CCU Computer board Service - Part 1/3

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

A/C (Air Conditioner) Climate Control Unit (CCU) Computer board Service

Hi, all. After some careful consideration, I decided to offer this service to the NSX owners.
As I'm doing this on a private/friend basis and I would like to be very flank and honest, I decided to put everything here and I'll appreciate if you can read all of the contents carefully.

It's going to be long..... There will be 3 posts in total....

After you read all of the 3 posts and if you are interested, please PM me first to arrange the schedule and exchange the contact detail.

The Price


[Edit: Feb/11] As our NSX is getting older and older, the amount of repair work required for each board is increasing. Because of this, from Feb/2011 onwards, additional repair work (rebuilding track & pad using jumper wire or other method) will be charged at GBP15 per part/component.
GBP90 for the base service.
[Edit: Apr/2013, Mar/2020] GBP15 for the P & P for returning the Computer board through the post in UK. P&P may change without prior notice depending on the weight of the package and latest price by Royal Mail.
GBP20 for removal of CCU, another GBP20 for the installation. Therefore, GBP40 for removal and installation.
The member (you) is responsible for the method and cost for sending/bringing the Computer board to my place.
Please note that the new Computer board will cost more than GBP1,000 through Honda UK and it could be out of stock. Please handle it carefully. I’ll only use Royal Mail Special Delivery with extra compensation for returning the Computer board through the post for UK address.
For the request from outside of UK, international postage fee to be checked and insurance fee to be agreed.
Payment method to be discussed (Paypal available).


The Fact


Climate Control Unit (CCU) consists of Computer and Display board.
There are 13 aluminium electrolytic capacitors on CCU computer board.
Sooner or later, some of these capacitors are going to leak causing damage to the circuit board.
The leak starts without being noticed. By the time it caused any issues to the climate control, the damage could be quite serious.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to replace all 13 capacitors as a preventative measure before start experiencing any climate control issues.
Replacing the 13 capacitors won’t guarantee to fix all of the issues. There are several sensors, actuators, cables and etc that are involved in climate control. Therefore, this service may fix the computer board issues but not the ones outside of CCU.
In US, similar service is offered at about US$150 including the postage within the US states.
US market is the biggest and demands for this kind of service are higher than other countries.
In UK, the new CCU computer board costs GBP933.91+VAT=about GBP1,074. Wow!!

Still interested? Then please continue...

The Basic


This service is purely for private friend basis and not for commercial purpose.
The aim is to help the NSXCB members.
Needs to balance between the member’s demands, what I want to do, what I can do, the time required, the risk involved and etc.
Be fair for each member including myself.
Please send/bring ONLY the Computer board.
DO NOT send/bring the Display module. There are 2 small light bulbs on this module and they can easily break internally.
Please discharge any static electricity before handling the CCU.
You can separate the Computer board and Display module by carefully disconnecting the 2 connectors at the Computer board.
The RIGHT side photo is the only part you need to send/bring to me.
4934 4935



Please refer to the Workshop Manual (on-line version available) on how to take out the CCU.
When removing the Centre Air Vent, please be careful not to scratch the centre console with the sharp bottom edge of the air vent. It is recommended to insert 2 plastic cards at each corner for protection.
These cards will also help lifting the spring latch at the bottom of the Centre Air Vent. Try adjusting the angle of inserted card and give a good wiggle on the card while pulling the Centre Air Vent.
4930 4931 4932

Continues to Part 2/3...

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The Service


The member to carry out the CCU diagnosis procedure based on the workshop manual. Please refer to the attached PDF file for the procedure. Please let me know on the result.
The member to provide me with the information on the climate control issues.
On receiving the Computer board, visual inspection will be carried out and photo will be taken, if possible.
The computer board will be tested prior to make any changes to confirm the issues reported from the member. The board will be connected to my car which is already checked for climate control operation.
I will ONLY replace the 13 aluminium electrolytic capacitors on the CCU computer board and repair (if required) the 2 hole copper pads where each capacitor is inserted. It will be repaired using jumper wire.
Any leakage will be cleaned as much as possible but the colour change caused by the leakage will stay on the circuit board.
I thought about going further to repair/replace other surface mounted components and the IC but considering the purpose of this service, time, risk, price, etc, I decided to draw the line here and thus, only replace the 13 capacitors.
After replacing the capacitors, the board will be tested again with the same procedure/method that was used on receiving the board from the member.
The member will be informed on the progress.
As the service will be carried out during my spare time, I’ll try to send out the computer board within 5 working days after the arrival at my place.
However, to be fair with everyone and to keep the same spec of the service, I would like to use the same spec of capacitors including the manufacture. Due to the stock level of capacitors within UK, I may require more time but I’ll notify the member if that is the case. I’ll appreciate your patience.
I don’t want to carry huge stock of capacitors at this stage as I don’t know the size of the demand. Also, once it is repaired, it should last for many years and thus, less demand.
Due to the sky-high cost and unknown delivery schedule of new CCU computer board from Honda UK, I have no option but to use Royal mail Special Delivery with upto GBP2,500.00 compensation.

Still with me?? Then please continue....

The Risk


In case the computer board is lost or damaged during the shipping, the compensation through the delivery method needs to be high enough.
There is no guarantee that the replacement board (new or used) is available at the time of loss/damage.
At this stage, it is not clear on the size of demands for this service within UK.
Therefore, I’m not planning to obtain replacement board as an emergency replacement at this stage but possible to get it from Japan.
The issues that the member reported to me may not be re-produced during the initial test process using my car before start working on the circuit board.
If the leakage from the capacitors were too bad and invaded the IC or other components pad, replacing the capacitors may not be enough to fix the circuit board.
It is possible to replace the IC and other surface mounted components but if that is the case, it would be better to replace the entire board with refurbished/new board.
Unless the member owned the car from new, there is a possibility that the CCU was tampered previously.
Unless we meet face to face and exchange the detail, we don’t know each other.


Finally, continues to Part 3/3

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The Condition – VERY IMPORTANT


As stated above and based on the above procedure, cost, time and etc, it is not possible to tell whether this service will fix all of the climate control issues or not. In　fact, as the worst case scenario, this service may highlight other issues that were not noticed by the member previously. Therfore, once the CCU computer board has been shipped out for this service, there will be no refund of the stated cost unless it is agreed with both parties.
The temperature of the soldering and vacuum de-soldering station is controlled automatically. I’ll be wearing appropriate equipment to discharge the static electricity. I have been trained to carry out this kind of service (my background in later section).
I don’t know the history of delivered CCU computer board and it would be the same for the member if it was not owned as a new car. Therefore, unless the board was damaged on purposely or cracked accidentally by myself, it will be the member’s responsibility once the board is tested and shipped out for delivery or handed directly to the member. If not happy with this, please do not use this service. I’ll appreciate your understanding on this as a friend within NSXCB.
If I accidentally drop the CCU computer board and crack the components or the board itself, I’ll either replace it with mine (capacitors already replaced) or place an order to Japan for refurbished one. Depending on the stock in Japan, the process will take some time and I’ll appreciate your patience for this case.
If the CCU computer board was damaged on the way or lost before arriving at my address, the member to take care of the compensation process through their selected delivery company.
If the CCU computer board was damaged or lost after shipped out from my address using Royal mail special delivery with upto GBP2,500 compensation, I’ll chase Royal mail to find the package or request them for the compensation. At this stage, I don’t have spare computer board so I’ll not be able to provide the member with the replacement until it arrives through the compensation from Royal mail. This will take time.
As we are within the NSXCB community, I would like to respect you and also would like to be respected from you. If you have any questions or if you are not happy with my service, I would like to and expecting to deal with it in a friendly manner.
The conditions may change without prior notice.


