DCL flashing (detailed information to fix inside)

[Tamir]

How can I figure out how what this means or how to rectifiy this warning.....does this have anything to do with my digital dash readings going crazy sometimes

[ October 12, 2004: Message edited by: pro-five-oh ]

[Dereck]

Hi Tamir

Seems everyone ignored your first post, my apologies and let me rectify that now.

Can you be a bit more specific, what's flashing? whens it flashing? how many flashes? part of the diplay or all the display? how do the readings go crazy? and please post the year and model.

Regards

Dereck

[Tamir]

sorry Dereck but this problem was for my continental and the DCL light flashes on often but not all the time and sometimes my readings on the dash fluctuate for no reason.But reading the other questions in the Cont forum I kinda got my clues and suggestions thanks.. :rolleyes:

[Dereck]

You're welcome smile.gif

Dereck

[Kevin P]

I can repair your dcl errors for good. If you are interested in me fixing it for you let me know.

[Charles A.]

Moving to the Continental forum. . .

[scarecrow044]

i had the same problem awhile ago with 1991 Continental, some1 on here said to take the cluster out & put a small block of wood behind the area where the DCL is at. It worked for me...but a few weeks later my MSG Display stopped working, could just be coininsodence tho.

[93lincoln]

I had the same problem, DCL and low oil pressure alarm on my 93 Continental. Kevin P. repaired my cluster. It was worth every penny! No more annoying beeps. Thanks Kevin.

[roll224]

thats happening to my 91 continental the dcl and low oil pressure i check the oil regularly so i think its just the gage is screwy. can someone tell me how to fix it?

[scarecrow044]

i had the same problem with the oil light blinking, i can tell u how 2 get rid of the beeping from that & the dcl(take out the beeper & open it up & put a small piece of scotch tape over the 3rd contact from the left side) lights & everything will still beep but oil, gas & dcl wont

[jmerritt]

kevinp,

Do you fix the cluster or just disarm the alarm?

John smile.gif

[jtrader]

In my case ('92 Continental), the check DCL light and oil pressure indicator caused a lot of beeping. I decided that the low oil pressure signal was false since it happened at all RPM's, even cruising on the freeway.

>> I SUCCESSFULLY cured the problem. Maybe my explanation would help somebody here.

I removed the instrument cluster and used isopropyl alcohol on the copper strip contacts which go to the lights (and apparently to the DCL and oil pressure indicator). I noticed that the contacts were a bit "dirty" and I attributed that to the fact that there were copper strips on the instrument cluster and tin strips on the wire which connected to it. I suppose that produced oxidation after a time and caused the problem of "losing" the DCL (Data Control Link).

It seems to work. Removal of the instrument panel is relatively easy but it is best to have small hands to get you into the tight spots.
1) pry up the vinyl strips (2), one which is about 8 inches long and which is about 3 inches wide, and the other which runs all along the bottom of the instrument cluster and all the way to the passenger door.

2) Using a phillips screwdriver, remove 4 or 5 screws which become exposed through step 1 and which attach the instrument cluster grill to the panel.

3) Pull out the headlight switch. With a flatblade screwdriver, pry the grill/bezel from above and sides. This is just connected with a snap, just like the vinyl strip in #1 and will come off easily.

4) There are four connectors which you need to remove from the back of the bezel. Twist and pull out the light connected next to the light switch. The white connector (parking indicator from below) can be pulled straight out. The other two light connectors can be pulled out by slightly indenting the sides inwards.

5) Use a 7mm socket wrench to remove the screws holding the instument cluster in.

6) You have to remove three connectors to free up the instrument panel. One is the biggest one which connects to the light strip (and also the DCL and oil pressure indicator). You can remove this by pressing in one side and then the other and pulling it out. The other two are on top of each other and can be easily pulled out by also pinching the sides.

7) With the instrument cluster out, you can clean (do this as thoroughly as you can) the connectors, especially the copper ribbon connectors which you detached from the male connector. At this point, you can also change out all the bulbsin the instrument cluster. These come out in strips connected to the ribbons of plastic clad copper strips (which you can pry up from their plastic posts to free them up).

8) Also clean the connectors which connects to the instrument cluster.

9) Put everything back in reverse order. I hope things work out. If not, then I suppose you can put a piece of tape over the 3rd contact counting from the left. I am not sure if this would isolate out the beeping components but it is worth a try.

Seems like it is just the connection which is the problem. In the winter, I did not have as much of a beeping problem because I think the cold weather mitigated the differential contraction between the two types of metal in the connectors.

[pro-five-oh]

Hallelujah! Someone can verify that the rear connections just need cleaning! That is IT! I think my eraser trick will also work well...like it does for the older systems.
http://www.lincolnsonline.com/article22.html

jtrader, would you be interested in submitting this information (maybe with some pictures) in Word document form as a TECH article so every Conti owner can benefit from your wisdom?

