New Speedometer/Odometer Reset

[DrHicks]

Okay guys, next issue...

When I bought this '05 ION 1 from my niece, the odometer wasn't working. Everything I've read led me to believe that this is a very common problem with these cars, and that the solution was simply to replace it instrument cluster. So I did.

So the odometer now reads 98,xxx miles instead of the 78,xxx that are actually on the car.


I've read all manner of things about whether or not the car's computer will reset the odometer. So... what happens next?
1. Does the car's computer reset the odometer to the actual mileage?
2. Is there a way to do it "manually"
3. Is this something a dealer has to do?


Thanks!

[onefunkar]

how do you know the car doesnt have 98k? you bought it with non working odo at 78k.

[DrHicks]

Originally Posted by onefunkar

how do you know the car doesnt have 98k? you bought it with non working odo at 78k.

I bought the car from a family member. I know the car, plus Carfax and title transfers verify the correct mileage.

[2006 ion2]

The panel holds the mileage. Your car will read the other car's mileage unless you buy a new panel and have it installed by a dealership. This is not a common problem.

[DrHicks]

Originally Posted by 2006 ion2

The panel holds the mileage. Your car will read the other car's mileage unless you buy a new panel and have it installed by a dealership. This is not a common problem.

Alrighty, that clears that up. Thank you!

[ddemier7]

So all I have to do is buy another cluster and install it before I put my Ion up for sale? Viola = a low milage clean one owner ion. Lol

[kevin.st56]

Originally Posted by ddemier7

So all I have to do is buy another cluster and install it before I put my Ion up for sale? Viola = a low milage clean one owner ion. Lol

just my gf's civic that had a bad speed sensor on it. odo shows 150k miles, which may be almost 190k

All jokes aside tho, I do remember reading that you have to get a new cluster and bring it to GM to have it set to your car.
a used one cannot be reset

[DrHicks]

Welp, the odometer/trip meter on the "new" speedo cluster does not work. It is warranted, so this is no big deal. It is from a salvage yard, so I assume they are not able to test the odometer on a wrecked car.

Anyway, is there any possibility that they malfunction of the odometer is due to something else?

[2006 ion2]

Unless the instrument panel is learned to the car, it will not only not read the correct mileage, but it will not clock new mileage.

[DrHicks]

Originally Posted by 2006 ion2

Unless the instrument panel is learned to the car, it will not only not read the correct mileage, but it will not clock new mileage.

I'm getting conflicting information...

Can this used cluster be "learned" to the car? Does it have to be taken to a dealer to have that done?

[2006 ion2]

Not conflicting. Any panel new or old will act this way.

[DrHicks]

Originally Posted by 2006 ion2

Not conflicting. Any panel new or old will act this way.

Okay.
Now, can the used panel be "relearned" by a dealer, so that it begins to run properly? That is the question I've had conflicting answers to.

[2006 ion2]

If coarse, but very few dealerships will touch a used instrument panel. They don't want to.

[electro_void]

Sorry for bumping this old thread but I just did this exact repair and the mileage changed on the odometer. I de-soldered the EEPROM from the old and new instrument cluster and soldered the old one onto the new board. The biggest pain was figuring out how to open the cluster. I broke the old one in the process but learned how to do it from failure. The ribbon cable for the digital display is very delicate and the tachometer sticker is in the way of removing the display. You will need to heat up the glue underneath the tachometer sticker using the low setting on your girlfriends hair dryer or your sticker will rip and end up like the attached picture. I've attached a picture of the location of the EEPROM chip (relative to the front of the cluster) that needs to be swapped. Chip highlighted in yellow circle.

[Samtherecordman]

Originally Posted by 2006 ion2

If coarse, but very few dealerships will touch a used instrument panel. They don't want to.

Why don't they won't to????