My Background
Although I owned my NSX from 1994 and moved to UK in the late ‘90s, I only joined NSXCB in 2008. I was not comfortable on some of the way the people wrote down their own view in similar forum outside of NSXCB. Also, I prefer talking to people face to face simultaneously and not like the one way communication over the forum or email. I kept close eye on NSXCB for a long time and once I felt more comfortable, I decided to join it but only showed very little background.
Having said this, if I’m going to offer this service to the friends/members of NSXCB, I thought I need to tell a little more about myself as I’m going to handle someone’s GBP1,000.00 component on a private/friend basis.
So, here it is;


BSc Electronics/Electric Engineering and Controls
Being in Automotive industry for more than 20years
Worked on many hardware/software including ECU (thus, soldering/de-soldering of capacitor is easy for me) but also trained on car assembly and driving.


If this is still not enough, then I’ll provide you with one more thing which is already on NSXCB.
If you can look at my avatar on NSXCB, it will show the special parts from a certain engine that I was involved, the autograph from my colleague and the year he wrote it for me (1990).
I believe above background would be enough to justify that I’m capable of dealing with the circuit board and being very close to NSX.

Thank you for reading this long post and your time.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.


Regards,
Kaz

[Brendan Larkin]

Hi Kaz, Brendan here.

When do we get started? Where and when?


My mobile is

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Brendan.
I just replied back to your other post in the previous thread but to close this converstaion, I'll post the same thing here.

I'll contact you thorugh email or PM in order to keep the thread/post tidy :).

Thank you for showing your interest for this service.
Looking forward to talking to you very soon.

Regards,
Kaz

[NSXGB]

....I don't think you could get a better CV....

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.
Last weekend, I met with one of the member here to receive his CCU computer board.

Probably, this was one of the worst state of the board that I have ever seen.
I’m happy to report that I managed to recover the full functionality and it is now working.
The board was 'tampered' previously by someone without any soldering training and possibly no qualification in the electronics. The member didn’t know about the state of the board as he was not the original owner of the car.

In summary, if you have never replaced the capacitors or if you are not the original owner of the car, it is highly recommended to replace these capacitors before experiencing any issues.

The member has kindly allowed me to post the process that I went through so here it is.

The member reported that when he bought the car, none of the lights, LEDs, fan, etc on the CCU worked. Basically, it was completely dead with no power at all.

This suggested that there would be a power circuit failure but I’ll touch on this later.

On receiving the board, I was surprised to find the following;
Someone tried to work on the board but made so many damages to it.
Even there were traces of re-soldering at some of the capacitors, none of them were replaced apart from the one which was replaced only bacause it was possibly damaged during the process.

First, I was amazed to find the huge mountains of solder at C14 and 44. Wow!!
The circuit pad and track at C14, 24, 44 were completely destroyed and had to be repaired using the jumper wires and the hard pin.
There was a solder ball/debris left on the board.
4985 4986 4989
The mountain at C14............. Destroyed pad and track ............Solder bridge and huge debris left

The star GND had to be rebuilt.

After the initial inspection, the member was informed with the initial report sent over the email.

Then, there was a short at the power circuit.
Initially, it was agreed that I'll only replace the 13 capacitors but without fixing this power issue, I won't even be able to power up the board. Therefore, I contacted the member to get authorisation for replacing another component in order to fix the power circuit. Of course, this was done at free of charge.

Afrer further inspection and repair on the track and pad, it was safe to power up the board for the first time.
4988 4987
Repaired GND and pad .............jumper wires used

Everything looked fine so it was time to connect the board to my car.

Self diagnosis and actuator mode test were carried out and the result were excellent.
So, if this CCU board is connected to the member's car and experienced any issues, that means there is a problem on the sensor or actuator side and not on the CCU.
After this test, the board was further tested with 50miles drive with no issues.

Finally, the board was inspected again, applied with protection coating and received another quick test and job done. Final report was generated.

During the process, the member was kept updated, received the Initial inspection report and will receive the Final report at the end.

We'll be meeting again this weekend if the weather is fine.


So, another member has been saved and looking forward to helping someone here on NSXCB in the near future. :)

Regards,
Kaz

[AR]

Kaz,

Previous owner of my car sent the board over to the US for this service, if not I would be sending it to you.

Fantastic write up BTW.

Cheers,

AR

[mutley]

Kaz,

Excellent work there mate, I hope to get mine out the car this weekend ( I know i say that every weekend these days!) But I will be in touch soon.

Jim

[TheSebringOne]

Hopefully my car will not encounter any problems (touch wood )! but could with age? I feel alot better knowing this service is being offered by a valued member here who is decent, very knowledgable & helpful. Well done Kaz. :)

[nigel]

Nice job Kaz, another round for the lad from Japan.
I will get back this weekend on the foglight situation. No further progress since p/m attempt.

Cheers
nigel

[markdas]

Okay, stupid question time and maybe Kaz has covered it.......

What are the likely signs of the CCU failing.....poor performance of the air con and heating...or failure?

I know engine ECU's on many Japanese cars built around 1991-1995 have the identical problem, giving missfires, rich running etc....

Is this a job we should plan in as a preventative maintenance issue rather than a repair?

Thanks

Mark

[WhyOne?]

Absolutely fantasic work & breathtaking write-up Kaz!

This forum is very fortunate to benefit from your knowledgable contibutions.

:)

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Is this a job we should plan in as a preventative maintenance issue rather than a repair?

Thanks

Mark

Climate Control Unit (CCU) Computer board Service

The Fact


........
Sooner or later, some of these capacitors are going to leak causing damage to the circuit board.
The leak starts without being noticed. By the time it caused any issues to the climate control, the damage could be quite serious.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to replace all 13 capacitors as a preventative measure before start experiencing any climate control issues.
........
In UK, the new CCU computer board costs GBP933.91+VAT=about GBP1,074. Wow!!



Hi, Mark.

I strongly recommend replacing all capacitors BEFORE experiencing any issues as a preventative measure. By the time you noticed any issues on fan speed/temperature control and etc, the damage to the board could be very serious and could be beyond repair from the point of reliability. There were many different issues/signs reported. For example, no control over fan speed (just always max, only works at a certain temperature setup, no fan at all, etc), no control on temperature setup (always cold, hot, etc regardless of setting), completely dead (no lights, no fan, nothing) and etc.

It’s all depends on the environment that the CCU went through but sooner or later, the capacitors used on this board will start to leak. This is the same for the NSX being used as a 2nd, 3rd, etc or spare car. I even saw a board with 1 capacitor leakage at just below 3 years old. The owner didn’t notice any issues at that time so he was surprised about the leakage as it was mainly kept inside the garage for occasional weekend driving.
Also, if you are not the 1st original owner of your NSX, you don’t know the full history of the car. Who knows what was done to the CCU board like I found on the board that I just worked on for the member here. Please refer to the post #7.

