Has anyone's clock died?

[Orbit]

my freinds 02 clock died about 6 months ago. hmm, seems to be pretty common.

[bruce]

How does one simply "pop" out the dash panel?

Following up ... buymywit, since you popped the clock panel out of the dash, even though you broke some of the tabs, perhaps you could offer some advice on how one might pop the panel out without breaking the tabs. How do the tabs click into the mount? In other words, how should they be leveraged to unclick them? I can separate the panel on the windshield side, but the other side remains firmly attached.

[TonyG]

Mine just popped out. Nothing broke. No special technique.

I have an 02 Wagon -not sure if it matters.

[buymywit]

bruce,

I'm assuming you are talking about the clock fascia pod atop the dash. I pulled the cup holder and dash vent so I could see the bottom of the clock pod. I always find it hard to take something apart without being able to see it. That's how I end up breaking things. Here's how:

1) Pull the cup holder with the two screws inside
2) Pull the dash vent out. The vent assembly has a small white clip-in tab on the left side. I took the gauge panel surround out (2 screws and pull back and out) and pushed the vent clip out with my finger.
3) Look up inside and you'll see the plastic tabs under the pod. There are two white ones toward the windshield, and molded plastic ones toward the rear. Just push firmly but gently up with a screwdriver while gently pulling the pod up.
4) The clock is held in the pod with small tabs on either side. I broke two of these, but it still snaps in ok.
5) The clock circuit board is snapped in between the clock body halves. This is where I had to "black tape" it back together.
6) My clock had the "510" resistor?/diode? just under the right upper corner of the L.E.D. screen (on the circuit board) broken loose. This I had to resolder back on, and it works now!
I have pictures, and when I figure out how to post them, I will. It's a little too late tonight ...

Dave

[buymywit]

bruce,

Here's some pics. I apologize in advance for my less-than-stellar computing skills if it doesn't work:

1) Pull the cup holder screws:

[buymywit]

The cupholder comes out; there's a small clip underneath to pry out:

[buymywit]

2) Pull the dash vent. Just one white plastic clip on the left side:

[03WRX_YELLOW]

Mines runs still.

[buymywit]

3) Look up inside to see the bottom of the clock pod:

[buymywit]

The bottom of the pod has 4 clips:

[buymywit]

4) The clock is held in with small plastic clips. Here's where you need to be careful. It's thin plastic:

[buymywit]

5) Here's the clock out of the body. The L.E.D. is soldered above the circuit board. Business 810 wrote his(or her) L.E.D. had a burned area of it. Mine did too, but after the solder repair, it still works fine and has no noticeable effects. I had to desolder the one side of the L.E.D. and rotate it up. It's not as hard as it sounds. Just be gentle and take your time.
In this picture, the white arrow shows the burned area of the L.E.D., and the red arrow points to the corner my clock had the "510" resistor/diode (I still don't know what it it) solder loose:

[buymywit]

Here's a piss-poor close-up of the resistor, labeled "510" I had to resolder on:

[buymywit]

bruce,

I hope this helps. Just take it slow and gentle, and you'll make out just fine. So you know, that thumb in the pictures I hit with a hammer a few weeks back, so if a ham-fisted oaf like me can fix this, I think you'll do just fine!

Dave

[Business810]

5) Here's the clock out of the body. The L.E.D. is soldered above the circuit board. Business 810 wrote his(or her) L.E.D. had a burned area of it. Mine did too, but after the solder repair, it still works fine and has no noticeable effects. I had to desolder the one side of the L.E.D. and rotate it up. It's not as hard as it sounds. Just be gentle and take your time.
In this picture, the white arrow shows the burned area of the L.E.D., and the red arrow points to the corner my clock had the "510" resistor/diode (I still don't know what it it) solder loose:

My (I'm a him, by the way) LED did appear burned, but all of the soldered connections on my clock appeared to be intact. That's interesting that your LED still worked even with the burned area.

Regardless, great write-up, I wish I had taken the time to document how I took everything apart when I did. My only thing to add is that if you are very careful, you can just pry the clock pod straight up out of the dash without removing the cupholder and vent. The clips on the pod seem to be pretty sturdy so I wouldn't worry too much about breaking them, it's the ones attaching the clock to the pod that are really fragile. (Of course, if someone does it my way and manages to break clips I'm not liable in any way...)

Jon