How to repair Compass Mirror 

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Thank you so much for posting this! I had a customer come into my work today complaining about his mirror and this video helped me fix it!

Just finished the repair on my 2003 Avalanche. I had two broken traces on two of the three resistors that you hit at first. I resoldered them, put it all back together, and back in the Avalanche. The compass and temp display came on like new. I've been living without those for many years. Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!

Thank you! This is a perfect example of a video walk through the DIY community needs more of. Straight to the point, good lighting, and clear audio details. I fixed the faulty solder joint and it now works like new.

Just performed this procedure on 2000 GMC Yukon on August 11, 2020. Re-soldered the 3 point re installed and YAHOO temp and compass back again. Thank you jeffescortlx. Perfect fix. War Eagle

Thank you! Just saved money by using the soldering iron I already have, and a good pair of reading glasses. I could see a visible crack in the solder weld on one of the three dropper resistors you pointed out at 3:30. I heated up the solder joint, added a bit of new solder, then did he same for the other 5 contact points, just to be on the safe side. Reassembled, put back in the truck and when I turned on the ignition switch, everything worked like a charm! Thank again!

Thanks. You made a great video. It took me less than 30 minutes following your instructions. I now have a working display.

You Nailed it!. Two local auto shops wanted $500.00 for a new rear view mirror + labor$$ to install. This video gave me the detail I needed to disassemble the mirror. I did find and repair bad solder joints. Thanks for the effort you put into the demo video. Cheers!

Jeff...it worked...I've been driving around for God-knows-how-long since that Compass/Thermometer quit...now, it works...you're cool for sharing your stuff...thanks.

21st century auto repair. Electronic circuit board repair with a high powered microscope and a soldering iron. Very interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing.

Awesome video. This is the first time Ive ever touched a solder gun and bought one to change the lights in my cluster. everything but my lights came in today and i just had to use it on something so I remembered my mirror stopped working. Works good as new now. I didnt have tool like yours, but a 1 inch putty knife slid down the edge did the job perfectly for anyone else looking for something that wont mar plastic

Dude, Thank you so much for making this video. I own a 2003 GMC 2500HD sierra, my brother bought this truck new and sold it to me 10 years ago. The compass/temp never worked. He said the dealer wanted a lot of money to replace it so he never bothered to. It was the tiny things you re-soldered first that one of mine had a crack in the solder. I fixed it like you did… except much more rudimentary, and it works now. Can’t thank you enough. I can’t believe how tiny this stuff is, but luckily i had a magnifying glass ….

Paying attention to detail is what sets you apart from others, great job.

Great video. Fixed my ‘03 Avalanche using these steps. Compass and Temp readout hadn’t worked in 10 years.

Great tutorial. Had been going months without the temp and direction. Was the exact same resistors that had a cracked connection. Thanks. Fixed in less than an hour.

Perfect! Found 2 of the 3 had poor solder connection. A little touch and voila!!! Thanks so much!

Awesome video. Thanks for the details. I was able to fix my mirror following these instructions. Especially helpful is showing where the plastic bezel tabs are so extra caution on not breaking them!

I've got a 2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD with this OnStar mirror. I had no idea there were so much electronics packed into it. It's working for now, but at least I know that it can be opened and repaired.

just found your video and was able to repair my 2002 Tahoe .review mirror cracked solder joint at resister thanks a lot for a perfect video !

I enjoy watching you work..I built the Main Engine Controller for the space shuttles and we used trichloroethylene to clean the boards until they made us switch to alcohol.....it doesnt clean as well..

Just resoldered all six traces on the three surface mount resistors. My senior eyes couldn't make out any breaks, even with readers and a cheap magnifying glass, but I figured I'd do it anyway. I used desoldering wick to remove the old solder and resoldered the joints. Works great! Had it working off and on until 6-8 months ago when it quit altogether. Now it's back! Mine is a 2001 and is the same setup.

Wow! I can’t say thank you enough for sharing your knowledge! Between this video and your multiple repairs posted on 03-06 GM cluster repairs, my 03 Silverado feels like a new truck (almost...). I have successfully upgraded the lamps in my cluster and reflowed the resistors, successfully restoring bright crisp characters on my compass and PRNDL displays. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Would you create a video on replacing lamps on the climate controls? Or maybe the airbag controller? I’m honestly not sure how difficult those repairs would be, just thought you might be looking for video ideas.

I did it! Thanks for the video. Mine was the "suspect" resistor you pointed out.

Great job Jeff, learned a lot off of this video keep up the good work and keep the videos coming

Thank You for this very informative video! I found cracks in two of the three dropping resisters, resoldered them & that was it! It was very easy, probably took an hour all together.

Thank you so much!! Just saved me a lot of money for a 20 minute repair.

The mirror in my 03 Silverado, at first before failing was in Celsius. After that was intermittent operation. I bought GM replacement, plan to keep the oem if so when the replacement fails combine the 2 to make one.