By the way, as you know, the similar capacitor leakage happens on the Bose speaker amp as well as the indicator (turn signal) cancel unit.

The production of NSX was ended in Dec/05 for the US and Japan models. For European model, it ended in Sep/05. So any NSX in the world are at least more than 3 years old. I can do only a limited thing but I hope I can save as many NSX and the owners as possible.

Regards,
Kaz

[AR]

Kaz it would be a wonderful thing if you oppen up an NSX tuning shop.

One of the many problems is finding reliable tuners or independents.

Cheers,

Ary

[nationofzeros]

I have to say, Kaz, this must be one of the most informative and detailed write - ups ever seen on any forum, any time, any place

Fantastic contribution to the NSX cause !

Chris

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

Thank you for the nice and friendly comments.

As Ary suggested, one day, I hope I can expand my service to other areas as I already have good contacts in Japan for Honda OEM and other aftermarket parts.

My knowledge is nowhere near to my Master in Japan...

Hope the exchange rate will improve...

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.
Over the weekend, I was working on another CCU computer board and the member was kindly enough to allow me to post some of the photos.

The member was not sure about the temperature control of the CCU but other than that, he felt it was fine.
If you are not sure about the temperature control, please check your water valve position. It’s inside the front compartment under the bonnet above the car battery. Please refer to the photo below. It controls the amount of hot water going into the heater core inside the cabin and controls the air temperature. It is best to perform the ‘Function and Operation check’ as in the workshop manual for the accurate test but you can do a quick check by setting the temperature at 32 or 18degC. The water valve position between 19 – 31degC will depend on many sensor inputs so it may not move from 32 or 18degC position.
5038 5037 5036

Back to the original discussion and this board was a very good example of big damage behind the scene. The member was quite surprised that his CCU was still working as he only noticed minor issue despite the big damage to the hidden board. He was lucky but eventually, it will end up with no climate control at all.
Two of the capacitors were like exploded and splashed the corrosive acid on the circuit board.
As the damage was quite deep into the board, it was decided to scrape off the damaged area with protective coating to prevent further damage.
In fact, 5 out of 13 capacitors showed big/medium leakage and as the damage to the pad and the track were quite serious that 2 jumpers were used to rebuild the connection.
5039 5040

After the final inspection, both side of the board was coated and then connected back on my car for final ‘Self diagnosis’ and ‘Function/Operation’ check and then packed with removed capacitors included for the delivery.

Another member saved.

By the way, I noticed that there is a misunderstanding between A/C and Cooler. From time to time, I hear that people don’t use A/C during the winter or cold/cool period. A/C is not a cooler and as it says, it is a ‘conditioner’ that can remove the humidity from both hot and cold air. In fact, it is best to circulate the A/C gas and oil regularly through the system to protect your expensive a/c parts. For the last 14 years, I just used ‘Full Auto’ or ‘Re-circ’ mode throughout the year (my NSX is the daily car with more than 190,000km or 118,000miles) and let the CCU to control the on/off of A/C. Still, no issues with my compressor, pipes or receiver.

Regards,
Kaz

[AR]

Hi, all.
Over the weekend, I was working on another CCU computer board and the member was kindly enough to allow me to post some of the photos.

The member was not sure about the temperature control of the CCU but other than that, he felt it was fine.
If you are not sure about the temperature control, please check your water valve position. It’s inside the front compartment under the bonnet above the car battery. Please refer to the photo below. It controls the amount of hot water going into the heater core inside the cabin and controls the air temperature. It is best to perform the ‘Function and Operation check’ as in the workshop manual for the accurate test but you can do a quick check by setting the temperature at 32 or 18degC. The water valve position between 19 – 31degC will depend on many sensor inputs so it may not move from 32 or 18degC position.
5038 5037 5036

Back to the original discussion and this board was a very good example of big damage behind the scene. The member was quite surprised that his CCU was still working as he only noticed minor issue despite the big damage to the hidden board. He was lucky but eventually, it will end up with no climate control at all.
Two of the capacitors were like exploded and splashed the corrosive acid on the circuit board.
As the damage was quite deep into the board, it was decided to scrape off the damaged area with protective coating to prevent further damage.
In fact, 5 out of 13 capacitors showed big/medium leakage and as the damage to the pad and the track were quite serious that 2 jumpers were used to rebuild the connection.
5039 5040

After the final inspection, both side of the board was coated and then connected back on my car for final ‘Self diagnosis’ and ‘Function/Operation’ check and then packed with removed capacitors included for the delivery.

Another member saved.

By the way, I noticed that there is a misunderstanding between A/C and Cooler. From time to time, I hear that people don’t use A/C during the winter or cold/cool period. A/C is not a cooler and as it says, it is a ‘conditioner’ that can remove the humidity from both hot and cold air. In fact, it is best to circulate the A/C gas and oil regularly through the system to protect your expensive a/c parts. For the last 14 years, I just used ‘Full Auto’ or ‘Re-circ’ mode throughout the year (my NSX is the daily car with more than 190,000km or 118,000miles) and let the CCU to control the on/off of A/C. Still, no issues with my compressor, pipes or receiver.

Regards,
Kaz

Kaz,

Do you have any idea how many BHP the AC will use during operation?
I tend to use it all the time as well, but normally turn it off when going for a spirited drive.

Many thanks,

Ary

[BabyG]

I'd just like to say a big thanks to Kaz for his work on my CCU, and that we're lucky to have him here in the UK! His knowledge of our car is mind boggling, and he went well out of his way to get my board sorted before a trip to Austria, even dropping it at the garage in London so it could be reinstalled. Epic stuff, if he were to expand into other areas of service I wouldn't think of going anywhere else!

I'd echo his points, my climate control display and controls were working fine, it was only quirky temperature output that gave any sign of something wrong. Behind the scenes there was some damage that would have been much worse to fix if it had been left longer. Get it done!

Cheers again Kaz

[Greybloke]

Well what can I say?
Met with Kaz today to collect my repaired board, fitted back into car and bingo..... it's like new:)

Fantastic professional service, kept me updated as the work progressed, and managed to save a very bad (almost terminal) board. I think Kaz will post some photos showing the extent of damage to the CCU board.

Kaz is a modest guy, but you can take it from me he has an impeccable CV when it comes to cutting edge auto technology especially with the NSX. I'll leve it to Kaz to expand.

Anyway my a/c only started to act up recently, and I am so glad, I took action to get the ccu looked at. If you are at all unsure whip it out and let "The Kaz Man" check it out!

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.
Have been quite busy recently and I'm glad the site is back on again.


Kaz,

Do you have any idea how many BHP the AC will use during operation?
I tend to use it all the time as well, but normally turn it off when going for a spirited drive.

Many thanks,

Ary
Hi, Ary. Good to hear from you again.
I don't know the exact figure for the power loss as it depends on many conditions including the a/c gas being used (R12/134a).
It is a good idea to switch it off during the spirited driving in order to protect the compressor clutch kicking in at high rpm. Having said this, it is possible that the protection software (like other cars) is already applied for NSX as CCU receives rpm signal as well.

I don't track my NSX these days as I can use other cars. In the past, tested with/without a/c but there were almost no difference on the lap time. There was a protection software to switch off a/c under high rpm or wide open throttle.



