MEP 805B / 806B CIM CCFL backlight repair

[peapvp]

During a routine repair of the CCFL exchange, we encountered the following new issue on CIM’s when they are stored outside and are continuously exposed to the elements, especially heat and UV light (sun)

unit has 252 hours on hour meter,
CIM has date of Manufacture of May 2008

1. all cable ties are rock hard and are squeezing the wire insulation

2. the smd capacitor next to lcd connector has loose connectivity to the solder and PCB pads, causing either a blank screen with backlight on or the horizontal stabilization is lost due to intermittent contact.
The solder basically broke down over time and heat exposure of cubicle / CIM

this problem is mostly associated with lead free solder and no clean fluxes used for PCB assembly





3. The CCFL’s, which are basically fluorescent light bulbs, burn out prematurely.
The life expectancy for the original ccfl was 1,000 hours

 

[2Pbfeet]

It is the little things that reach up and bite you, isn't it?

Thanks for sharing!

All the best,

2Pbfeet

 

[peapvp]

Update:

installed NOS LCD
Came with red light ccfl which has the red / white wires
Changed them to blue light ccfl with blue / white wire which is better for outdoor use

then found out that lcd to motherboard double ribbon cable has internal wire breakage on three wires due to the pvc insulation hardening

when both cables / connectors are just in the right position, everything is hunky dory

 

[peapvp]

On the CIM’s with the motherboard shown below and running firmware 4.1.1a we are installing now an extra VGA / SVGA (DB15) on the back panel of CIM
This way a regular VGA monitor or a standalone 24VDC Marine VGA Monitor can be installed on top of cubicle.

 

[Chainbreaker]

Great added feature with lots of potential for expanded capabilities... perhaps even remote transmission of data.

The problems of the CIM screen flakiness history has caused me much consternation on ever bidding on these series gensets when they come up.

 

[peapvp]

Update:

our machinist is on vacation and my expertise in milling on a mill is extremely limited.

the connector is a tad bit crooked. I also did not risk to thread 7/16 thick aluminum with a 4-40 thread, but used good old JB Weld