1985 digital dash display is kaput.

[black396]

Not one, but 2, 1985 +/- conti digital displays went out the same week. Anyone know who can fix these animals? Other than guessing how much fuel is aboard, any other solutions?

Charles
Florida

[TonyC]

So, '82 was not the only year that sort of thing happened, eh? That was what happened to my grand's '82 Humpback. In my grand's case, it was a matter of the carburetor; in '82, that model of Continental was fitted with a variable-venturi carburetor, which had already been discontinued as too troublesome for the Continental's predecessor, the Versailles. It was such an unreliable part that they finally ditched it for good starting in '83 in favor of TBI units, which look like carburetors but are actually centralized fuel-injection head units. Anyway, when the carburetor gave out on my grand's car, it took the dash lights with it. At first they kept flickering on and off, making it impossible to read anything. After wrangling with every Ford dealer in our area only to be turned away spitefully (which my grand SHOULD have sued over, I'll never understand why she didn't), my grand resorted to an independent mechanic who fitted the car with a different make of carburetor...which allowed the car to run, but with none of the electronic hook-ups able to be connected, the dash was completely dark, save for the odometer.

Charles, I'm familiar with the symptoms but not necessarily the cure. I think that, where your scenario is concerned, an analysis of the situations of the two respective cars, leading to their dash failures, is warranted. Was there any recent work done to the engines? Did anybody fiddle with the TBI units on top? Have the main computer modules been tampered with? Anything you can provide about the events leading up to the respective kaputs may help us trace the problem.

---Tony

[action]

Back to the question, since no one else has posted. There are companies that do repairs.

No experience with the companies
https://www.autotechrescue.com/
https://www.instrumentclusters.com/inst ... ter-repair
https://www.upfix.com/how-it-works/speedometer-repairs/

Some of the electronic systems have a bulb that burns out. It is a special bulb. Replace brings out the display.

Action