I'd just like to say a big thanks to Kaz for his work on my CCU, and that we're lucky to have him here in the UK! His knowledge of our car is mind boggling, and he went well out of his way to get my board sorted before a trip to Austria, ......
Hi, BabyG.
Thank you for the nice feedback.
Not sure whether you are back from Austria or not but I hope you enjoyed the comfortable driving with serviced CCU.
I'm more than happy to look at your car on your return for other requests.



Well what can I say?
Met with Kaz today to collect my repaired board, fitted back into car and bingo..... it's like new:)

Fantastic professional service, kept me updated ....
Hi, Greybloke.
Thank you for the kind feedback.
I'm glad that I managed to save your CCU board. Your board was probably the worst one that I ever dealt with.... I'll post some photos later as it was a very good example of [Have it serviced before it's too late].

Looking forward to helping another member in the near future.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

Recently, I worked on a CCU board that made the new record of my service work... I never used so many hard wires and jumpers in the past.

Once again, please have your CCU board serviced before it's too late. Even you don't feel any issues, it could be too late.

Already some of the 02+ NSX were suffereing from the same issue.
Not surprised as any NSX in the world are at least 3 years old by now.

Following is a good example;
This time, the member reported that he just started to feel intermittent issue on the fan speed control.
After receiving the CCU board, it was tried to re-create the reported issue.
Only managed to re-create it once after several attempts.

So, the box was opened and ....:eek:
The leakage was so bad that it managed to invade the nearby components as well.
5048 5050

Some of the circuit pads and tracks were completly lost so big repair work and cleaning process were carried out.
5052 5049 5051

At the end, I had to use 6 hard wires and 3 jumpers to rebuilt the lost pad/track connection. Until now, I only used 4 hard wires and 2 jumper wires for the worst case senario so this CCU board hit the new record.


Another member saved :).


Regards,
Kaz

[Silver Surfer]

Holy-moly!!

Can anybody remove the unit for me to send to Kaz, I am near Colchester Essex ??
My cars an early '91 so I am now a bit worried. I have to turn the temperature higher than in my other cars to get the usual comfortable interior temp of around 21 degree C.

SS

[nigel]

S.S., don't be afraid to do it yourself .
Kaz has posted some pics before on it's removal and "BrianK" at Prime has a step by step as well. All you need is a phillips head screwdriver and one credit card.
It's a piece of pi$$.

Cheers
nigel

[Greybloke]

Extracting the CCU is easy.

The CCU photos Kaz posted is mine, i.e from a 91 car, scary eh!

I would recommend anyone with a "older" car to get it serviced before the rot sets in. I had no idea it was this bad until it was taken out of the car for inspection.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

Some of the members visited my place over the weekend to have their CCU removed/installed and also had a quick health check of their NSX.

Recently, one of the member visited my place as he couldn't get any power to his CCU even after one of the well known electronics parts store worked on his board. He requested the store to replace all capactiors.

When I looked at the board, I understood why he couldn't recover the power to the CCU.
Despite the original request, 7 out of 13 capacitors were not even replaced.
5053 5054
Also, the soldering was very poor that some of the circuits were not connected properly.
The damaged circuit pad and track were not repaired at all.
To make the things worse, all of the capacitors that the store replaced were of wrong (voltage and temperatire) spec ...:eek:


After lots of re-built process and cleaning, the CCU recovered all of its function.
505550565057
The member visited my place again to have the CCU installed and at the same time, carried out the CCU function and operation check to test the sensors and actuators on the car.

Addition to this, a quick health check of engine and chassis were performed to list up some recommendation for the future service.

Also on the same day, helped him with the installation of aftermarket speaker units into the door panel.

Another happy member...:)


Regards,
Kaz

[mutley]

Holy-moly!!

Can anybody remove the unit for me to send to Kaz, I am near Colchester Essex ??
My cars an early '91 so I am now a bit worried. I have to turn the temperature higher than in my other cars to get the usual comfortable interior temp of around 21 degree C.

SS

SS, if you are really unsure about doing it yourself, give me a shout, not only that, but I am not too far from Kaz, so I could drop off the unit for you.

Kaz is also doing a LOT of work to my CCU as it had packed in completely, and I have just received an email from him telling me it now works, what can I say the man is a genius!!

Jim

[Silver Surfer]

Cheers jim,

I was planning for next week but are you away?

SS

[328]

Hey Kaz,

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP, ADVICE AND EXPERTISE (in no particular order).

I can HIGHLY recommend your services and your hospitality was second to none :)

It was good to meet up with you and thanks for helping to install the speakers :) I will be getting a sub fitted at some point as the sound is alittle too 'tinny'.....but that was expected running off only two speakers. I bought the adapter and the stereo (JVC AVX-44, for Kaz ref :) ) works well. I am waiting for adddtional parts before I can complete the full install properly.

Cheers Kaz, If you are ever around the area give us a shout and I can return the hospitality :)

Andy

[Nytram]

Hello Kaz

Can you repair my speaker amp? I have removed it and was going to send to briank but never got round to it, if you can help when/where should i send it?

Many thanks
Martyn.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Martyn.
At this stage, I’m not in a position to offer the service on Bose amplifier.

There are 3 major parts to be looked at on this amplifier; the capacitors, the FETs and the two ICs. The first two can be sourced quite easily but the two ICs are Bose in-house design and thus, only available by removing the same parts from other Bose amplifiers.

As these ICs are used on other OEM Bose Audio system on many production cars, it can be sourced from breaker places but at the moment, I only have 2 spare ICs. It may be enough to repair yours but not for other members.
When I started my CCU service, I made my policy to be fair with all the members and to provide the same service spec for everyone. So, I would like to use the same policy if I'm going to do the Bose amplifier service. My apology for not being able to help you at this stage but I hope you can understand this.

Personally, I have never dealt with briank on Prime but I heard lots of good stories about his service including enough stock level of these specific ICs. Also, there are lots of private/companies offering similar service on Bose amplifiers as they were being used on many production cars and original design tends to fail sooner or later.

For our NSX, Bose changed the board design and the spec of capacitors and FETs around 93/94 so if your car is of earlier model, most of the amplifiers would be dead by now.

Original design is on the left. It was using Brown and Green coloured capacitors. The green ones are the audio spec with 105degC rating. These capacitors will leak and causing scary damage including burnt FET and damaging IC like below.

The new design is on the right. It is using non-audio spec capacitors with 105degC rating. It also changed the layout of the circuit with addition of trimmer.
5059 5058 5060

As this thread was originally started for CCU service, I better stop talking now...

Regards,
Kaz

[Nytram]

Hi Kaz
Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.
Is it worth trying to change the capacitors and the FETs without the ICs, if so where can i get them?
It's just that i would prefer to deal with someone face to face if possible,

Thanks again
Martyn

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Martyn.
Hope you managed to receive my email so that you can review my proposal.

Looking forward to hearing from you again.

Regards,
Kaz
********************************

Hi,all.

I have been quite busy helping several members not just for the CCU but also for the health check of their NSX.

Recently, I was working on one of the CCU.
The member told me that while he was driving, the display started to flick and failed. It came back alive later but eventually, the CCU lost its power completely and since then, nothing showed up on the display.

