I've not had any issues to speak of with the ebay lcd's as of yet.

 

Yup, got mine on ebay for approx. $40, IIRC.
Just remember though, that this is a tough job. As a RF bench technician, I have work experience in soldering circuit boards and this was slightly challenging for for me... probably a 4/5 in terms of skill level required. Yes it is doable, but this is not for those who are careless or who are trying out soldering for the first time. In any case, for $40, it may be worth taking the chance. Just take your time with it. Also, I remember that there are DYi instructions for this floating around somewhere on the net.

 

I purchased a Weller soldering iron recently and I have done small jobs like basic wiring joints but never circuit board stuff, aside from wiring in a wire on circuit r109 bridging it for my tach mod, and fixed some broken solder on my cruise control for my Audi A4. When you say it's difficult, do you mean due to the tight and small places it's harder to soldier and keep each joint separated? Do you have a recommended solder size and tip to use? Heat temp range?

 

I wouldn't personally make this your first gig. Temperature control on the LCD is critical. Less of an issue for experienced persons as they know when to lift off the pin before it gets too hot, but for someone without any experience on circuits it can be a disaster on LCD's. Plus there is a technique of alternating for pins on LCDs to avoid too much heat.


Also, I don't know if anyone noticed........

 

Just purchased one a week or two ago and finished soldering and installed today. Works perfectly. Not an easy soldering job if all you have is a common iron and desoldering braid, but can be done. PM me and i'll let you know which one I bought on ebay.

Basically, my procedure (on a budget) was to cut all of the pins using a wire cutter to remove the old screen. Then heated up each old pin and pulled it through until all were out. Then used the desoldering braid to clear the holes ( I also replaced the three bulbs under the LCD just for good measure). My screen did not have the plastic backing so I reused the one off of the original screen. Drop the screen through the cleared holes and solder each pin very carefully...you don't want to merge the solder between the pins. Honestly, the desoldering and getting the pin-holes clear was the hardest part.

 

There is a bulb suction thing that makes desoldering easier. Using braids can be a pain in the neck.

 

Better idea: go to the thread that was posted in the start of the thread telling you the best LCD to use which was this post in the linked thread earlier https://www.clublexus.com/forums/5550858-post17.html

I'm the only person in the US that every single LCD seller on ebay will drop ship to because of how many times they get requests to send them here and with me fingering about 300 a year, all of which are between the only two that are made, there is a clear difference. Some sellers sell them with cheap chinese bulbs that are all the same size, then another seller sells them with cheap chinese bulbs that are 3 fatter ones and 3 skinnier ones, then the other sellers sell them just the lcd and no cheap chinese bulbs. No matter which seller though it is either the heavy duty LCD or the lighter weight one. It doesn't really matter about the bulbs, they are terrible and won't last long so I wouldn't use them. Quality bulb makers like Sylvania and Toshiba are the ones that were used for OEM and lasted better than a decade before some of them started dying. I won't even put the chinese bulbs in, it's literally not worth doing. If you DIY just buy some quality bulbs since you don't want to be going back in there bending the pins. You are not going to get GOOD bulbs in some $60 combo job so don't fall for cheap packages offered out there for bulbs/lcd/labor combo's. You'll get what you pay for. Buy quality bulbs with lifetime wty then the LCD on ebay, then have the labor done or DIY.

 

I'm a little confused. Tried looking around and didn't find an exact answer. My lcd doesn't actually light up but all the symbols for the fan and air direction look fine, aka in the daytime it looks normal, at night I cant see anything. Do I have to replace the whole lcd or can I replace the bulbs with leds like the rest of my dash?

 

Youd have to replace the bulbs, however there are a 3 bulbs under the LCD that youd have to remove the LCD to get to.

 

I'm glad the LCD on the '97 don't go out as often as the earlier years. I hope mine lasts at least another 5 years.

 

Good news on the LCD, David told me to fix this thing (in the OP) so here's a few pics of the rebuild. Notice in the last couple pics there is a missing tracer on one of the pins from where it seems to have gotten overheated and torn in the original swap. I had to etch the board to find the tracer's location and jump it to the pin. Now it works properly again.

 

There's actually a small metal bar in there.

 

Whats that "liquid" looking like stuff? Also I read about some sort of "pin" with conducting silver stuff that you literally draw on the board to fix damaged boards. Ever tried it? How reliable?

 

Whoops, missed that question. It's just flux. The tracer etching you are talking about is for really low voltage/amperage applications. I wouldn't use it for something that draws any real measurable current, but on the LCD for instance it would be fine, though a pain to work with and the results are usually not as satisfying as a jumper, especially since it can break down as it is not a solid and is more malleable.

Anwho, It's too bad these old LCD's are dead. Nothing to do with them but toss them.

 

I was just thinking about this thread yesterday. I had one come to me that was all kinds of jacked up. I didnt take pics of it at the start, but here it is done.