My wife has a 2011 exped ltd. the LCD slowly started going out till finally it only works for 2 sec after you bump it with your fist, just enough to see what aux your on. Sat down at about 10 pm just to do a bit of research, found this video and had the radio out repaired and in by 10:45, and it works like a charm. My wife is going to be stoked when she gets up. I went ahead and did all the resistors as well as the pins from the screen, i didn't do ant of the little ones or the ones at the bottom that weren't close to the screen, I used a little butane soldering torch from amazon that I keep in the camper for various things. Thanks Jerry!
The black spot on the display is actually supposed to be there, it is a vacuum indicator like on old tubes because when the glass is broke or cracked it lets the vac out and air in which burns it out. the dot turns white when the tubes integrity is compromised.
Worked great on 2006 Ford Explorer, same radio and circuit board layout per the video. Added a touch of solder to each resistor and all good. Took 30 minutes start to finish installed.
This works great. For my 2011 super duty it was one or two of the 4 resistors all stacked up. I used a small dental pick to pry on each one to see what was loose because they all "looked" fine. One or two popped right off so I soldered all the resistors but am sure it was the 4 stacked up that was the problem. Thanks for the video, saved me buying 1000's worth of stereo gear.
Thanks for the video! I personally really appreciate it. I was just able to fix mine. I reflowed the solder joints with a hot air rework station (cheap Chinese one, 853D), pretty confident I got them all, and went out to test the radio in in my van without it all put back together - I just had the bare board plugged into the radio with a piece of paper to isolate it from the chassis, didn't have any of the black components put back together. it was working, but still all dim, the edges were especially dim, but I found while jiggling it around, I could get it to light up like new, and would work great for a bit, then fade back out again. So I got to looking at the ground contact. On the back of the face's board, there's a little spring contact that hits the radio's chassis. Mine looked kinda skanky on the radio side. I cleaned that contact tab, and the place on the radio where it makes contact with some sand paper and it works awesome now. I"m not sure if it's all from reflowing the joints, or if it was the ground the whole time. If it were the ground you wouldn't even need to pull that board out of the face. You can see the point where the tab contacts the chassis for a couple frames at 4:40 in your video, near the bottom right corner of the chassis. At 4:54 you can see the contact tab on the bottom left of the face's board. It's a J looking spring deal to the lower left of the black pin. I put a light dab of dielectric grease over the area where I'd sanded to keep it from rusting up. Hopefully it'll last awhile!
James is correct the problem was the spring tab on the back of the board. No need to remove the board from the face just file down the tab and the spot where it sits and add a little dielectric grease and youre golden. Thank you!
Thank you for the tips and for having taken the time to describe the procedure you used. I also bent the J spring out a little bit, to make sure it makes better contact with the radio casing. My J spring seemed to be pushed in a bit, even though the radio was never opened before.
I just did this on a 2014 Expedition SSV with a dead display. I based myself on this video, plus some of the comments to A) resolder all the display pins B) resolder all the black capacitors (flat rectangles) and C) lightly sand + clean the J-shaped ground spring on the display circuit board, then apply some dielectric grease to it. I did the radio casing side (where the J-shaped spring makes contact) the same way, as it had a black mark on there from rubbing / vibrations. I also bent the J spring out a little bit, to make sure it makes better contact with the radio casing. It worked like a charm. As soon as the radio was plugged back in, the display came alive! Thank you! 👍
@@TrekFanNCC-1701 Well, it wouldn't have been possible without your video, so thank YOU! Interesting bit of extra info : I came in contact with the government agency who owned this Expedition SSV before (first owners) and was told that the radio display died within 2 months of them buying the truck brand new. Management simply couldn't be bothered to have it fixed, so they drove it with a dead display for 5 years... It seems like these displays have a defect in the way they are soldered or grounded straight out of the factory. In a perfect world, Ford should upgrade these units for free.
@@SevenSixTwo2012 I agree. I love the expeditions, but yes, the radios are very defective. 2 months? Man, they are expensive and should be fixed right away and maintained.