After meeting with the member to receive the CCU, I was not surprised to hear the loss of power.
The capacitor leakage was so severe that it managed to dissolve its lead completely resulting in open circuit. There were 3 capacitors with dissolved leads…
Circuit pads and tracks were also dissolved that it required massive cleaning and repair work.
5131 5133 5135

Big cleaning and rebuilt process were applied and now the CCU is back in operation.
5134 5132


Currently, I’m working on a CCU from the NSX with super-low mileage.
It is another good example of even a low mileage car is going to suffer from the same capacitor leakage so I hope I can post it here once the service is done.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.
It’s been a while since last time I updated this thread. I have been busy with CCU service, the NSX Health Check service and my other business/projects as well.

Over the past few weeks, I was working on several CCU boards. Some of them were from the super low mileage NSX (just over 20,000miles), some were from the later model (about Year 2000 model) and some of them travelled long-long way to get to my place.

1. No problem reported from the owner but already the capacitors were leaked.
5341
Some of the owners brought/sent me the CCU board as a preventative measure even they didn’t have any issues with their temperature and fan speed control. Some of the boards were from the super low mileage NSX of just around 20,000miles. Their decision was spot on. Even with the low mileage NSX, some of the capacitors were already leaked and starting to corrode the circuit board. Better to have it serviced before experiencing any issues.


2. Even the capacitors on the latest CCU board started to leak.
5343 5340
Honda upgraded some of the capacitors used on the CCU board during late 90s. In Japan, there were several reports on the capacitors leakage even on 2002 or later NSXs.
Recently, I was working on the CCU boards from around year 2000 model. All of them had the latest upgraded CCU boards but some of the capacitors were already leaked and causing the problem of ‘fan speed only operates at Max’. The leakage on one of the board was so severe that it managed to pass through the circuit hole and corroded the bottom (soldering) side of the board. The leakage corroded several other electronics parts such as Diode modules but managed to recover the functionalities after big repair process.
Good example of even the final year model (2005) NSX won’t escape from this capacitor leakage.


3. A/C switches ON itself
5344 5342
This board travelled long-long way to get to my place. The owner was having trouble with no control on the temperature or fan speed and yet the a/c switches on by itself. Scary...
Normally, I would check the Cooling Fan Control Unit (behind the seat) as well but the owner sent me several photos of the CCU board and decided to have it serviced.
The state of the board was really bad and for the first time since I started this service, I thought I may not be able to save this board.
The worst bit was that the leakage was already corroded some of the driver ICs. The lead of some of the capacitors came off by just gently touching them.
Normally, I would like to re-create the same issue on my car before starting my service but for this board, I decided it was not safe to do so.
After long hours with lots of cleaning and jumper/hard wires, I managed to recover the full functionalities of CCU board :).


Once again, if you want to save your CCU board, please have it serviced before start experiencing any issues.

Even the final year model NSX is 4 years old by now and none of the NSX can walk away from this capacitor issue and sooner or later, your CCU board, Bose speaker amplifier, etc will suffer from this.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.

As the weather got better, several members contacted me to look into their A/C issues including the leakage within the system and the common failure of Climate Control Unit (CCU).

Recently, I worked on several CCU computer boards and the owners were happy for me to post some of the photos here.

These are another very good example of ‘act now before it’s too late’.

In fact, one of the boards was beyond the repairable state as the same part was no longer available on the market. I have to order same spec but different package to finish the service.

One of the owner visited my place to have his CCU serviced.
There was no power on the CCU so it was not possible to carry out any diagnosis test using this CCU. Instead, I installed my CCU on his NSX to test all the sensors and actuators to check the chassis side. Everything worked fine so it’s time to fix the CCU.

I opened up the CCU in front of the owner and we noticed several leakages on the parts side straight away.
5807 5808 5809

However, the real shock came when we looked at the soldering side. It was the worst damage that I have ever seen on this side. Quite impressive to see the corrosive acid managed to penetrate through the tiny soldering hole and causing so much damage.
5810

It’s going to be a long hours to service this board…

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

As in the past, several jumper and hard wires were used to recover some of the damaged connections. Also had to spend long time cleaning the corroded tracks and pads.
5811 5812 5813

After several days, the board was placed on my car for the self diagnosis test and function/operation check. Then, I used it for about 70miles for test driving with several different setting before releasing it to the owner.
5814 5815

I’m glad I managed to fix this one despite the severe damage at the initial inspection :).

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

One of the owner contacted me as his CCU doesn’t show anything on the display and the fan control only operated at Max speed which was one of the typical CCU failure mode.

He also mentioned that he can switch On and Off the A/C compressor by listening to the A/C clutch sound but obviously, he couldn’t confirm it on the display as there was nothing shown on there.

The capacitor leakage and damage were really serious and it managed to damage not just the tracks and pads around the capacitors but also some of the control lines as well.
5816 5817 5818

Especially, the damage to one of the diode module was so severe that I was really worried about the status of this part.
5821

It was used for the Vent Mode control circuit. While testing the board, it was noticed that the DEF and HEAT vent modes were not working and after measuring the forward voltage, it was confirmed that the diode module was in fact damaged by the severe leakage from the nearby capacitor. It had to be removed to recover the DEF and HEAT vent mode.

This diode module is Panasonic MA3V177 and as it is not RoHs compliant, it is no longer available on the market. I’ll use same spec diode module but in a different package to repair this circuit in the future but the part needs to be ordered from Japan or US…

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

After spending several days, the board was finally placed on my NSX for the test driving and it managed to pass all the test.
5822 5823 5824
5825 5826
The owner is aware of the damage to the diode module and I’ll contact him again once I have the alternative parts from outside of UK.


So, as mentioned many times, please have your CCU board serviced before you experience any issues. Even on 2002 models, there were already several leakages observed so majority of the existing NSX are already suffering from the same issue without being noticed.

There is no way for you to detect the leakage unless you open up the CCU.


Regards,
Kaz

[sunday driver]

Having asked my question on the site concerning the non-illumination of my heater controls it soon became apparent that the problem was more than a light bulb. I got in touch with Kaz and am absolutely delighted with the service received to repair my ECU featured above. This is way beyond anything I am capable of . I have re-fitted the unit today and it is working perfectly. Thanks Kaz for getting me back on the road to enjoy my NSX.

[WhyOne?]

A long overdue public 'thank-you' to Kaz.

Kaz kindly removed the CCU from my (2001) car on the Sunday of the Silverstone Classic. The CCU was back with me by the following Wednesday, but it has taken until today for me to replace the unit in my car.

Needless to say, thanks to Kaz's meticulous attention to detail, everything works perfectly.

Symptoms of developing CCU board problems in my car were very subtle - at the lowest setting the fan sometimes 'fluttered' and I was unsure that the transition from cold - hot was quite as gradual as it should have been.

Kaz reported that a number of the capacitors had started to leak, though there was no damage to the circuit board from this leakage - so caught them just in time!

The fan no longer flutters, and there is a much more progressive change from hot - cold - hot.

As a very reasonably priced piece of preventative maintenance I cannot recommend Kaz's service highly enough.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, 'WhyOne?'.

Thank you for the generous comment and I'm glad you are enjoying the refurbished CCU.

From what I saw in the past, it was not possible to detect any CCU internal failure unless you opened the unit.
Because of this, many owners are running their NSX with CCU issues without being noticed. By the time the owner started to experience even the tiny issue, the damage was already made.

I also serviced the CCU from 2004 NSX and there was already small amount of leakage from the capacitors.
Yours is 2001 model and again, there was enough leakage to cause the issue on climate control.