[Samtherecordman]

Originally Posted by electro_void

Sorry for bumping this old thread but I just did this exact repair and the mileage changed on the odometer. I de-soldered the EEPROM from the old and new instrument cluster and soldered the old one onto the new board. The biggest pain was figuring out how to open the cluster. I broke the old one in the process but learned how to do it from failure. The ribbon cable for the digital display is very delicate and the tachometer sticker is in the way of removing the display. You will need to heat up the glue underneath the tachometer sticker using the low setting on your girlfriends hair dryer or your sticker will rip and end up like the attached picture. I've attached a picture of the location of the EEPROM chip (relative to the front of the cluster) that needs to be swapped. Chip highlighted in yellow circle.

Did the EEPROM fix your Odometer working again and your Trip working again?
Thanks!!!

[Samtherecordman]

This EEEPROM Swap works!!!! Wow!!!

Thank you a million time. I almost want to call back GM and tell them I fixed it and that they where helpless to me. They just wanted to sell me a cluster and make bunch of money off me. Surprise, surprise.

Anyways, warm thank you. We should tag this tread as it does work and so simple to do!!!

[Stokester]

Originally Posted by Samtherecordman

Did the EEPROM fix your Odometer working again and your Trip working again?
Thanks!!!

I know this is another resurrection of this thread but I may have info that could help someone. This post was done from memory so if there are errors, let me know.

My daughter said she was unable to see the speedometer at night in her 2003 Ion QuadCoupe. Thinking this was a backlighting issue I pulled the IPC to find all the lamps working - the issue was the LED in the stepper motor which lights the pointer.

Not finding any source for the stepper motors I bought a salvage IPC and installed it not wishing to disassemble two IPCs for a stepper. While it took care of the illumination problem the mileage is from the donor vehicle and a service message is displayed.

Having worked as a mechanic at a dealership before retiring I still have access through friends to the Tech2. Thinking this may allow me to set the mileage or fix the display I tried to reset the IPC mileage or VIN. This did not work. Further research showed the VIN is embedded in the IPC and if it does not match the BCM or PCM (don't remember which it is in this car) it will not update the IPC with mileage. The rebuilt ones from a third party must clear the VIN from the EEPROM so the scan tool can then write a new one. This is how it is done on other earlier GM IPCs I’ve replaced.

Thanks for posting and the update to the EEPROM success, I may try this.

[Geodesic2]

Originally Posted by electro_void

Sorry for bumping this old thread but I just did this exact repair and the mileage changed on the odometer. I de-soldered the EEPROM from the old and new instrument cluster and soldered the old one onto the new board. The biggest pain was figuring out how to open the cluster. I broke the old one in the process but learned how to do it from failure. The ribbon cable for the digital display is very delicate and the tachometer sticker is in the way of removing the display. You will need to heat up the glue underneath the tachometer sticker using the low setting on your girlfriends hair dryer or your sticker will rip and end up like the attached picture. I've attached a picture of the location of the EEPROM chip (relative to the front of the cluster) that needs to be swapped. Chip highlighted in yellow circle.

electro_void,

I wanted to thank you for this information. I managed to swap the EEPROM chip by surrounding it with aluminum tape in the shape of a square cone, to prevent heat gun air from desoldering anything else. I added flux to the pins blasted hot air onto it, and the chip was soon removed with a tweezer. I repeated the same on the replacement board. I then placed my original chip on the working board. Used my phone's camera to magnify it and make sure the pins were sitting correctly on the pads. I then cut a thin strip of aluminum tape to secure the chip in place and add a bit of downward force to the chip. The pins remained exposed. Once I was satisfied with its placement I added more flux and hit it with a blast of hot air until the existing solder on pads and pins flowed. I waited a bit for the solder to cool and carefully removed all the tape. Under magnification everything looked great. I placed the board back on the white plastic base and plugged it into my car to test it. Worked perfectly. I'm no longer getting Service Needed & my mileage is once again accurate for my car.

Note: Take special care to mark or note the orientation of the EEPROM chip on the board. If you install it backwards you may ruin everything. Under magnification my chip had markings and I took a picture of its orientation.

I replaced the guage sticker & needles. I set all the needles to the zero mark and hoped that everything would be fine. Temp, Speed & Tach worked perfect from the zero mark. The fuel guage however did not report the correct level when I started the car. So I removed the needle and drove down to the gas station to fill up the tank. I started the car and the fuel guage stem should have rotated to the proper place for a full tank. Then I replaced the needle on the stem pointing to the full tank line and set it in place without moving the stem left or right. I'm hoping that will now drop accurately as the tank empties.