Thanks, worked for me. One of the large resistors actually come completely off when I heated one end. Solder on the other side had apparently cracked all the way through. Two things: If the display is dead, gently pressing on the front panel while the radio is still in the dash may bring it back to life. If so, you KNOW it's the resistors causing this. Second, don't be concerned if you can't see the cracked solder at the resistors. I used a 10X magnifier and still couldn't see it. That's unusual, but it is what it is. Just go ahead and solder both ends, and hopefully it'll fix the issue. Thanks again!
It was a great effort you made. No one could have known a prior attempt had been made without taking the radio out and examining the board. I have a 2010 Expedition that has little or no illumination during daytime operation; in the USA our State does not require the use of Daytime Running Lights, as is common in Canada, but cutting on the headlights gives brighter dash illumination, which is the only way to see the information center on my truck. I have an older ('98) F150 that has had sporadic illumination of the radio display for years - the video I recently saw concentrated on the power supply solder joints for the fix, which may be a possible approach to the Expedition illumination issues. I'm no expert, but don't mind reflowing old solder joints and removing and soldering in new parts, as required, and will be pulling my F150 radio ASAP. Thanks again for this video and consider reflowing the power supply solder joints on your Expedition. (As a matter of interest to those who don't mind using a soldering iron, cold solder joints and blown capacitors are a common problem with certain older models of S__________ flatscreen TVs with undersized capacitors, an easy-to-spot issue when the picture turns to zilch, and expensive repairs seem to be required; however, first lay the screen side of the unplugged TV on a soft cloth on a kitchen island counter, work bench or table top, then safely remove the back of the TV and look at every tube capacitor - you can easily spot the bad tube capacitors, because they visibly swell up on the ends or burst open when they fail. - Amazon sells DIY kits w/all the possible repair parts for very little $$. High voltage is stored in functioning capacitors, which requires a little experience or guidance to discharge - Other YT videos show exactly how to make these repairs.)
The black spot on the Vacuum Fluorescent display is normal. It is called a "Getter" and is a metal that is fired with an RF field after the tube is evacuated to burn up any oxygen or other contaminants remaining. You should be able to see, with the bare tube turned on, a faint red filament strung left to right, probably two filaments. If the tube power supply is not working it will be dark. Usually a capacitor problem. Also the radio gets a signal or voltage from the dimmer circuit for the instruments to adjust the brightness. If that is incorrect, external to the radio, then the radio will be dark.
Great video thanks for showing the other possible outcome to this most people post success stories and it's just not reality some time. I agree its worth a try
Hi Great video. I have a 2002 Explorer Ford radio. THe radio keeps jumping into Seek and only stays on my chosen station for a few minutes, then it Seeks. What can I do, please?
I believe that the little black "burnt" circle on the lower left section of the display is a "tell tale" and is supposed to be there. if the vacuum inside the display is intact. the burnt circle is visible if the display has cracked or oxygen has gotten in the burnt area will disappear.
The black is a kind of material that the isplay manufacturer uses instead of mercury ( old days) to create the vacuum. If air/oxygen gets inside (broken display) the material disapear (fumes).
Where are you seeing that someone else tried to do the repair? All I see from those pins to the display is factory flux. Looks 100% stock unless I'm missing something.
Take the palm of your hand and give the display screen a good hit I saw this on tictoc my radio worked but no display I went out and did it and the display lit back up it worked for me what do you have to lose if your replacing it anyway
The reason it didn’t fix the problem is because the problem is in the connection of the resistors. They are the columns of black rectangular pieces. If you check each one with your finger I guarantee one was loose. All you have to do is carefully repair that connection.
The only place I could find the replacement was the dealership. The price was almost as expensive as a new unit. I ended up getting a used unit off of ebay.
Jerry Bourget Wow that sucks. I think I might just replace mine with an aftermarket. Same problem... radio works fine but no light on the screen. Smacking it or pressing on it doesn’t work, so I might try the solder trick just to try, but I’m guessing it won’t last (2011 F-250)
It is worth a try. These units are very expensive. If there is a chance you can fix it then I hope you are successful. Best of luck with yours! @@truthsmiles
I had this problem and re soldered the bigger black rectangle resistors and the display worked. My display had the same burn mark in the corner as well.
Hi Great video. I have a 2002 Explorer Ford radio. THe radio keeps jumping into Seek and only stays on my chosen station for a few minutes, then it Seeks. What can I do, please?
