Bill listen .. if you're ever looking back here .. you made one old retired airline guy very happy. I like to do my own work, I love You Tube, and folks like YOU are an amazing example of 'why' ! So, you've (Mom has) got 'Rosey', and I've got 'Old Frumpy' (that typical 'champagne brown' that us senior folks love to drive, and cops give us some slack in the Georgia town of 'Snellville'). Anyway, I watched your video the first time going all the way through, because it reminded me of that show "Jean Shepherd's America", and I especially loved how you narrated while driving along some of those old Illinois roads. You've got a great sense of humor, and you really dedicated a lot of your time to make this project 'folksy'. That was a real treat for me. Then .... the next day when my 'nerves' were peaked ( could still control my hand tremors enough to be functional .. j/k ) I set out to watch your tutorial for real in two segments. First segment was when I removed the trim piece, dash front (partial), and even separated the full control unit in just about 12 minutes total time. Once I got the 'box' inside it was time for 'segment two', and I had the unit apart, cleaned, and soldered in another 15 minutes. Finally on reassembly I put 'Humpty Frumpy back together again' in a 5 minute time to 'full close'. Therefore the total elapsed time was around 35 minutes ... and I only mention ALL this, because it was entirely due to your 'humorous yet very patient and detailed' dialogue. Seriously, you did a Great Job on this video Bill, and I have been through hundreds of training films and videos in the Air Force and with the Airline. So I am one who knows what you accomplished from having followed you through the entire project. Thank You to 'UXW'Bill for making a job I was dreading not only go smoothly, but made the whole experience - ENJOYABLE ! I tip my hat to YOU and Mom ! ....... TBird

Thanks, Bill. We bought a used 2004 Buick Park Avenue a couple of years ago for our then 19 year-old daughter. The car had this exact same problem. I just followed your tutorial tonight and was able to fix it. Took about an hour. You were right in that getting that electrical connector off was the hardest part of the job.

I have this same car,2002 Park Avenue. My Climate Control module is still working. The rear defroster in mine is wonky. The cause, is all inside a module that is up behind the rear seat passenger (on drivers side). You need to remove the plastic liner, and inside there is a combination antenna booster box, and the defrost wires go into that also. Mine is burned to a crisp, the connector is burned off, almost beyond repair. I got it to hook up for a while, and it worked (though not well) for about a month. I need a new module, but whatever the cost and effort to put it in, doesn't seem to bother me. The rear seat heat/a/c vents can be set to kind of blow up toward the rear window, and work well enough for me. That's about the only thing in my car that doesn't work properly, everything else is just perfect.I really like this car!

Always liked your kitchen table series! The notable remarks and side comments are awesome. And just love those 5 dollar words.

Just thought I'd follow up and mention that I recently attempted this repair in June with resounding success! The climate control display now works and displays properly. Thanks for posting this.

The "interface"-board as you call it is indeed wave-soldered by machine. It's the repeatedly heating and cooling that makes the solder disintegrate over time. Nothing to do about that other than giving the resistors some longer legs so they can shed off the heat to the surrounding air instead of the PCB.

Let me give you some kudos for this, it solved my problem on mother-in-law’s 2004 Park Avenue. Not as many bad solder joints as you had but they were there on those resistors. Cleaned that up and we’re cooking with gas! Now... on to the power seat issue....

I have a 2004 Buick Park Avenue Ultra, I have been flicking the climate display for the year that I've owned the car. I just had a $2200 service done at the dealership, considering 41,000 miles when i bought it in July 2014, now at 77,000 and still had original tires, brakes, etc. I also got a massive discount. My vehicle is a Ultra which means it is a 3.8 liter supercharged, your video saved me about $500. Thank you very very much!

I bought a used one at a car salvage yard and that one went bad too. I re-soldered it and it works now! We'll see how long it lasts. Thanx for the tutorial!

I have been putting up with the same problem for about five years now, and I have determined that it is time to fix it... I appreciate your detailed explanation. Thank you for the informative post... AJM

Thanks for the video as my 2005 Park Ave climate control now went totally dead. Will check fuses first but a total replacement may be needed

thanks for your time and sharing the video with the world, you have saved me a lot of time, I can't wait to get started on mine.

