black944 turbo

It looks like my hesitation problem is something screwed up in the DME. If anyone knows where I can buy a good used DME that hopefully has a waranty let me know. I have looked at a few places and I am thinking I may be better off just sending mine off to be rebuilt. Again any ideas welcome.
Thanks, Richard

Dash01

Your hesitation problem could be from a variety of sources, so try them one at a time for the sake of clarity. In other words, check one connection & run the car to see if that helps, before moving on to the next connection.

Your DME may have a bad solder joint or two, with hairline crack(s) that can be easily fixed by re-flowing the solder with a ~$10 soldering pen from Radio Shack. Reportedly, one common problem with these old units is the ignition driver, which can be replaced for about ~$5 from an electronics supply house. Do a thorough search here on Rennlist for DME problems, and you'll find more information. In any event, re-soldering the circuit boards is a relatively simple and cheap place to start.

Another possibility is to use a spray can of contact cleaner (also from Radio Shack) and clean the various multi-pin plug connections, etc. ONE AT A TIME, for the sake of clarity in isolating the source of the trouble.

Then, check the integrity of the timing sensors, which can look OK from the outside, but on the inside may have degraded/cracked plastic and therefore an insecure or irregular connection. Do this one at a time, for clarity.

BTW, how are your ground wires?

black944 turbo

Thanks it has been at the shop all week and they found that it was more than likely the DME itself. They swapped another one in and found that it ran fine with it.

Dash01

In that case, try the re-flow of solder joints trick, with the Radio Shack soldering pen.

If you pay somebody to refurbish your old one, odds are that's what they're gonna do, for a lot more money than the cost of the soldering pen, which will be handy in your toolkit. While you have the DME box open, carefully inspect it with a magnifying glass or jeweler's loupe, looking for hairline cracks or discoloration.

Then if the DME is still goofy, spend the money on refurbishing or a replacement. These things sell for ~$75 on eBay to ~$400+ from dismantlers.

black944 turbo

Thanks a ton for your help. I am going to try and find another one, due to my lack of skill in soldering. I will however take it out and check it and see if I can see anything abnormal.

Dash01

If you can dot an i with a pencil, then you can re-solder with a soldering pen: All you gotta do is touch each joint and hold steady for a moment til the solder flows, then lift the pen and move to the next joint. Don't drag the solder off its original spot. Or, turn the circuit board over and just touch the exposed tip of each wire, so the wire heats up and flows the attached solder. Less skill required than crayons.

awilson40

I bet there is a member in your area that would check it for ya.

black944 turbo

Do you know anyone in Charlotte? I can not think of to many people around here anymore.

awilson40

Sorry , I sure dont.
If you can do without your car for a week or so, you can ship me the DME, I'll
inspect it, re-flow any suspect joints and test it in my car for you.