Just a thought, but it sounds like the button is sticking. I would clean the inside really well. Maybe use forced air to blast out all the dust and debris on all the contacts on the circuit boards. Sorry, I wish I could be of more help. Best of Luck!
t seeks intermittently. I did wipe the circuit board at the place where the Seek button operates with a q tip and alcohol. Did not fix it. I will try that again. I was thinking if I could disable the Seek function then it would stay on the channel. Thoughts? Thanks.@@TrekFanNCC-1701
That's a good idea. If you can get it to where you can just do it manually instead of the seek option. I wish I was more knowledable with the circuitry of this unit. Other than the basic cleaning of all the contacts and maybe trying to disconnect the power to try to reset it, I don't know what else you could do that would,t risk damaging it.
Thanks for the encouragement. I thought about just scratching out the circuits that pass through where the seek button sits. But I do risk making it worse. Sometimes the radio sits still for 10 minutes or more. @@TrekFanNCC-1701
My wife has a 2011 exped ltd. the LCD slowly started going out till finally it only works for 2 sec after you bump it with your fist, just enough to see what aux your on.
Sat down at about 10 pm just to do a bit of research, found this video and had the radio out repaired and in by 10:45, and it works like a charm. My wife is going to be stoked when she gets up.
I went ahead and did all the resistors as well as the pins from the screen, i didn't do ant of the little ones or the ones at the bottom that weren't close to the screen, I used a little butane soldering torch from amazon that I keep in the camper for various things.
Thanks Jerry!
Glad my video helped out my friend! Best of luck! =-)
It worked for me saved me money one good bump on the display screen and I got power to my unit
The black spot on the display is actually supposed to be there, it is a vacuum indicator like on old tubes because when the glass is broke or cracked it lets the vac out and air in which burns it out. the dot turns white when the tubes integrity is compromised.
Worked great on 2006 Ford Explorer, same radio and circuit board layout per the video. Added a touch of solder to each resistor and all good. Took 30 minutes start to finish installed.
Awesome!
This works great. For my 2011 super duty it was one or two of the 4 resistors all stacked up. I used a small dental pick to pry on each one to see what was loose because they all "looked" fine. One or two popped right off so I soldered all the resistors but am sure it was the 4 stacked up that was the problem. Thanks for the video, saved me buying 1000's worth of stereo gear.
Awesome! Glad to hear it worked!
Thanks for the video! I personally really appreciate it.
I was just able to fix mine. I reflowed the solder joints with a hot air rework station (cheap Chinese one, 853D), pretty confident I got them all, and went out to test the radio in in my van without it all put back together - I just had the bare board plugged into the radio with a piece of paper to isolate it from the chassis, didn't have any of the black components put back together. it was working, but still all dim, the edges were especially dim, but I found while jiggling it around, I could get it to light up like new, and would work great for a bit, then fade back out again.
So I got to looking at the ground contact. On the back of the face's board, there's a little spring contact that hits the radio's chassis. Mine looked kinda skanky on the radio side. I cleaned that contact tab, and the place on the radio where it makes contact with some sand paper and it works awesome now. I"m not sure if it's all from reflowing the joints, or if it was the ground the whole time. If it were the ground you wouldn't even need to pull that board out of the face.
You can see the point where the tab contacts the chassis for a couple frames at 4:40 in your video, near the bottom right corner of the chassis.
At 4:54 you can see the contact tab on the bottom left of the face's board. It's a J looking spring deal to the lower left of the black pin.
I put a light dab of dielectric grease over the area where I'd sanded to keep it from rusting up. Hopefully it'll last awhile!
Hey that's great! Yeah, hopefully it will last for a long time! A lot of work for sure, I am glad it paid off!
James is correct the problem was the spring tab on the back of the board. No need to remove the board from the face just file down the tab and the spot where it sits and add a little dielectric grease and youre golden. Thank you!
Thank you for the tips and for having taken the time to describe the procedure you used. I also bent the J spring out a little bit, to make sure it makes better contact with the radio casing. My J spring seemed to be pushed in a bit, even though the radio was never opened before.