Hey 'Kitchen Table'! Your fix worked like a charm!! Saved me 300.00 in repairs! I had to do a two wire jump because my board was to far gone. I think they used plumbing solder on those connections. Or issue was that the fan would not come on until you bashed the dash right above the ashtray. Thanks for the video Scott

Downloading the factory service manual for my Durango was something I've been happy I did, I've had to refer to it several times, for things I'd have never guessed or found on my own.

Great repair! It's got to make you feel good when completing a job like that. I don't want to even think about how much a new climate control head installed by the dealer would have cost. Usually, any electrical repair on today's modern cars translates to serious money.

I had two Park Avenues from this generation and found the dash very easy to take apart and service the various electronic parts. I changed out my climate control unit more than once and also repaired my gas gauge needle in the speedometer cluster. I miss these cars very much and would give my right arm to have the 2005 model back. They were one of the last truly American cars to roll off the assembly line. The new American flagships just look like sick jokes in comparison.

great job...... electronics have never been one of my strong points but sure good at it....thanks for the upload...... very informative

Thanks, helped me identify the issue with mine, had to run two wires due to the heat ! works again perfectly.

Good instructions as always. Looks like I've got a summer project to work on now as well :-).

Another informative video! I just have two things to say. 1. Missouri is the same about the weather, if you don't like it, just wait a while as it will change. And 2. a lot of older GM's interior screws are mostly 7mm.

Kool video .. I have the same problem in my 02 PA .. I pretty much got the controls down pack with the display backlight an your video just tells me i can live without trying to fix it 😂😂

A simple test for the rear window defroster without waiting for the right "weather": With the engine off, keep a door open and stare at the dome light when you press the button for the rear window defroster. The dome light should dim, as the rear grid pulls a considerable amount of current. You can cycle it on and off a few times and you should see the change in brightness. Maybe not a complete and conclusive test, but it will at least give you an idea.

I appreciate your help, but you forgot to check all the small little bulbs inside the radio, twilight switch, headlight switch, interior switch, HVAC control module, door controls, passenger door temp controls (limited LeSabre only) which are covered with blue covers, if available as option. I found that "germal bulbs" for "VW/AUDI" that are CANBUS error free (LED) work well and allow dimming when the alarm unlock and lock button are pressed. Yes, the dimming works with these bulbs despite what everyone tells you. The other option is installing resistors in easily accessible bulbs like the doors and the bottom panel; under the dash on the festoon bulbs (or buying Partsam LEDS on Amazon with resistors, which are bidirectional and CANBus error free and work on 9v-24v. They give you dimming and don't fry Mom's precious modules in the car. Either way thank you. Now can someone tell my how to get the dash out of the car to replace the heads up display bulbs (LeSabre Limited 2002-2005). I Have three copies of the GM esi/software and have too much on my scholl PC to run the software in an XP virtual machine nor run the software in WIn 10 with a virtual machine of XP or 7. Whew. Thank you again for diving in and getting it done. Mine is Gloria after my late mother in-law. Also, while you have the dash apart everyone makes a big stink about the gauge stepper motors. My motors are fine; it is the gas gauge that either reads full or waits until you have traveled 450 miles; then, the amber--"danger you have no gas" light illuminates on the gas gauge. Lastly, I am trying to find the correct A/C actuators on my car. According to the GM manual( and on-line) there are five for this fancy option of HVAC. One for each front door; one for the middle (windshield--mid and floor;) another for recirculate and another for the passenger door ( individual temp control); maybe another for the rear air. Only two are the similar, the other three are different part numbers. Oh. the fun begins.

This worked for me today,,,THANKS!!!

I think the 1993 Chrysler Concorde we had included the most awesome climate controls of all. The fan had a continuously variable knob like the cold to hot control. I know it had rear climate vents that could be adjusted. I think the vent selection was push button. The fan speed went from super high to super low.

did it and it worked!!! thx for the video💪👍

Great video, thank you sir!