I hope every owners will have their CCU serviced before it's too late.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, all.
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who used my Air Con (A/C) Climate Control Unit (CCU) Computer board service in the past.

I would like to share some of the findings so far based on the UK spec.

1. Changes on A/C CCU Capacitor spec
For UK model, the spec of the aluminium electrolytic capacitors used inside the CCU was upgraded around 97.
Therefore, if your NSX is upto and including 96, it is highly likely that you already have some issues with your CCU board. As you can see from my previous post, quite often, the damage was already done even without being noticed by the owners.

If you know how to remove the CCU and deal with electrical circuit board, you can do a quick check on the spec of capacitors. If your CCU board was never serviced in the past, check the colour of the capacitor (cylinder like) body used at C44.

If it is in Black, then you have the old spec and almost 100% guaranteed to experience capacitor failure by now.
The new spec capacitors are in Brown.

2. CCU board from 1997 and onwards
Even you have the new spec capacitor board, you are not free from the failure.

It all depends on the environment factor (especially, the temperature) around the CCU.
I don’t know the exact number of UK NSX from 97 onwards but I presume it is limited.

Even within this limited number of NSX, I already saw severe capacitor issues on 98 and 99 models. There were several issues even on 01 model but at the same time, no issues with some of 00 ones. One of the best board (but still showed tiny leakage) that I saw was from the 04 model.

If your NSX spent long period in hot summer country or if you have aftermarket audio head unit with built-in amplifier, the CCU board seemed to fail earlier than usual.

3. The level of damage
6417 6418 6419
So far, I managed to fix all CCU board but more and more, it is taking extra time on older cars. Recently, I started to spend more time fixing the area around DM11 close to C44 due to the leakage from this capacitor. DM11 is a diode array and as it is not Rohs compliant, it is no longer available as an aftermarket parts. It has to be replaced with same spec surface mount module with jumper wire instead.
6420 6421
Also, the circuit tracks around DM11 were damaged regularly and required several repair work.

As mentioned in the past, by the time when you start experiencing the issue with you’re A/C, the damage would be severe.
Some people ended up with no lights on the display, fan operated only at High, no air temperature control, A/C started to operate even the CCU was switched off, etc, etc….

Please have your A/C CCU board serviced before it’s too late.

Oh, and once again, even in the winter, please keep using your A/C.

It is important to circulate the oil inside the A/C system for the compressor. If you keep manually selecting the ‘A/C OFF’ option by pressing the ‘A/C’ button, you may end up spending more than GBP1,000 instead of trying to save small amount of fuel.


Regards,
Kaz

[AR]

Kaz how much power does the NSX loose when the AC is on is there a detrimental effect to the AC clutch at high rpms?

Many thanks,

Ary

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Ary. Apology for the late reply. Trying to catch up with so many backlog at the moment...

I have never measured the power loss by the A/C on the dyno but it won't affect at high rpm.
The A/C Control unit is receiving rpm signal from the ECU and I won't be able to provide you with the definite figure but the A/C will be disabled above certain rpm such as 4,000 - 6,000rpm.

Depending on the circuit shape, the rpm may drop below this threshold so it would be best to switch off the A/C during the track session. Please remember to switch it back on after the session.


Regards,
Kaz

[AR]

Many thanks for the info Kaz, whenever driving the car in a spirited fashion, I always turn off the AC.

[henry_mac]

I just got my NSX back today from Kaz who had been doing some work on it following on from a recent health check.
The CCU was functioning ok and passed diags at the Health Check but given the known electrolyte leakage problems I thought it prudent to have the CCU serviced - glad I did. There was a lot of leakage and damage to the board, all of which Kaz repaired. The unit is functional again and has a new lease of life.
I also had my 3 Amp's reconditioned as the Bass sound was not good and I must say that I am mightily impressed by the sound quality now. I had a PA11-HON fitted at the same time and now have my music collection from my Iphone playable through the OEM Unit.. i love it.. works like a dream.
Kaz will post some pictures of the issues from the above and also the brake service (my brakes were in a bad way) it's great to have back my stopping power thanks to Kaz's magic. I can't recommend Kaz highly enough, his quality of work and perfectionist attitude is second to none.

Henry

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

This time, it was the 96 UK spec Targa model.

The owner didn’t feel any issues with his A/C CCU control and it also passed the self diagnosis test.

However, because it was 96 model, I assured the owner that the CCU would show several issues and we agreed to carry out the refurbishment service.

After opening the box, it was quite obvious that the board was in really bad shape and once again, the owner didn’t notice any issues…

6570 6569 6568
The leakage from C19 was left so long that it dissolved several tracks and pads. Also, it caused intermittent connection on nearby resistor R19. While measuring the resistance, the value was changing and sometimes showed open circuit so decided to replace it with the new resistor.
6571

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The area around C44 was also very bad and although the leaked acid covered the resistor array and diode module, it didn’t take them out… It was also close to the big IC so I’m glad we acted now.
6572 6573

Some of the tracks were already dissolved and they were almost open circuit so had to use jumper wires to recover the connection.
6574 6575


Once again, please act before it’s too late.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

While the centre console was partially removed for CCU service, I also asked the owner if I could clean the Cabin Temperature sensor because the aspirator fan was making very annoying noise.

6576
It was covered in so much dust that I couldn’t even see the sensor head.
And on most of the NSX, this is the air that we are breathing while inside the car….

6577 6578
So, disassembled the sensor body, cleaned it and re-adjusted the tiny gap of fan holder which required delicate touch.

6579
Now, I can see the sensor head.

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Recently, I was helping another owner for his Air Con (A/C) CCU.

The owner visited my place to take Health Check Service on his NSX and although he didn’t notice any issues with his A/C, he wanted to have his CCU serviced as a preventative measure considering the age of his NSX. It was a 96 model.

So, during the Health Check Service, I removed the CCU for the owner and while I was removing it, the owner watched the whole procedure so that he can re-install it by himself.

After the removal of CCU, I opened the box and showed the state of the board in front of the owner.

6755 6752
Straight away, we noticed that someone already worked on the board in the past with very poor soldering technique. Also, just one capacitor was replaced and rest of them were left without being touched. As the result, there were several leakage from old capacitors causing further issues.
In fact, while I was showing the board to the owner, the jumper wire that someone used in the past came off so it was good to have it serviced any way.

6754
After this, I inspected the board further and found that one of the track at diode array DM11 was not even repaired and causing almost open circuit.

For CCU service, replacing the capacitors are very small part of the actual process. Only 13 capacitors to be replaced so won’t take too long.

6753 6756
Most of the time is being spent on the test process as well as cleaning and repairing of damaged circuit tracks and pads. For this board, I had to use three jumper wires and one hard wire plus soldering bridge to re-create the GND plain at C44.

After the standard check process, the board was coated and then final test and diagnosis check were carried out.

The serviced CCU board was returned to the owner by Royal Mail Special Delivery Next day service with maximum insurance value of GBP2,500.

After this, I had a phone call from the owner stating that he was experiencing some issues with his A/C. He mentioned that even he changed the temperature setup, the air mix motor (water valve) didn’t move and thus, no changes in the air temperature.
I explained the test procedures at the final stage of my service based on the check sheet which included the visual inspection of water valve using my NSX so asked him to re-check all connections and offered several options to solve this issue.