Thank you!!! This helped me remove the faceplate from my Gentex 651. Awesome video!

Thank you, saved me a ton of money. Fixed it with a soldering iron no flux, just melted the old solder. :-)

Couldn’t see a crack but went ahead and heated up the joints and sure enough that fixed it. Thanks so much for your video!!

Just did the same repair on my 2004 Subaru wrx wagon. Different surface mount components (looked similar) and location, but same problem and fix. There were 6 large ones and two small ones. I hit them all with Flux and solder and now it fully works. Thanks Jeff! Also thanks for taking the time to show disassembly. Taking the bezzle off was the hardest part. Where did you get those pry bars? I want some. I used two medium and one thick-/stiff guitar pics :-)

Wow! It worked! Thank you soooo much for sharing your video and knowledge!

Very cool! My dimming and garage opener both work, but my compass got dimmer and dimmer, and now doesn't display. I'll check the circuit board. I have been an electronic hobbyest for years, so I'm anxiuos to dive into it. Mine is on a 2010 Saab 9-3 XWD (GMized if you will). Thanks for the awesome video! Take care!

That worked a treat, just resoldering those 5 larger resisters. Thanks!!

This was the correct fix for my 08 2500hd LMM LTZ. Thank you!

I have have an 07 took apart last night looks great. I gotta keep looking for the trouble somewhere else. Sometimes it works, but when it does not work many display panel do not work either. I found starting at one of the corners is easier to remove the bezel.

Unfortunately, I think I may have waited too long for this repair. My mirror compass began flashing some time ago. I discovered a forum that explained the solder joints on the 3 resistors directly behind the display. Mine looked fine, but I reflowed them anyway. No change. Still had the intermittent flash. I just drove it that way for some time and eventually the display quit working entirely. I decided I'd give it another look yesterday, and stumbled on your video. Sure enough the resistor directly next to the white connector was bad due to a failed solder joint. I successfully resoldered the connection and reassembled the mirror. I plugged the mirror back into the vehicle and unfortunately, the display is still dead. I suspect the problem was exacerbated due to not correctly repairing the mirror when the problem started. There is a chip on the board that sits adjacent to the resistor I resoldered that is pretty burnt. I will likely find a used one now, but when it starts to fail, I will be ready.

I'm in. I love to learn stuff about things. New subscriber here. Thanks.

Thanks brother, your fix was right on the money. Problem solved!

Good video. I had to reflow the solder on four of the larger 4R3 resistors. One had completely broken free. I suspect this is so common on these mirrors because they used lead-free solder which is more brittle than traditional, lead-based solder. Plus, these particular resistors are low-ohm value (4.3 ohm) and probably saw more heat cycling stresses.

Watched this video and hit the green led, all the bigger resistors you mentioned and any of the other larger ones that looked like they could use some solder touch ups on my 02 Tahoe rear view mirror...went from a super dim compass and no green led to a fresh display. Thank you for a great video. Where can I get your contact info? I have a couple of questions I would like to ask the expert... Again thank you!!

Thanks a bunch. This is super helpful!!!

Excellent this worked. Thank you so much.

This is a re-upload video. I've edited the ending of the video to show it being tested.

Do you think this mirror can be put in an older GM truck? Just needs power and it does the auto-dimm and compass (and temp) itself?

Dang my man! Where ya been? Finally a new vid......I was haven some major jeffescortlx withdraw going....LoL

Excellent video thanks !

Excellent video! Quick question, I have this exact same mirror in my ‘06 Saturn Vue V6 AWD. I’d like to replace it with a new mirror that incorporates a dash camera; however, I’d like to avoid running a power cable up from the dash or interior fuse box. Do you think I could tap into the unused wiring harness, that WAS attached to this mirror, to get my 12 volts? Thank you!

Why can everyone solder but me? I practice and practice. You make it look so easy LOL.

Great re-upload Jeff. Glad to see you snagged yourself a pigtail for testing. How have you been?

Love the video. I tried it myself, and I think I did it right. But at the clean up I may have poured too much alcohol near the display and blue liquid came out. Guessing that's the liquid part of lcd, yeah?

Is this about the same for the 2001 silverado model. Seems mine no longer dims for vehicles behind me at night and occasional dimming and sometimes a little tap to bring the compassion and temp back on. Man watchen you move around that board you deffenitly got some skills.

Worked on my 2005 yukon denali. The board looked different. But same idea. Just add flux and solder to everything that looked suspect.

Great Video, My display is working, however the temperature reading is stuck on -40* F. I changed the sensor and its still stuck on it. Do you believe this is something that can be fixed or do you think its past due?

Thank you! I just scored one of these from the junkyard to practice on so I could just swap it out for the non-working one in my Forester. At the worst I'd have two non-working mirrors. It ended up being the same resistor, which was very hot. Should that temp come down if it is soldered correctly or is there another problem in the circuit elsewhere?

