-polarized. Does that make a difference? Will they work just the same?

JamesDean · #38 03-17-2013, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwogaman

I ordered the three different types for a 005 545 05 32 board. Unfortunately (or maybe not so) the 10uF caps I ordered are non-polarized. Does that make a difference? Will they work just the same?

Its OK to use a non-polarized capacitor in place of a polarized one. Its NOT OK to go the other way around, to us a polarized one in place of a non-polarized one.

So, in short, you'll be OK.

pwogaman · #39 03-17-2013, 11:26 AM

Great! Many thanks Sir.

adben11 · #40 06-27-2015, 07:35 AM

Is anyone still repairing these? Or maybe tell me what typenof soldering iron is best for this. I would give it a shot but my iron might be to big for the board.
Thanks

JamesDean · #41 06-27-2015, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adben11

Is anyone still repairing these? Or maybe tell me what typenof soldering iron is best for this. I would give it a shot but my iron might be to big for the board.
Thanks

Hello there! I am still repairing these. I've been a bit delinquent in replying to my pm's and emails so if you have sent me one I do apologize for the delay l. If you haven't feel free to drop me an email at jamesdean59@gmail.com and od be happy to help out.

We've had a death in the family and my regular job has been running in "crisis" mode the for past few weeks so I've just not had a lot of time to work on cruise repairs and whatnot. However, things have finally called down and I'm getting back into the swing of things.

-Kris

adben11 · #42 06-27-2015, 03:07 PM

Thanks for your reply. PM sent.
Ad

party · #43 03-17-2017, 11:53 PM

Anyone know if using an amp with the wrong coding plug can cause any damage?

I bought two used amps from the junkyard, both from and for W201 2.6. One was good and working, and the other didn't do anything. I put the good amp back in the car and it worked perfectly while driving to another yard. I exchanged the dead unit for one from a W124 in the next yard and tested without swapping the plug which did nothing in the car. I put the correct coding plug for the W201 on the amp and again it did nothing. After putting the good working amp back in the car with the correct coding plug now it's not working.

Happy St. Pat's.

JamesDean · #44 03-18-2017, 07:57 PM

The coding plugs are just a collection of resistors. In my experience swapping them around won't kill an amplifier. The amplifier in question may have been marginal to begin with. If you would like you can send the unit in and I'll test it out for you, see how its doing.

--Kris

party · #45 03-18-2017, 10:47 PM

My original plan was to just send you the original one that was in the car rather than play whack-a-mole with amps from the junkyard, but I figured I'd take a chance and buy the warranty for a few bucks which guarantees me a working unit so long as I can find one at any of the PYP's within 30 days.

Thanks for the reassurance about the wrong plug and the offer to test the unit. I'll test the actuator to take it out of the equation. Unfortunately I returned my original amp for core value that would engage for a few seconds, which would have been nice for troubleshooting, then hopefully find a working amp in a parts car. If I can't get one within the warranty period I'll send mine over for testing.