After a short waiting time, I had another phone call from the owner and he found that he didn’t connect the big green connector at the back of the CCU properly and it got loose.
After it was fully connected, everything worked fine and the owner was happy.

Another CCU saved.
Hope you will also consider having your CCU serviced before it’s too late….


Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Over the past several months, I was helping several owners for many services including A/C CCU board.

Recently, I worked on one of the CCU board and the owner was happy for me to post some of the photos.

At the end, this was one of the worst boards that I have ever dealt with and I’m glad that I managed to recover its functionalities.
I had to use 8 hard wires, 3 jumper wires and many soldering bridge to rebuilt the damaged circuit board.

Prior to sending the board to me, the owner told me that someone already worked on the board in the past.
Unfortunately, the work carried out was not great and actually caused more damages….

7545
When I received the board, I was quite concerned about the leakage from one of the capacitors reaching the motor driver IC. I don't stock them...

7543 7544
Also, unfortunately or fortunately, the owner sent the display module by mistake and I found that the screws holding the display circuit board were not even tightened. Also, there was lots of corrosion inside the display module as if some sort of moisture (drink??) was present in the past.

7546 7542
I had to spend about 5 times the hours that I normally spend to service the board.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

7547 7548 7549
It almost looked as if something exploded.
The poor service work carried out in the past causing more damages to the board.

7550 7551
Rebuilt process.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

7552 7553 7554 7555 7556

I just hope that the owners will consider having their A/C CCU circuit board serviced before it gets to this stage....
Almost 99% of the damages were done without being noticed by the owner...

Regards,
Kaz

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Recently, another owner visited my place to have his A/C system checked.

The Fan only operated at the max speed and although rest of the functionalities such as mode, vent, temperature setup, air mix and even the A/C On-Off felt like working fine, there was nothing shown on the display.

The A/C CCU was taken out from his NSX while he was waiting and the actual board was shown to him.

7576 75777578
Most of the capacitors were already leaked but not too bad apart from the one at C44.

It managed to dissolved many circuit tracks and pads around C44, DM11 and CRM3.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

So, started to re-create these damaged circuits.


7581 7580
In the process before cleaning

7579 7582

At the end, used 4 hard wires, 5 jumper cables and several other methods for the service.

Put the entire A/C CCU including the display module on my NSX and carried out about 80miles test driving session with several different A/C setup.

All went fine including self diag and function/operation check so the unit is ready to be returned to the owner.

Kaz

[sukjitrana@hotmail.com]

Hello There Kaz i would like to take up your sevice on my ccu. So could please arrange for me to drive my nsx to Buckingham so i can have this work carried out.
Thanks Rana
If you would like to contact me my number is 07968529842

[al nsx]

hi kaz i wonder if you can help me i am a honda tech worked on nsx since 1996 used to be guy salmons i have a customer with climate control panel issues ie only works on auto or fan operates at higher speed a/c works ok would you be interested in repairing his panel i can deliver to you if that is ok how soon could you repair? if you req my email i can let you know many thanks alan a1 nsx

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Alan.

As I have disabled the PM feature and you haven’t enabled ‘receive email’ feature through your account, could you kindly send me an email through NSXCB site?

In order to use this ‘Send email’ option, you must first log-in to the NSXCB site and then please open any of my posts.
Then, left click on my user ID ‘Kaz-kzukNA1’ and you will see the ‘send email’ option in the drop down menu.

You won’t see this option unless you have logged in to the site AND looking at one of my post and not at the thread title list view.

Without looking at the CCU board, it’s difficult to tell the estimated service time but please allow about 5 working days. I’m normally busy and I’m hoping to finish working on one NSX by the end of next week. You can follow the progress through the Blog section of this site.

As there will be no delivery service over the Christmas/Bank Holidays and possible delay on the service, we need to be bit careful with the delivery side.

Any way, will wait for your email.

Regards,
Kaz

[briank]

I prefer the board to come to me unmolested, and I see some really bad repair attempts too. Most are able to be saved but it just makes more work.

[PeterW]

I prefer the board to come to me unmolested, and I see some really bad repair attempts too. Most are able to be saved but it just makes more work.

This must be the famous BrianK, electronics whiz of NSX Prime. Welcome to NSXCB!
Peter

[chl935]

The Condition – VERY IMPORTANT

As stated above and based on the above procedure, cost, time and etc, it is not possible to tell whether this service will fix all of the climate control issues or not. In　fact, as the worst case scenario, this service may highlight other issues that were not noticed by the member previously. Therfore, once the CCU computer board has been shipped out for this service, there will be no refund of the stated cost unless it is agreed with both parties.
The temperature of the soldering and vacuum de-soldering station is controlled automatically. I’ll be wearing appropriate equipment to discharge the static electricity. I have been trained to carry out this kind of service (my background in later section).
I don’t know the history of delivered CCU computer board and it would be the same for the member if it was not owned as a new car. Therefore, unless the board was damaged on purposely or cracked accidentally by myself, it will be the member’s responsibility once the board is tested and shipped out for delivery or handed directly to the member. If not happy with this, please do not use this service. I’ll appreciate your understanding on this as a friend within NSXCB.
If I accidentally drop the CCU computer board and crack the components or the board itself, I’ll either replace it with mine (capacitors already replaced) or place an order to Japan for refurbished one. Depending on the stock in Japan, the process will take some time and I’ll appreciate your patience for this case.
If the CCU computer board was damaged on the way or lost before arriving at my address, the member to take care of the compensation process through their selected delivery company.
If the CCU computer board was damaged or lost after shipped out from my address using Royal mail special delivery with upto GBP2,500 compensation, I’ll chase Royal mail to find the package or request them for the compensation. At this stage, I don’t have spare computer board so I’ll not be able to provide the member with the replacement until it arrives through the compensation from Royal mail. This will take time.
As we are within the NSXCB community, I would like to respect you and also would like to be respected from you. If you have any questions or if you are not happy with my service, I would like to and expecting to deal with it in a friendly manner.
The conditions may change without prior notice.

My Background
Although I owned my NSX from 1994 and moved to UK in the late ‘90s, I only joined NSXCB in 2008. I was not comfortable on some of the way the people wrote down their own view in similar forum outside of NSXCB. Also, I prefer talking to people face to face simultaneously and not like the one way communication over the forum or email. I kept close eye on NSXCB for a long time and once I felt more comfortable, I decided to join it but only showed very little background.
Having said this, if I’m going to offer this service to the friends/members of NSXCB, I thought I need to tell a little more about myself as I’m going to handle someone’s GBP1,000.00 component on a private/friend basis.
So, here it is;

BSc Electronics/Electric Engineering and Controls
Being in Automotive industry for more than 20years
Worked on many hardware/software including ECU (thus, soldering/de-soldering of capacitor is easy for me) but also trained on car assembly and driving.

If this is still not enough, then I’ll provide you with one more thing which is already on NSXCB.
If you can look at my avatar on NSXCB, it will show the special parts from a certain engine that I was involved, the autograph from my colleague and the year he wrote it for me (1990).
I believe above background would be enough to justify that I’m capable of dealing with the circuit board and being very close to NSX.

Thank you for reading this long post and your time.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.