I just did this on a 2014 Expedition SSV with a dead display. I based myself on this video, plus some of the comments to A) resolder all the display pins B) resolder all the black capacitors (flat rectangles) and C) lightly sand + clean the J-shaped ground spring on the display circuit board, then apply some dielectric grease to it. I did the radio casing side (where the J-shaped spring makes contact) the same way, as it had a black mark on there from rubbing / vibrations. I also bent the J spring out a little bit, to make sure it makes better contact with the radio casing.
It worked like a charm. As soon as the radio was plugged back in, the display came alive! Thank you! 👍
Thank you for the extra information!
@@TrekFanNCC-1701 Well, it wouldn't have been possible without your video, so thank YOU!
Interesting bit of extra info : I came in contact with the government agency who owned this Expedition SSV before (first owners) and was told that the radio display died within 2 months of them buying the truck brand new. Management simply couldn't be bothered to have it fixed, so they drove it with a dead display for 5 years...
It seems like these displays have a defect in the way they are soldered or grounded straight out of the factory. In a perfect world, Ford should upgrade these units for free.
@@SevenSixTwo2012 I agree. I love the expeditions, but yes, the radios are very defective. 2 months? Man, they are expensive and should be fixed right away and maintained.
Thanks, worked for me. One of the large resistors actually come completely off when I heated one end. Solder on the other side had apparently cracked all the way through. Two things: If the display is dead, gently pressing on the front panel while the radio is still in the dash may bring it back to life. If so, you KNOW it's the resistors causing this. Second, don't be concerned if you can't see the cracked solder at the resistors. I used a 10X magnifier and still couldn't see it. That's unusual, but it is what it is. Just go ahead and solder both ends, and hopefully it'll fix the issue. Thanks again!
Thank you for the info!
Nice! I tries pressing on the corner where the video shows the dark spt brought it back to pife enough to connect to bluetooth!
It was a great effort you made. No one could have known a prior attempt had been made without taking the radio out and examining the board. I have a 2010 Expedition that has little or no illumination during daytime operation; in the USA our State does not require the use of Daytime Running Lights, as is common in Canada, but cutting on the headlights gives brighter dash illumination, which is the only way to see the information center on my truck. I have an older ('98) F150 that has had sporadic illumination of the radio display for years - the video I recently saw concentrated on the power supply solder joints for the fix, which may be a possible approach to the Expedition illumination issues. I'm no expert, but don't mind reflowing old solder joints and removing and soldering in new parts, as required, and will be pulling my F150 radio ASAP. Thanks again for this video and consider reflowing the power supply solder joints on your Expedition.
(As a matter of interest to those who don't mind using a soldering iron, cold solder joints and blown capacitors are a common problem with certain older models of S__________ flatscreen TVs with undersized capacitors, an easy-to-spot issue when the picture turns to zilch, and expensive repairs seem to be required; however, first lay the screen side of the unplugged TV on a soft cloth on a kitchen island counter, work bench or table top, then safely remove the back of the TV and look at every tube capacitor - you can easily spot the bad tube capacitors, because they visibly swell up on the ends or burst open when they fail. - Amazon sells DIY kits w/all the possible repair parts for very little $$. High voltage is stored in functioning capacitors, which requires a little experience or guidance to discharge - Other YT videos show exactly how to make these repairs.)
Thank you for the kind words, it is appreciated. Thank you again for the information. The more knowledge the better with these modern electronics.
The black spot on the Vacuum Fluorescent display is normal. It is called a "Getter" and is a metal that is fired with an RF field after the tube is evacuated to burn up any oxygen or other contaminants remaining. You should be able to see, with the bare tube turned on, a faint red filament strung left to right, probably two filaments. If the tube power supply is not working it will be dark. Usually a capacitor problem. Also the radio gets a signal or voltage from the dimmer circuit for the instruments to adjust the brightness. If that is incorrect, external to the radio, then the radio will be dark.
Thank you very much for the info!
Great video thanks for showing the other possible outcome to this most people post success stories and it's just not reality some time. I agree its worth a try
I totally agree, thank you very much for the kind words.
Fixed my 2011 Expedition. Thanks!
Awesome! Glad my video helped!
