International gauges question

[drtbreau]

I’m having issues with my instrument cluster going in and out. It seems like it is everything except the air brake gauge. I know this is a common problem. I’ve read about solidering. But what exactly as I soldiering? I’ve attached a pic of the cluster pulled out.

Also want an insight on what these switches are for (next pic). I’m sure it’s for when the bus is idle? If so is there an ideal rpm to idle?
Economy switch....what does that do?

[cadillackid]

on mine, I disassmbled the cluster.. the shield comes off (if equipped). and then the board will unplug from the gauges. (the gauges each are 2 or 3 pins and are usually in pretty tight).. once the board is separated from the cluster. then I soldered the joints on the back side where the harness connectors are.. those connectors seem to be the culprits in most of these..



-Christopher

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by drtbreau

I’m having issues with my instrument cluster going in and out. It seems like it is everything except the air brake gauge. I know this is a common problem. I’ve read about solidering. But what exactly as I soldiering? I’ve attached a pic of the cluster pulled out.

Also want an insight on what these switches are for (next pic). I’m sure it’s for when the bus is idle? If so is there an ideal rpm to idle?
Economy switch....what does that do?

Same problem here with the cluster. Instead of fixing it I bought a Bluefire, which is a $175 gadget you plug into your data port, and then you connect to it with a tablet and you can show a realtime dashboard on it (including everything on the physical dash and a lot more parameters). For extra fun it will also tell you the true mileage on your bus.

Your switches on the right are your cruise control, I'm pretty sure. Mine are labeled "Cruise Control", not sure why yours aren't, but probably just a panel replacement at some point.

[cadillackid]

the busses could be ordered with the throttle mode turned on but the cruise portion disabled.. its a simple ECM program change to enable it.. the buttons are identical. and in a bus with cruise they can be used for throttle when the bus is in neutral and parking brake applied..

[Brad_SwiftFur]

I have 2 similar cruise control switches on mine. I can idle up the engine when parked (typically 800-900 RPM, maybe 1000 if the weather is really cold), I have also enabled the actual cruise control to maintain a given road speed in my ECM.


I ended up replacing my circuit board, Dorman makes one, the going price seems to be $250-up. My coolant temp gauge reads higher than before but I suspect the actual temp is the same. Something about IH changed the gauge itself in the late 90's and reprogrammed the boards accordingly.

[MichaelStuart74]

I had the same problem with my cluster, all the gauges would intermittently quit working and got to the point where they quit working altogether. As Cadillackid describes, removed cluster, detached connectors, removed safety cover, removed the screws retaining the circuit boards, flipped over and re-soldered the pins on the back of the connectors. Gauge cluster is back to working, seems to have solved the problem completely. I had never soldered anything before either, but there's plenty of instructional youtube videos out there about every single aspect of the process. The secret seemed to be to heat the pin only, then touch the solder to the pin, not the gun. Once it heats up enough, it pulls the solder into a pool at the base of the pin.