I want to emphasize to anyone reading this that the ribbon cable is EXTREMELY fragile. It's exactly this that failed on my original board. Age, heat, etc. causes the fine traces to crack and the display to fail. Be very very careful handling your replacement board because the ribbon cable is soldered to the board and display. If you overly stress or bend the ribbon you may cause microscopic cracks in those traces and ruin it. Trust me I know. I know because when I purchased the replacement cluster on ebay and plugged it in, the display worked perfectly. Wrong info but it worked. After I finished messing around with my chip swapping and tested the board one character on the display was not fully shown. However when I gingerly flattened the ribbon against the casing with my finger the numeral appeared correcty. I lifted my finger and the numeral lost a line again. I had introduced a short in the ribbon cable because of my manhandling. I was able to fix it by placing a folded piece of paper between the ribbon and the casing, causing the short to flatten out and make contact. It works.. for now. All I'm saying is be careful folks. You've been warned.

[electro_void]

Originally Posted by Geodesic2

electro_void,

I wanted to thank you for this information. I managed to swap the EEPROM chip by surrounding it with aluminum tape in the shape of a square cone, to prevent heat gun air from desoldering anything else. I added flux to the pins blasted hot air onto it, and the chip was soon removed with a tweezer. I repeated the same on the replacement board. I then placed my original chip on the working board. Used my phone's camera to magnify it and make sure the pins were sitting correctly on the pads. I then cut a thin strip of aluminum tape to secure the chip in place and add a bit of downward force to the chip. The pins remained exposed. Once I was satisfied with its placement I added more flux and hit it with a blast of hot air until the existing solder on pads and pins flowed. I waited a bit for the solder to cool and carefully removed all the tape. Under magnification everything looked great. I placed the board back on the white plastic base and plugged it into my car to test it. Worked perfectly. I'm no longer getting Service Needed & my mileage is once again accurate for my car.

Note: Take special care to mark or note the orientation of the EEPROM chip on the board. If you install it backwards you may ruin everything. Under magnification my chip had markings and I took a picture of its orientation.

I replaced the guage sticker & needles. I set all the needles to the zero mark and hoped that everything would be fine. Temp, Speed & Tach worked perfect from the zero mark. The fuel guage however did not report the correct level when I started the car. So I removed the needle and drove down to the gas station to fill up the tank. I started the car and the fuel guage stem should have rotated to the proper place for a full tank. Then I replaced the needle on the stem pointing to the full tank line and set it in place without moving the stem left or right. I'm hoping that will now drop accurately as the tank empties.

I want to emphasize to anyone reading this that the ribbon cable is EXTREMELY fragile. It's exactly this that failed on my original board. Age, heat, etc. causes the fine traces to crack and the display to fail. Be very very careful handling your replacement board because the ribbon cable is soldered to the board and display. If you overly stress or bend the ribbon you may cause microscopic cracks in those traces and ruin it. Trust me I know. I know because when I purchased the replacement cluster on ebay and plugged it in, the display worked perfectly. Wrong info but it worked. After I finished messing around with my chip swapping and tested the board one character on the display was not fully shown. However when I gingerly flattened the ribbon against the casing with my finger the numeral appeared correcty. I lifted my finger and the numeral lost a line again. I had introduced a short in the ribbon cable because of my manhandling. I was able to fix it by placing a folded piece of paper between the ribbon and the casing, causing the short to flatten out and make contact. It works.. for now. All I'm saying is be careful folks. You've been warned.

Awesome! someone else had success with this. Yeah, I had to buy two clusters from ebay because i ruined the lcd cable after opening the first one I bought. But, yeah the eeprom swap keeps the actual mileage and you can get replacement clusters on ebay for around $30 if you look around. You can also use a product called chipquik and a cheap soldering iron. quikchip is low melt solder. just make sure you remove all the low melt solder from the pins before you solder the eeprom to the new board.