Hi Great video. I have a 2002 Explorer Ford radio. THe radio keeps jumping into Seek and only stays on my chosen station for a few minutes, then it Seeks. What can I do, please?
I believe that the little black "burnt" circle on the lower left section of the display is a "tell tale" and is supposed to be there. if the vacuum inside the display is intact. the burnt circle is visible if the display has cracked or oxygen has gotten in the burnt area will disappear.
Thank you for the info.
The black is a kind of material that the isplay manufacturer uses instead of mercury ( old days) to create the vacuum. If air/oxygen gets inside (broken display) the material disapear (fumes).
Worked like a charm! Thanks for posting!
Fantastic! I'm glad it helped.
Mine is working now, thanks for the video
Great! Glad it helped!
Where are you seeing that someone else tried to do the repair? All I see from those pins to the display is factory flux. Looks 100% stock unless I'm missing something.
Good video,... it worked for me,... appreiciate the instruction,.... we gotta try....right....... take care........
I am glad it worked for you my friend.
Worked!
Cool!
mine was in the power supply on 2003 f150 a little different but same principle
Take the palm of your hand and give the display screen a good hit I saw this on tictoc my radio worked but no display I went out and did it and the display lit back up it worked for me what do you have to lose if your replacing it anyway
The reason it didn’t fix the problem is because the problem is in the connection of the resistors. They are the columns of black rectangular pieces. If you check each one with your finger I guarantee one was loose. All you have to do is carefully repair that connection.
I agree, other videos show to re-solder each of the resistors, but it could possibly be the group of 4 that are the culprit.
Sir i have same issue in my Chevrolet beat music system ( black spot on display), is it possible to repair?
I don't know if the black spot is caused by damage or not. The small screen may have to be replaced.
❤
Bummer that it didn't work for you! What did you end up doing?
The only place I could find the replacement was the dealership. The price was almost as expensive as a new unit. I ended up getting a used unit off of ebay.
Jerry Bourget Wow that sucks. I think I might just replace mine with an aftermarket. Same problem... radio works fine but no light on the screen. Smacking it or pressing on it doesn’t work, so I might try the solder trick just to try, but I’m guessing it won’t last (2011 F-250)
It is worth a try. These units are very expensive. If there is a chance you can fix it then I hope you are successful. Best of luck with yours! @@truthsmiles
I had this problem and re soldered the bigger black rectangle resistors and the display worked. My display had the same burn mark in the corner as well.
Thank you.
I hope it helped you.
does any one know if there is anyway to fix a ranger screen blank but radio goes
thanks.
To much work! Just got to pick a part, there $50 and put a new one in!
have fun programming it
Just sad all that work for nothing....You can always go get yourself a new one that will work & say FU to the old one!
That is very true. But I wasn't able to afford a new one. I wanted one with the GPS screen. Very expensive so I thought this was worth a try.
I'd rather take it to the dealership and let them do that. I'd mess something up.
stealership wouldnt do this they would replace it
@@milkparker4479 They replaced it for me. Warranty paid for it. It wasn't much though, since I bought my own radio. I didn't want theirs.
Hi Great video. I have a 2002 Explorer Ford radio. THe radio keeps jumping into Seek and only stays on my chosen station for a few minutes, then it Seeks. What can I do, please?
Just a thought, but it sounds like the button is sticking. I would clean the inside really well. Maybe use forced air to blast out all the dust and debris on all the contacts on the circuit boards. Sorry, I wish I could be of more help. Best of Luck!
t seeks intermittently. I did wipe the circuit board at the place where the Seek button operates with a q tip and alcohol. Did not fix it. I will try that again. I was thinking if I could disable the Seek function then it would stay on the channel. Thoughts? Thanks.@@TrekFanNCC-1701
That's a good idea. If you can get it to where you can just do it manually instead of the seek option. I wish I was more knowledable with the circuitry of this unit. Other than the basic cleaning of all the contacts and maybe trying to disconnect the power to try to reset it, I don't know what else you could do that would,t risk damaging it.
Thanks for the encouragement. I thought about just scratching out the circuits that pass through where the seek button sits. But I do risk making it worse. Sometimes the radio sits still for 10 minutes or more.
@@TrekFanNCC-1701