Im still having issues with my signal. What’s the name of the person in CA?

 

I’m about to do mine a second time. They found one bad part. However, it stopped working again after about a week. I don’t plan on a third time. Lol.

 

Thought I would update my signal saga in the event anyone else is experiencing the same issue.

I replaced some parts on the circuitboard only to have it go out...again! This time, however, I discovered a new problem and some advice.

If your signal is not working, first look at the signal (in operation mode) to see if there is a faint light emitting from the LEDs. If so, you have a grounding issue. This can be very hard to spot. So do it in the dark.

In my case, I disassembled the headlight and pushed slightly on the circuit board while still attached to the headlamp. It would suddenly come back on and then go out. This confirmed a short. So, I took the board to THREE different computer repair stores. Each of them said all the joints looked good and couldn’t find the issue.

My next step was to have a friend run it through his X-ray machine at work designed to find flaws in circuit boards. However, I decided to try a cellphone repair shop before going to the extreme of having the board put through and X-ray machine. The store had a top notch bench tech who went through it pushing and pulling on parts. It took him no time to discover a hairline crack in one of the solder joints. For a mere $40, he fixed the issue and it works like a champ. Let’s just hope it continues to do so.

One thing is for certain: I’ve become an expert in removing headlamps from Aston Vantages. My point in in all of this is to keep shopping around and don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Also, consider phone repair stores as they tend to work on extremely small electronic circuit boards. The tech told me some cellphones had the same issue (broken joints) due to high heat and wear.

 

Apologies @cadman just now seeing your request. I don’t know what specific part he resoldered but my advice would be to bring the entire board into either a computer repair or cell phone repair shop. They were able to test and check every point on the board and identified the problem area. Unfortunately they were in the back room doing this so I did not get to watch. Took him less than 10 minutes total to look everything over.

Looks like Marc had success following the same advice!

 

Hello - thanks very much for the helpful post! I've got an '06 V8V that has the same issue with both front turn signals. I bought a damaged headlight to get the circuit board and tore apart a head light to try it and it works. So now I have two bad/intermittent boards and nowhere in Salt Lake City to get them repaired or attempt to. Who did you use in Austin to look at your board?
I'm going to post steps how I tore apart the headlight assemblies because it got easier after practicing on the broken one.

 

I took it to a place called CPR Cell Phone Repair in Round Rock. The owner likes to tinker with cars and took an interest in it. I don't have his name, but the number for the store is 512-215-2157. Give them a call and see what they say. If you are unable to send it to them, shoot me another message and let's talk about how you can get me your boards. I'm happy to drop them off and see what they can do. BTW, I was not able to see your PM. So, make sure to post comments on this thread.

 

Well done!

Many of the issues described on this board could be attributed to bad grounds both inside an assembly but also in the wiring harness and who it attaches to the body. All of my harness to body grounds were badly corroded and required clean up. Bad grounds cause low voltage issues and random electrical issues. So frustrating to fix!

I had a lot car with an old harness. I ended up replacing it with a new loom just to be done with the repairs....

 

MARC - I called CPR and talked to someone who remembered you and the repair. The tech who did it has moved on to an IT security job out of state.

 

Many thanks to all that contributed to this thread. On my 2007 Vantage V8, I also recently had the left blinker failure message on the dash, then the rapid blinker, & finally after a few days no left front blinker (in headlight). I found the problem was indeed the left front headlight circuit board soldering failure mentioned above. I disassembled the headlight as described above, then had a local electronics shop resolder the major components (4 capacitors & 2 inductors) on the board for $100. Left directionals now work fine again. This fix was certainly more economical than the local AM dealership which quoted me $2,700 for a new headlight & several hundred dollars in labor.

 

are you in Florida? what electronics shop did you use?

 

Yes, I am in Florida. I happened to use Gadget Guys in Gainesville, FL. I believe they are a chain. I expect I could have gotten the job done at even a lower price using an independent local shop but I didn't research it further.
Also, regarding my original post, I should have stated the AM dealer quoted $2,700 for a new headlight plus labor (which would be another several hundred dollars).

 

Hello everyone
I know this is an old thread but I need help. I have the led lights out on the drivers side and I've been attempting to take it apart but I just can't do it. I've read this thread at least three times and did everything I could (hairdryer in the box, multiple screwdrivers, etc.) but I cannot pry the lens off. I read that some one heard about someone offering this service in California?? I saw a service on ebay that's available in the UK which would be my last resort as shipping back and forth will be expensive. If anyone could help I'd really appreciate it. I'm located in San Diego CA area.
Thank you

 

mrtzmd, sorry you are having trouble. Wish you were closer to me (I am in Florida). I would be glad to open the headlight (I'm no expert, I have only done this one time). Opening the headlight is not for the faint of heart considering the price of a new headlight. Here is a thought, you might try reaching out to Steve in California that posts the "Aston1936.com" blog. He seems very knowledgeable about subjects like this & knows many of the shops in California that work on these cars.

 

Thank you FLman, will do.

 

I suspect you're not getting the lens sealant hot enough. I tried the hair dryer box without success. When I got a genuine heat gun on it the glue finally gave way. Lots of back and forth to get a large enough area hot enough to pry it open. I used guitar picks to hold the gap open. It was hot enough to not want to touch it much. I live in Utah just outside of Salt Lake City. I repaired my two front lights about 2+ years ago and they are still working fine.

I bought 3 other headlights on Ebay to get the circuit boards. Of the four particular capacitors on the board three were the same hour rating but the fourth was a lot lower and my electronics genius nephew replaced the low-rated ones on all four boards and they all work. There were three different adhesive types on the five total headlights I disassembled but ultimately they all came apart once I got the sealant hot enough. I used a black urethane sealant to put them back together.