Woman working at a store next to me drives the identical twin sister to Ruby. I see it every day at work. Today, while out making the networking rounds, I had a blue Caprice station wagon behind me. I haven't seen one of those 'round these parts for ages. Clear coat coming off the hood, but otherwise pretty much identical to yours.

Thanks for another kitchen table electronics repair vid! Been too long haha

Thanks for making this video

I love VFDs that reminds me like General Electric Space Maker Kitchen Clock Radio because they did light up the displays very well than LED display and I like the way when GM made that one in 80's, 90's, and 2000's. =)

The R&R procedure is detailed in the shop manual, which is well worth the investment. I got mine in PDF on CD for $45 on rockauto

actually...Delco Electronics/Delphi Automotive in Kokomo was the world hq for Delco.They had a chip foundry, motherboard room and full production line. If it says Kokomo, It was fully manufactured on site until they closed 95% of the facility in 2008. I lived in the area for 20 years. What you have there is an american made product. Most of the radios,ECM's and climate controls were made in Kokomo over 70 years.Michigan made the Delco suspension parts and spark plugs. Tektronix is opening a small facility in part of the old plant and Delphi Automotive still has its engineering facility there. GM Components Holdings owns the rest and it mostly sits empty except for the Delco Electronics and Safety division. It's a gigantic facility and it sits empty....quite sad

The vfd blanks out on the instrument panel cluster as well.. i have been fixing a ton of those lately as well.

Ruby looks good in the color department!

That desoldering tool looks like mine. Too hot for many uses. I would use desoldering braid with a controlled temp device. Further, some low-melt-point solder with silver from Parts Express is on my list to buy. Cheers

I appreciate you. Thank you.

I'm chuckling while listening to someone read an instruction manual. ''bad solder joints do not always make themselves readily apparent.''

You are awesome

I noticed the Volvo is back from storage, is it being used again?

Nearly identical to my 2004 Buick Lesabre Limited. Park Avenue is cool.

Hell yeah Brother !

+uxwbill - When doing such a repair in the future, I strongly recommend blindly replacing those resistors. If they've really gotten that hot for years, its likely they've drifted in resistance over time. Make sure to get the same type - those appear to be flameproof resistors.. and as the name might indicate, its an important distinction. There's also a lot of room in there, if they're really getting that hot because of design and not poor manufacturing, replace them with a higher wattage. GM/Delco seemed to have a hard time in the late 80s/early 90s with manufacturing electronics with displays.. seems their frugality continued on for longer than I had realized. This, as stated by at least one other commenter, was a design for the bean counters: cheap, garbage, just to save a few pennies per unit.

I am starting to have this same problem in my Grandmother 97 Buick La sabre limited edition. But the weird thing is the display won't work in the daytime but at night with the twilight sentinel kicks in the indicator is bright as day. I was wondering (This being my family first GM car in ages) further in the future will this break the system entirely or will the display just short out? Please and thank you

six foot flames, lol, you sir are awsum.

I'm pretty sure that these resistors were closly soldered to the board in order to fry the joints loose, to make it a pre-programmed weak spot which is intended to fail after a number of operating time. The manufacturer then sells you a new unit "for a few dollars more". My opinion: Get the same resistors, bend some distance loops on each leg prior to soldering them in place. That should keep the resistors well-spaced from the bard soldering joints due to reduced heat condictivity, making obsolescence obsolete.

i really want a 2005 buick park avenue ultra. last best buick made. what sucks though it only take spremium gas.

Just did this. It worked

Roughly reminds me of wanky LCD shutters for the fuel gauge in the upper tier instrument cluster in my Mom's '06 Honda Civic. After removing the upper tier cluster and taking it apart, I found that the problem was cracked solder joints connecting the LCD elements to the PCB. Easy to fix; you desolder the joints using copper desoldering braid to remove both the solder and a resin coating over the joints. Then you solder the joints. Of course, it would be a good idea to apply new resin over the joints after flowing them with fresh solder; the manufacturer didn't put it there for kicks.

You know, i've been thinking of making a homemade stereo system by using old car radios dating from 1999 to 2004 and retrofitting them with LED Lights for better display, do you have any advice?