Regards,
Kaz
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/images/icons/icon9.png Climate control module repair or replacement needed.
After completing all fault tests I have concluded that the only thing left to replace is the dash climate control unit :(.
Is anyone able to supply one from a 1992 model?
Without the control of the air conditioning and fan motor it is almost impossible to drive any distance without either discomfort or windows misting up. Please help.




Hi, I live in Wisborough Green W Sussex and have a beautiful formula red/black roof with stunning chromed 17 inch rims.
I have actually owned this car for 14 years now and don't think I will ever sell it as i still feel as excited when i drive as i did when i first got it! Amazing.
Just to let you know when i removed the module today i did inspect the circuit boards for any burns or dry joints but everything seemed perfect. Obviuosly it could be eprom related or sealed switch problems, what do you suggest.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, chl935.
This is the same message in your another thread........


Thank you for showing your interest to my service.


I’ll appreciate if you can contact me through the email as I already disabled the PM feature long time ago.

I tried to send an email to you but it seems that you haven’t registered your latest email address or you haven’t enabled the ‘receive email’ feature.

Therefore, once you have registered your email address to your account or enabled the feature, please log into NSXCB and left click on my user ID to select the ‘Send email’ option.

Please note that this option will only show up AFTER you have logged into the NSXCB site.

Looking forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Regards,
Kaz

[chl935]

Hi Kaz,
About 2 months ago my dash control refused to light up when turned on so last sunday i removed it and carried out diagnostic checks as per worksop manual instructions.

My conclusion is faulty dash control module as it had a permanant live an ignition live and both earth feeds were good.

I then proceeded to carefully open module and inspected the board for any dry joints or burn damage to componants. The board and the componants looked as good as new, certainly belieing it's 20 year old age.

If i sent it over to you would you first please be able to plug it into another car, maybe your own and confirm my suspicions on it's faultyness.

I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

PS
Just so that you know I think I spoke with you at japfest this year, I was the AA sales guy on your club stand with my red NSX under theAA canopy.

Kind regards
Clive or should I say chl935

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Clive.

Hope you have received my email regarding the detail of my CCU board service.


From what you wrote, it is one of the typical phenomenons of the CCU board failure and as you have already lost the power to the display module, I’m afraid the damage is already at the severe level.

The power for the display module is generated through the CCU board so it’s very likely that it is not the display module but instead, the CCU board failure.

You can find several cases of exactly the same failure mode (no power to the display, nothing shows on the display, etc) within my CCU computer board service thread.
In some cases, there was nothing shown on the display but still, the fan was operationg. For others, the CCU was just completely dead and nothing happened even pressing/moving the buttons/dials/etc.



The issue is not caused by the dry soldering joints or the burnt components.
It is the acid leaking from the electrolytic aluminium capacitors dissolving the circuit pads and tracks.


The Self diagnosis and the Function/Operation check won’t be able to spot the issues because they are designed to check for the reaction against the command from the CPU.
I ask the owner to use these procedures to just confirm the connection of the external sensors/actuators in case there are other issues outside of CCU.


If the board was already damaged by the capacitor leakage, the controller won’t be able to generate the correct command based on which buttons on the display module were pressed.

In fact, it is very likely to generate just a single command regardless of the buttons being pressed.
So, from the diagnosis point of view, the CCU is operating fine because even if you are in the specific diagnosis mode, CPU is just sending the same command and the VENT/FAN/etc are just following it.


On the CCU board, what you need to look for is the dark/black residue at/around the base of each cylinder like components sticking out from the board.
If you have the board out of the car, you can take a look at around the area of the capacitors C11, C14, C15, C22, C24, C32, C44.


If you see any darker colour compared to other area of the circuit board, you have leaky capacitors.

The leakage is mainly caused by the heat and any standard electrolytic aluminium capacitors will leak and that’s why there is a life cycle spec in the data sheet.
When Honda designed the CCU board in ‘80s, they selected the capacitor that meets their design spec within the targeted cost and unfortunately, over the years, it started to fail.

If your NSX is 1992 model, I’m afraid I have never seen even a single CCU board without any leakages despite the owners were claiming that they didn’t see any issues…..

It’s a classic car so preventative service is always required and results in saving the maintenance cost.
You probably already heard about the stories regarding the Bose AMP, Main Relay, IG switch, Crank pulley, coolant header tank, etc.

Kaz

[Rubymurrie]

Hi I have a control unit that has stopped working, could you help me please 🙏

[NSXGB]

Hi I have a control unit that has stopped working, could you help me please 

Best to contact Kaz through the email option...

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

^^ Thank you for the suggestion, NSXGB. ^^


Hi, Rubymurrie.
Welcome to the club. It’s a small community and friendly owners with lots of helping hands.
As NSXGB mentioned, please send me an email at kaznsxcb-001 at yahoo dot co dot jp
As you know, the email address is one continuous word so please replace the wording 'at' and 'dot' accordingly.

99.9% of the time, I can’t access my user control panel including the PM feature so I don’t use it.
Also, as I receive so many requests/questions on NSX every day, email is much easier to manage each communication than PM.

You can find my contact detail by visiting the Blog section and opening any of the blog posts there.


In the email, it will help if you can provide me with the following points.
1. Part of the VIN.
Please let me know the first 7digits of your VIN after the [JHMNA] if your NSX is UK/European spec.
It’s the ' x ' marked number/character of the example VIN such as JHMNAxxxxxxx*****.
There is no need to tell me the full VIN. This will help me in understanding your NSX true year model and estimate the level of damages.

2. Issue you are experiencing
Please provide me with brief explanation on the issue you have.
For example, the fan speed control only operates at max setting, nothing shows up on the display, no power, nothing happens, just simply dead, etc.


Once I have received your email, I’ll reply back to you with T&C of the services including the cost info but most of them were already in the #1 post of this thread.

Thank you.

Regards,
Kaz

[Rubymurrie]

Thanks NSXGB and Kaz for your prompt reply, I really appreciate it.
Kaz I will email you and the faults you stated in your last message 2. Where exactly what happened but I'll put it all in the email. Thanks again guys
Nick

[briank]

Kaz, great job on the repairs, as I well know some can be really messed and/or pre-molested. After doing the ccu for over 10 years I am having better then a 99% success rate. Keep up the good work, I can tell you that the nsx community really appreciates what we do.

[Rajesh]

Hi Kaz,
Can you contact me on rajeshsharmarsm'at'hotmail.co.uk

[Edit by Kaz-kzukNA1: modified the email address format for spam protection.]

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Rajesh.
Thank you for contacting and apology for the late reply.

Although you posted this about 10 days ago, it was held by the Forum server for the spam protection that it was not displayed to the public.
Only just found out.

Recently, one of the Honda dealer contacted me about the CCU board and he asked me for the authorisation to forward my contact detail to the person requiring the CCU board service.
I didn't hear from that person but most likely, you are the same person but I can't confirm it.

I can receive email from hotmail domain but it automatically rejects any email sent from me through Yahoo Japan.

Although I can send from different email address, in order to confirm your ID, could you send email to kaznsxcb-002'at'yahoo.co.jp
The address is one word and please replace 'at' with @.

I modified your email address in your post above and that's what I was trying to say here.
Hope you can understand what I meant.

In your email body, please include the name of the person at the Honda dealer that you contacted so that we can be sure that you are the same person mentioned.

Thank you for your cooperation on this extra step for the security reason as we'll be exchanging some private info.

Regards,
Kaz