[Ricapar]

Unfortunately, I didn't document this picture-by-picture as much as I would've liked, but I still think it's worth sharing:

Since I got my e93 about three years ago, it's had an issue with the CIC screen that's been progressively getting worse. The issue is/was that whenever I would hit a bump in the road, the screen would just shut off. However, everything else kept working. I could still use the scroll wheel/knob and click through menus and get to different pages on the CIC.

I had gotten accustomed to dealing with it, to the point of where I've memorized how many clicks it takes to get to the radio menu to pick out different stations.

I made this video about two years ago demonstrating the issue.

I've periodically scoured these forums looking for someone else with a similar issue, but have found absolutely nothing.

Given the fact that it happened when hitting a bump.. it was a clear indication of something being loose.

So, yesterday, I took the screen out, and started taking things apart!

Here's a quick shot of my workstation in the middle of our family BBQ:


That there is the CIC screen taken nearly completely apart.

The culprit was actually quite easy to find:



Note the highlighted component in the picture - the small coil inductor on the right side of the board.

Again, I regret not getting more pictures of the process.. but if you had looked on the other side, the solder joint on one of the legs had broken off!

Whenever a large enough bump would hit.. it would push it further away and break the connection, making the entire screen cease to function.

Every now and then it would wiggle itself back close enough to make contact, and the screen would turn back on.

On the board there were some brown marks around the solder joint, indicating there might've been some small arcing .

I took out my soldering iron, put a new dab of solder on it, hooked it back up to the car.... and for the first time in nearly 2 years, I have a CIC screen that says on!

[PichaDis11]

Curse you for not having done this 2 years ago! (Hating voice). lol I kid..

Def glad you got this sorted out and not that you needed a replacement. With the added benefit of a boosted confidence as well.. Good job.

[Ricapar]

Originally Posted by PichaDis11

Curse you for not having done this 2 years ago! (Hating voice). lol I kid..

Hah! You and me both..

I'm no stranger to tinkering with electronics - soldering is no problem, and I was fully prepared for this. On the table I had my multi-meter, soldering iron, etc all ready to go.

The biggest reason I delayed this was the unknown of how long it would take. There was entirely a chance that I opened this thing up and I'd spend the whole day probing component by component with the multi-meter to see what's not quite right.

It didn't turn out that way though! Didn't even get to use the multi-meter.. That loose inductor was so darn obvious once the casing was off! It took me longer to find all my tools and warm up the soldering iron than it took to disassemble, solder, test, and put back together!

[MTTH]

Great job!

[WreckerX5d]

Good thing it was obvious, diagnosing circuits is a PITA lol.

[Hacksaw]

Thanks for sharing the fix!

Something to keep my eye on for the future.

Are you running any suspension other than stock?

I'm curious if there is some additional vibration your car might experience.
Either way.. that should not have broke like that.

Often times I see a dab of silicone or hardened glue to support the coil on a lot of system boards. Surprised in an automotive application they didn't bother.

[Ricapar]

Originally Posted by Hacksaw

Thanks for sharing the fix!

Something to keep my eye on for the future.

Are you running any suspension other than stock?

I'm curious if there is some additional vibration your car might experience.
Either way.. that should not have broke like that.

Often times I see a dab of silicone or hardened glue to support the coil on a lot of system boards. Surprised in an automotive application they didn't bother.

I recently redid my suspension to Bilstein B8's - however, that was maybe 2 months ago. The car had been on it's stock Sport Suspension up until then. (I have about 120k miles)

And come to think of it, you're right - I usually do see a dab of hot glue (or something that looks like it) around a lot of inductor coils. Nothing of that sort here.

[AWDBooSTIn90]

It almost looks like the actual casing for the lcd screen between ccc & cic is almost the same. to just buy an lcd screen for cic that are sold on ebay for repairs. It would be cheaper for someone doing a ccc to cic retrofit...