Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - Dash PCB-ectomy

My 2011 car is fit and well again after long awaited surgery to remove a failing dash pcb. Sorting the infamous pcb has been on my ‘to do’ list ever since the rear fog light decided to permanently stay on just before its MOT. When this multi-function item starts to play up the options are stark. When I enquired about a replacement about a year ago I was told they did still have some but £754 + vat. Also I believe the original manufacture Zonefollow now no longer exists. So the perfect excuse to attempt its removal and replace it with something a little more, ‘low tech’ and ‘future proof’.


The results so far. From the outside there’s only subtle changes. The vending machine switches have gone but still looking mostly original.


However from the inside it’s a little different. This is all that I removed.


And this is my new ‘plug and play’ replacement kit.

There were many way this could have been tackled. I’m sure the elec experts might have done it a little slicker. Meddling with electrickery is not really my thing but sometimes it’s fun to have a go…



My new switch assembly bolts to the back of the dash. The original 12 way Dashboard connector on the Chassis Harness that previously plugged into the pcb now connects here. I’ve also used a similar series 9 way connector to run off to my remote relay assembly. I’m using a heavy duty rotary switch to controls the blower motor and one of it’s low speed resistors, so two less relays. Also one less relay for the heated screen as the toggles can handle the load.



The remote relay assembly contains the remaining relays and the flasher unit. (I’ve added a spot relay too for a future project).The relays are all of a similar type as used everywhere else on the car and the flasher is a regular 3 pin Defender unit. It makes a nice loud click when flashing so hopefully won’t need a bleep thingy (which I forgot anyway ).



I wanted to keep the original factory Warning Light PCB as it’s quite elegant and the surface mount LED’s will be perfectly serviceable in the future. The down side with this is that the warning LED’s current limiting resistors have to be located somewhere so I incorporated them into a little interface cable. The cable connects the car’s original 15 way female Dashboard Sub Harness connector directly to the male 12 way header on the Warning Light pcb. The male header I’ve attached to a bit of Vero board, popped on the resistors and wacked it into a little printed housing.



I did have to knock up some stainless bodge bezels to hide the huge Ø23mm holes left over in the dash panel for mounting the previous switches. The toggles only need small Ø12mm holes and I didn’t want to remake the panel.



And the final rat's nest all stitched together. At least I can now easily fix things should anything conks out. There’s quite a bit packed in but not a problem as I can now remove the dash in about 3 minutes flat.



After a 30 mile trip in the sun today it’s all still working. So far so good. Fingers crossed from here on nothing falls apart. The bottom line is that I can quickly plug the old pcb back if needed but now that it’s out I plan to attempt a repair in slow time.

What could possibly go wrong…..

Well, that 'future project' is now done. My PCB removal and dash rewire is complete. When I posted the above I had not quite finished. The SPOT switch and SPOT relay were left in limbo, unconnected. Now I’ve had a bit of time to finish the wiring and bolt on a pair of baby Wypacs.



All working


Some angle iron brackets





Whilst the car does have factory wiring in place for aftermarket lights, I’ve added a new fused circuit with some chunkier wires and a relay. Initially I had planned to repurpose the unused air con power circuit to power the lights, but luckily there was a surprise vacant slot in fuse holder. Strangely, according to the parts book circuit diagram this slot was already taken

Beware..


And this is how my fuse box was.


So a great opportunity to run a new feed from the 50A distribution post into the vacant slot, and a wire off out to the SPOT relay.


Finally, all the faffing around with bits of wire is over... Spot wires added to the chaos



And just for completeness, I’ve updates the wiring picture posted earlier to reflect these mods.



What next I wonder…

Isn't this increased reliance on modern electronics part of the evolutionary process for cars though. Bemoaning a generation of Morgan cars produced in the early 2000's through until ten years ago seems an attempt at closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Models produced since have inevitably even greater reliance on ever more complex electronics whilst also generally offering greater reliability from same.

Rog's re-engineering is without doubt a superb solution which at the time may not have been financially viable or even accessible to MMC, although doubtless they regret the mistakes made with the under engineered poorly protected PCB, a steep learning curve for them at the time I imagine. At best it would only have staved off the inevitable adoption of greater reliance on electronics later, as has been proven.

Dave, I have a plan for the Visteon when the time come. Not as much fun as yours but I think I have a couple of routes for tweaking the cal

Thanks John

The beauty of this TM ‘open’ format is that these threads can evolve. Anybody can critique, debate, contribute and improve. It's a start.…

PS -That Roadster will be easy…