Hey man thanks for the video where did u get the pry tool from

11:24 since the two photocells are on an analog comparator circuit, you can have the display come on brighter if you block the rearward facing one with your thumb while you are shining light into the forward facing one, because the circuit measures the difference in light levels between the two. The same thing works in reverse if you block the forward one with your thumb and shine a light into the rear one.

Nice video! My 2002 just started flickering when it gets warm & then wont shut off. Any chance I can send it to you for repair?

What were those little pry bar things you used? Feeler guage?

0:23 there is a front facing and a rear facing photocell, and inside the mirror there is an analog circuit that compares the difference in light levels between the two, which then drives the auto dimming function of the mirror glass. These two photocells are only for dimming the mirror glass, they have nothing to do with dimming the highbeams. That is a separate circuit and it is a separate item mounted elsewhere on the vehicle.

AWESOME DUDE

Hi i have question: the box on the mirror support is a temperature sensor? (if yes: sensor is for outside ,inside temperature?) I i'm wondering what is this... Ps i have same Gentex mirror model ,but now i'm starting fit to my car harness etc.

Does yore guys lights stay on when your turn off your car cuz mine stay on the green lights and I wanna know if that’s normal or if I should get it fixed

Jeff, is that flux you are covering the component with before soldering? Just wondering if that’s the flux you list in your descriptions? Good video thanks for showing. 👍👍👍 Artie

Any idea if and how the compass LCD color can be changed from green to red? Thanks.

Thanks , worked and now it flashes no more.

What would you call those little pry/shim tools and where could I find some?

Hi I have 07 BMW X3 what color cables is for the compass ?

Wich color are to wire up i got me one from da yunk dard from a tahoe 2004 im trying to installed to my 98 truck i even got da sensor

Hey Jeff I have a 1994 Chrysler lebaron gtc gauge cluster the problem is the battery gauge will be intermittent and the tachometer stopped working.I saw you did a repair on a Sebring cluster I was wondering if you do any other Chrysler products like the lebarons

Have you ever added map lights of some type to the bottom on one of these mirrors?

Can you make a video of all the tools/ equipments you use on your videos and a link to where to buy them? Thanks

I want to invest into some soldering equipment, a temperature controlled iron, and a microscope for viewing solder joints to start with, any recommendations? Used if I could find used equipment. Any suggestions welcomed. I enjoy your videos. I have a few projects of my own to get started on. Did some circuit work in the military, retired now, time to fix some things of my own!

Going to try this on my '03 truck mirror. What is the goop you put on the board before applying the heat?

My mirror only has compass and temp, the issue I have is during the daytime my LED is very dim and hard to see, I have checked my ground connection it is good any ideas??? Thanks

What wires did you use to get it to turn on

Are the lights on that board the same leds that are used in the door controls?

Whats the clear gooey stuff you added to the top of board before you started soldering?

What are the bezel removal tools you are using called? And where may I get them? I tried everything I have in my box to try and pop this thing and nothing is working. I even used different size feeler gauges. These things would be handy to have and help me a lot. Thank you.

Weird but this seems to be a very common problem with these components across an entire generation of GM vehicles.

What are you applying to the board before you solder and what are you using to clean it up afterwards? Where can I get some?

I have one just like it, I would like to know if you could give me the connection diagram since I lost the connector and now I don't know how to connect it

if you showed this to some dude in the 70s that this is the amount of electronics that's going to be in your mirror he probably would have told you to screw off lol

I have an issue where the airbag display and compass only come on when i hit the brake. Took mirror apart and found nothing so i reflowed the solder on those resistors and some others. Reflowed solder on the wires going to the dimming ring. Still nothing. Im stumped. Might have to go back in again and try and flow the whole board with a heat gun.

Is this common on the 99-02 GM mirrors as well?

Where do you have the grounding strap for static electricity connected to your body....

What was that clear stuff you put all over it before you soldered?

How can i get a wiring diagram i wanna know da negative cable and positive and da two wires for da temperature sensor

Hey i got a question. What type or brand of glue do you use to put the mirror back to the windshield if you do that?

i have pretty much the same mirror in my 2001 pontiac grand prix.. the compass has frozen to South East for some reason.. any thoughts?

Hi what watt soldier iron was used and what type of flux? (Brand)

Jeff was that a Gentex or a Donnelly mirror?

what is that other component close to the window mount?

I have the same mirror, but I can't see how to get it disconnected from the windshield. I have the connector out, but I'm not seeing how you undo from the windshield.

What wires did you use to turn the mirror on.?

Fanspin!!!

please inform! What temp iron? what type solder? what is the clear gel? a flux?

What paste are you using?

I have 2 mirrors that are doing the same thing.. could you PM to discuss

I was wondering how long a cluster repair may take