PLEASE??? smile.gif

[MarkJ]

I just had my dash apart trying to solve this problem too.

I also have a 92 Lincoln Continental and was getting “DCL” and “Low Oil Level” alarms simultaneously and almost constantly. I knew the oil pressure was good and the level was near full, so the gage must be giving a false reading. After searching the forum achieves here and on another Lincoln site, I found that usually the oil sender is not the problem when you get both alarms.

The dash disassembly procedure posted above is very good, so I’ll just explain what I did to the gage cluster once I had it out.

Disassembling the cluster isn’t that difficult. The outer plastic cover is held to the faceplate with a couple screws. After removing the cover, you will see several ribbon cables and circuit boards. The ribbon cables are easily removed by sliding off the spring metal clips that hold them to the circuit boards. With the cables off, I cleaned all the contacts with an automotive electronics component cleaner. Yes, the contacts were dirty (very dirty)! After cleaning all the contacts, it’s easy to see why I was getting false readings.

I also examined the circuit boards for any obvious defects or problems. Most of the components on these boards are “surface mount” components, which means you really can’t remove or replace them without special equipment.

Carefully replace the cables and the clips. It may take some force to install the clips, but don’t over do it or you could damage the boards or cables.

After reassembling the cluster and the dash, it was time to test the system. At first, after reconnecting the battery, I still had both alarms. However, as soon as I started the motor, the alarms cleared. I’m guessing here, but the computer probably needed to “reset” to clear the codes. I’ve driven the car several times since this repair and the message center has been quite. Hopefully the problem is solved.
tongue.gif

[TintedChrome]

I had the same problem with my Conti.. Cleaning the contacts (and boy did I clean them well) did not help. Below is a cut/paste of a post I made a while back when answering someone elses question. You might need to resort to this if cleaning the contacts don't work..

quote:
I've got an 88 Conti, and the DCL was coming on like crazy. Drove me and my gf nuts. Beep.. beep.. beep.. beep.. Aaargh..

After reading that it's usually caused by a bad connection somewhere, I started looking at all the locations I was told to check.. Under the battery tray, under the dash.. Nothing fixed the problem.

So I went and got a complete cluster out of an 89 Conti at the wreckers.. Pulled the old one out, put the new one in.. Bingo.. No more DCL.. BUT.... I was getting "Check Temp" and "Battery Voltage" error messages.. My guess, the new cluster reads the signal from the computer differently, or the sending units are different.. whatever..

So back out the cluster came.. then I had a brainwave.. If you look at the cluster when it's out, you'll see the message center is a completely seperate and independant unit.. Hmm.. and the signal for the volts and temperature go into the main cluster.. So I replaced the Message Center in the "old" cluster with the one from the "new" cluster, checked/fixed all the bulbs (trust me, you're gonna want to do this..), and put the "old" cluster back in the car.

I haven't had a single problem since.. and it's been over a month.

Hope that helps.. it's nowhere near as daunting as it might sound. Just take your time pulling the cluster apart, and if it doesn't come loose easily, it's because there's a retaining clip somewhere.. There should be no real force required to remove components (except for the damn bulbs.. those are a b!tch sometimes..)

Hope that helps..



[ May 08, 2004: Message edited by: TintedChrome ]

[Eric W]

Hey, great instructions but I have one question... How do you remove the gear selection cable. I removed the 3 electrical connectors with no problem but there is a cable that controls the display of the selected gear on my '94 Continental's cluster. I didn't see an obvious way to remove this cable. Any ideas?

[ August 14, 2004: Message edited by: Eric W ]

[Steve Moran]

Yes you can remove it.
do you need to remove it from the cluster or the column?
(From the cluster)
Actually it should have a tag that has arrows that point to two tabs pull or push the two tabs tward the rear of the cluster, that should release the indicator.
At ehe same time pull up with your other hand and it should be free.

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[ August 14, 2004: Message edited by: Steve Moran ]

[Steve Moran]

Or are you talking about removing it from the column?
That is not to tuff but it is work
You need to remove the cover from around the key switch via the screws below the column.
After you get the plastic cover loose you will see a hidden screw that holds the cover to the column, It should be on the lower right side. after you remove the plastic cover you will be able to see the cable that is connected to the handle.
if not just move the handle and you will see it easily enough.
I would go into more detail but all three of the years of conti's I have are different hookups so from here you will have to wing it . It is easy once you get the cover off.

[ August 14, 2004: Message edited by: Steve Moran ]

[Swinny]

Nice, Very detailed. But I must point out, that cleaning the contacts does not always work. I've tried it both ways (Alcohol, and eraser) and it didn't work. My dash gets the DCL flashing, oil pressure screw up, and the MPG, Trip Odometer, ETC. all goes blank (dashes instead of numbers.) But the fuel and speedometer are always fine. If there was another way for us moneyless people to fix this, That someone would just post, alot of people would be very greatful, hint, hint KP :D