William, I installed 12v LED turn signal/park bulbs on my SUV tail lights. Now my turn signals experience Hyper Flash due to the LEDs lower power draw. My question is ; How do I determine how many ohms in a resistor I require to bring my turn signals to a regular flash pattern ?

I have a 1988 buick electa park avenue that I just recently got from georgia and I'm backin wisc. and I have to wonder if any thing else goes out inside these. My display works and I can hear a high fan when I manually turn it on but no low fan , But no heat. thks........ good job fixing your display

Just thought of another failure I have with this car, but I've just learned to live with it. Many of the tiny lights behind buttons, such as on the climate control buttons for AUTO, VENT, OFF, only light up now and again. Some nights, I have my power door lock buttons lit on one side or the other. Sometimes both, sometimes none. Dash lights are all good, just some micro lights behind buttons...like on the steering wheel, do not always work.

I wonder where the chime module is on the Park Avenues.

Well done bill :-D, it fought you but in reality it didnt stand a chance lol :-) Being a vaccume display it should have heaters stretched across the display, and even though i seem to remember that it will work with d.c powered heaters, it apparently makes the display unevenly excited, but still i think those resistors could be the filiment supply droppers, perhaps, maybe lol :-D. Those pesky bolts i thought might be 1/4 or 6.3mm, but could have just as easly been the typical 10mm, very common everywhere except the moon... no im corrected ha ha :). I allways enjoy your videos bill, you have a cracking sense of humor and your repair skills are far far better than you let on. Comedy and repairs, who could want more :-D

I **think** you could get the most basic Park Avenues in the early days of the redesign with manual climate controls, but the manual climate control box is not compatible with the automatic box, it's a different connector.

Something in your video editing or encoding process is causing the 16:9 image to be letterboxed within a 5:3 (not 4:3!) frame, resulting in the windowboxing when viewed on KZfaq. Maybe you have the resolution mistakenly set to 800x480 instead of 854x480? I don't know why the American automakers stuck with VFDs for so long, since they require extra circuitry, wash out in bright sunlight, and fade with age. My only guess is that they preferred the blacked-out look of the faceplate when the display is not in use (or not working, in this case!).

Did the rear defog come back to life?

1999 Buick Park Avenue. My A/C stopped blowin out of vents. Floor and defrost only. I pulled the head, table top teched the inside. -5 re-spot solders were needed, as some seperate from the board from age. Thought that may have helped. TY For that part it did have some!! But No go. Correct me if I'm wrong but from what i checked there are a couple door actuator's that are in the dash. I have seen the one by left of glovebox is one that people said replace that one. Just want to be sure. Are they all the same when I order one. Do or would you know which one I may need to replace? I'd sure appreciate it.

Another great repair video! I would recommend looking into upholstery and trim tool set - your technique is great but having a set of soft plastic removal tools helps when your dealing with really old trim/panel pieces plus an excuse to buy more tools Something like this (links below) could be an asset I bought mine from my local Canadian store - www.princessauto.com/en/detail/5-pc-trim-remover-set/A-p8309411e Harbor Freight has the same thing for guys/gals in the USA - www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-auto-trim-and-molding-tool-set-67021.html

8:01 how you said pathetic was pretty funny😂

I usually fix such poor solderings by resoldering all resistors, then I straighten it pins by pillers. Than i use knife or abrasive to remove any scale, and use an orthophosphoric acid to tin it again. Most important thing is to clean an acid after soldering, i use isopropyl or etyl alcohol.

Nice video. Is it possible to get a video of the vintage air conditioners you own starting up? Lol thanks

Have the intake manifold gaskets been replaced since your family got the car?

how much would it be just to buy an entire new unit? seems easier also

Do you know what size the resistors were on your board , I have the same problem and my resistors look BBQ and I'm not sure what resistor to buy. Thanks

Is it the famous GM quality of interior parts but it looks like someone took a hack saw to that lower plastic portion? The hacked part is hidden but still looks weird lol. Back when I had Chevys I had to take all of that plastic off, it's a pain but not impossible, I would imagine new cars now are a lot harder to take apart.

