Justin Posted July 20, 2003 Report Share Posted July 20, 2003 My Drivers info center is acting up. The instant fuel economy always reads 80 mpg. The average fuel economy works, but will not refresh if I leave it on that screen. If I switch to any other screen, then go back, it will change and reads as correct as is expected. Anyone run into this before? I assume the problem lies inside the dic, but not 100% sure. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 21, 2003 Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 It's either your DIC, wiring, or ECM. DIC is most likely, the DIC in my 89 gave me lots of problems. I resoldered it twice, but it still keeps acting up, so I had to replace it. BTW, those are the same values I get on the DIC I put in the 94, and that's because the 94 isn't sending fuel econ data on the ALDL. So that's why I list the ECM as a possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 21, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2003 Yeah, I was figuring the dic. Since everything on this car is 89 vintage, I'd probably guess it's not the ecm. Possibly a wire, but I've never had any other wiring problems with it, so I dunno. So a guy can take it apart and resolder some joints in there? Interesting, I should do that, maybe search for a keyless module too, no fobs, but I can fix that. I've got 3 remote starters I could put in there, but it's a stick with no parking brake, so I don't think so..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no1kicker Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 you can find a DIC on ebay for around $10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 Yeah, I was figuring the dic. Since everything on this car is 89 vintage, I'd probably guess it's not the ecm. Possibly a wire, but I've never had any other wiring problems with it, so I dunno. So a guy can take it apart and resolder some joints in there? Interesting, I should do that, maybe search for a keyless module too, no fobs, but I can fix that. I've got 3 remote starters I could put in there, but it's a stick with no parking brake, so I don't think so..... Yep, pretty much anything electronic can be opened and resoldered. I went so far as to desolder the display tube and resolder the display driver chips underneath, although I don't think that's where the problem was. I think the microprocessor in mine has gone bad, because when it dies, it makes a beep first. If it was just bad solder, it would just flicker and shut off. It could also be the electrolytic capacitors. They usually only last 10-years and as short as 2yrs in some computer motherboards, so they might be worth replacing. I never tried that because I got a new DIC, although if I get real bored I might try reviving my old one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 22, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 hmm, since the front panel of mine is kind of screwed up anyways, I'll probably just let it run until it screws up more, then get one that looks better I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokesGTP Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 I was just curious shawn if you know exactly how the DIC's get their info on fuel economy? Does it actually measure the amount of fuel going into the engine and being used and then compute your mileage, I always wondered exactly how it worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 I don't know exactly, but I know what the service manual says... the service manual says it computes fuel economy based on fuel consumption data sent from the ECM. It then computes the fuel economy based on the amount of fuel it sees in the tank. On my 89, there was a TSB for a new MEMCAL because the fuel consumption data sent by the ECM was incorrect with the old MEMCAL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokesGTP Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 Cool, thanks for the info. GM was really ahead of its time with this stuff back in 89'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 There was a lot more focus on electronics back in the 80's. The DIC in the '89 Cutty was actually first used in the '88 Olds Ninety Eight. Before that, they had a different style DIC dating back to the early 80's that was similar, but had a smaller display and also included a built-in calculator. I think GM has had digital fuel economy DIC's as early as the late 70's Cadillacs. That's one reason why I love the 88-91 Cutty digital gauges cluster. Although digital dashes are out of style, they were a lot more cutting-edge than anything out today, and a lot cooler looking IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 22, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 I love the digital cluster, the only one I've ever seen that's cooler, besides KITT, was in the C4 Corvette. That cluster kicks major ass. There's one of those low emissions vehicles that is coming out with a digital cluster, the prius perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokesGTP Posted July 23, 2003 Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 Yeah the one in the C4 does look really badass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 23, 2003 Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 This cluster? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33700&item=2424050639 Doesn't look as cool as the Cutlass cluster to me, but then again I have no idea what it looks like when turned on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 That's too new I believe. This one has all digital, tach, speedo, everything.Then it had 4 switches in the console that controlled 4 extra gauges. You could switch between like oil pressure/temp, etc. So there were 8 gauges that you could monitor without having the hugest gauge pod in the world. Kind of like the dic, but more options and more in the drivers line of sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 Found it, here's the url... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33675&item=2424637925 I like the dyno sweep design of the tach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 23, 2003 Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 Ah, yeah, I've seen that one before. I like digital dashes enough that I've looked for digital dashes on Ebay just to see what other cars got. That actually reminds me a bit of the Regal gauges cluster. The only things I wouldn't like about that cluster, is I think it's LCD which washes out in the sun a lot worse than the VFD that the Cutlass has. I'm also not sure I like the gauges being digital. I prefer the "digilog" bargraphs. Things like oil pressure and volts, I don't actually care to know the precise number, I just like to see at a glance that it's in the normal range. That's one thing I don't like about aftermarket digital dashes like Dakota Digital, they're pure digital with no bargraphs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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