Does the Rear Defroster work after you resoldered the resistors?

Wow Bill,I'm a little disappointed.I wanted to see how you were going to get the Buick into the kitchen...lol :P

Will this repair work on the 2001 park avenue as well? And can someone list the required tools for the fix?

Bill, if you choose to do an LED light retrofit in the future, there's no need to calculate resistances or anything. superbrightLEDs.com sells LED bulbs in most of the common automotive bulb sizes, and they add all the necessary circuitry to make it a plug and play job to boot. I was able to convert my entire car (instrument cluster, HVAC controls and assorted interior lighting) over to LED lighting for about $45 including shipping.

The thing w mine is that its only the left side of the climate control that does not work the screen shows the right side buttons show its just the left side buttons?

can you do a video on howto remove the trim

Or the Wave machine the electronic assembler was using wasnt set up correctly.

I’m assuming the same issue comes forth with the Buick Regal climate control display of the same era

Just the way you said it was funny😂😂😂

Yeah those car batteries die all the time i using those solar battery protectors freaking awesome maybe you should try one of those

I think you will find that the alternator is shot should be 14.2v

99°?? Looks like you have a bad outside air temp sensor... it's located in the engine compartment usually somewhere in the very front. they're usually less than $20.

Hey i see the Volvo is back?

Is that a 3800 Series II or Series III?

I have a video of my windows 98 PC running a game that needs 8mb of vram the video is called my windows 98 and Linux PC and is the first video I did on KZfaq. These HP pavilion PC was supposed to be broken but it wasn't and has never crashed on me. It can start in 20sec and runs with the factory version of windows 98(it had fresh copy on it when I first got it). It runs the monitor at 1024x724 16bit color it has an option for 32bit color. This PC can load 350mb game from the CD ROM to the HHD in 5 or less minutes. Just got some classic Sim games for it to play

My experience with a nonfunctional rear window defroster on the '06 Chevy Monte Carlo was fixed by bypassing a burnt connection in a big plug that connects the dash wiring to the rest of the loom. On the Chevy the plug is in the passenger side kick panel. Scary to disconnect a plug and see charred connectors. I cut the wires from the plug & socket and spliced them together and now my window defroster works. Check this video on an Impala - same thing, kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oKyHdaeLz7fFgok.html

Looks to me like those ristors should have been back off the board some in manufacturing just because of the heat dissipation.

Yeah well, you should have completed the trim removal to be complete. It would have made for a "Best" video... All the same good job...

You shoulda replaced the resisters!

Bill, I have some information regarding the rear Defroster. according to the Buick Forums, the signal to drive the rear defroster goes through several control modules before it gets to the grid itself. the modules in question are: HVAC control module (you've already fiddled with the internal guts of this guy to bring the display back to life) Instrument panel integration module (IPM) (i assume this is working as intended since I didn't see any dead gauges or a dead odometer/DIC display) Body control module (BCM) Radio antenna module Radio antenna module coil Rear window defogger grid I would likely look at the Antenna Module.

Kokomo Indiana, wow that is about 3 hours south of me

Rear defrost?

H E double hockey sticks it looked like you may have needed some push motion fuel at the end of the video. I also wonder how much editing was performed when Ruby auto locked itself? Pizza? You could have at least told us what type of pizza without the generic description of the pizza pie.

Finally, I get the first comment!

...... First....... When are you going to make a video about the roach palace...

Automatic climate control is not yet where it should be. We have a 2011 GMC Terrain with ACC and it definitely thinks it knows best. You have the heat on and set to a specific temperature, when the cabin reaches that temperature, it thinks that it is getting too warm and starts to blow cold air. If I wanted cold air, I would have turned on the AC myself, but nooo, it knows(!) that you want that temperature, and no hotter and 'helps' you by turning on the AC itself.

The reason this happens is they use big heat producing dropping resistors for the VFD filament supply. It all boils down to cheap/piss poor engineering. There are lots of better ways to do what they did.

shoulda started it before trying lol

what pancake

designed to fail