My 2004 with 195K recently developed wonky center stack lights again. This is a well documented problem with 2004's and mine had already been replaced once under warranty when my car was about three years old. Acura had issued a warranty extension up to 7 years/100K miles for this specific problem.

Well I am well out of warranty now so I decided to tackle this myself. I got the TSB procedure; http://photos.imageevent.com/astrobo...sb/B04-021.pdf and dusted off my Helms manual to outline the procedures to remove all the trim pieces.

The part number to order for those w/o navi is 3917A-SEC -A01 (A51 for those with navi). The part cost $83.18 + $12 shipping from Delray. There is also a refundable $125 core charge.

DO get a set of plastic trim removal tools. These are very helpful to remove the trim pieces on your dash without cracking or scratching them. I bought this set from Amazon


I wore nitrile gloves to limit electrical damage to the PCB. The procedure is pretty clear in the TSB. Make sure you fully remove the old thermal pad when you remove the old PCB. Mine was stuck to the chassis.

The main problem I encountered was that my replacement part came with the WRONG SERIAL NUMBER AND UNLOCK CODE! Imagine how frustrating it is to install everything and power it up and then find that your new code does not work!

Fortunately Delray sent me this document

Acura radio PCB board serial number and code retrieval
Step 1 - Retrieve radio serial#
Acura will have two ways of retrieving the radio serial#.
• Type 1 or Type 2
• DEPENDING ON THE YEAR
Type 1
Acura ( For all 2001 and up vehicles )
• Turn the vehicle's key to the "on" position.
• Press the preset buttons 1 and 6 at the same time.
• Turn on the radio.
• A 10 digit serial number will appear on the radio display, (if stereo was locked up at the time).
• There will be 10 characters in the radio serial #.
• A U followed by 4 numbers and an L. followed by 4 numbers.
• Example, your display will indicate, U5123 L1235. ( SN #:51231235 )
• Or will indicate all 8 numbers at one time. Example: 51231235.
• Please document this number, as you will need this number for the form below.

Step 2 – Get the code using the link below

https://radio-navicode.acura.com/
• You will also receive your radio unlock code, via email.
•
Note : If the code cannot be retrieved because it is locked, call the Acura Customer Relations at 1-800-382-2238 option 6 to unlock and retrieve the code.

This gave me the correct serial number and unlock code. Display now lights up evenly and is fully functional again.

Hopefully I'm good for another 100K miles.

 

Hi kbh

thank you!! I will try to do it myself.
SDG

 

Good luck! Do you have a Helms manual? You need to remove several dash trim pieces and if you don't know where to pry, you might bodge up the plastic. I can scan a few pages if you need it.

 

I'm about to swap out the PCB on my 04 TSX...cant stand the darkness anymore. If possible, would you be able to scan the pages in the Helm guide about the where to pry on the trim pieces? Thanks.

 

Amazing write-up...gonna use this as a guide when I swap out my PCB.

 

Be careful with the passenger side piece; very easy to bend and crease it

 

I purchased my TSX in December of 2014 and the lights went out last June. I finally stopped being lazy, did my research, and it has led me to this thread. It seems like Acura has discontinued this part.

I went online to look for the PCB but I have had no luck so far.


There's another thread on here that has a step by step DIY on how to replace the PCB. The thread is a few years old, but he suggested to order it from acurapartsnow.com. I went to go check right away but it's discontinued there.

So I ordered it from acuraoemparts.com cause it said it was available. Five minutes later I get a cancellation email for my order cause the part is discontinued.

Today I took a drive to the nearest Acura dealer and explained my situation. I gave them the part number and even showed them the old PCB in my hands. The guy at the dealer called back and told me he spoke to Acura higher ups and it is in fact discontinued.

Guys please help. I'm fukked if I can't find this part, I can no longer drive like this.

 

Wow sorry to hear this. You can get a whole new center stack on eBay

http://m.ebay.com/itm/BNIB-2004-acura-tsx-center-console-bezel-climate-control-and-stereo-/281887693759?nav=SEARCH
Otherwise you can start going to pick and pull yards.

 

If I were to buy used I'm afraid this problem will happen again. From what I have researched, Acura manufactured new PCBs with a small heat shield where it was overheating. I've been told to not buy used mechanical or electrical parts. This is what my PCB looks like by the way.

 

Hi, I unfortunately have the same issue. The PCB is discontinued and nobody seems to be able to order the board. I've tried my local dealers as well as Delray, Sons Acura online, acurapartswarehouse.com and a few others. They all give me the same response that they can't obtain the part. It appears that ebay may be our only hope.

Anybody have other ideas? Would contacting Acura help? (I doubt it.)

 

They are non-existent on ebay, trust me I checked. I had only seen 2 PCBs listed and they were for the USDM Honda Accord. The only option is to buy a whole center module from a scrapyard or an online seller.

But there is no guarantee that it will not happen again. When I took my radio out to look at the PCB, I noticed that the screws were colored with markers. Which is an indication that my PCB had previously been replaced. I spoke to an Acura rep through email and he says that Honda discontinued them for no reason.

 

I would be interested in a replacement PCB if anyone knows where to get one.

 

Also looking for a replacement PCB. Will report back if I'm able to find one.

 

I am in the same situation with my 2004 TSX w/NAV. My Acura dealer replaced mine twice, once in 2004 and again in 2010. It was done under warranty both times. I got a quote from my dealer for a new one in Oct 2017 but they might not of been aware that they were discontinued. I got hired on by Honda last November and was going to order one from our employee service center (we get parts at cost plus 10%) but now I see it is no longer available. It is a real pain in the ass and sometimes I have to turn on the map light to find the button I need at night (and I work 2nd shift at the Honda plant and drive home after 1:30am or so Mon thru Friday). Every now and then the lights come back on for a brief time as if to taunt me.

 

The non-Nav PCB part has been discontinued for some time.
DISCONTINUED ** CIRCUIT BOARD, PRINTED CP
Part Number: 3917A-SEC-A01CP Fits: Acura: TSX SEDAN

The Nav PCB part was still available as of 04/2018, at Delray.
I just did a search at Delray -
Circuit Board, Printed - Acura (3917A-SEC-A51CP)
and it does not yet say discontinued. Perhaps this Nav only PCB is available?

 

More info can be found here -
https://www.tsxclub.com/forums/1st-g...digit-nav.html

 

Thanks! I have NAV in my 04 TSX so I will have to check with my service center to see how much it will cost me to get this fixed.

 

 

i'm crying... i need the non-nav PCB because my dash is DARK!

 

There's bunch of threads on the problem. The 2004 TSX that I recently got had about the same issue - all button lights out and display backlight randomly not working / dim.

Like other people wrote, one of the transistor overheats and ruins the PCB. Mine wasn't too bad but had discoloration in 2 spots. I ordered the MJE210G transistor since original one is discontinued and Mouser suggested this one as replacement. It's taller compared to the original but can be bent to make it almost flat against PCB. Works just fine so far.

Here's the faulty guy:


Just noticed that I only took that picture of the PCB and on this side there's only one brown spot.




I used flux and retouch all solder joints around the overheated areas as after replacing the transistor display background wasn't working properly. So far it seems fine. Some resistors were loose after touching one of their sides - seems like that is a proof that other side had failed joint. If that problem comes back I will try to remember to update the thread if I find solution other than replacing whole PCB.




Since two bulbs were out, I put all LEDs in there. That will also make the transistors' work much easier as all those bulbs take some current to run.

Spots with yellow paint are positive. Used the "3.5mmx2.8mm DC 3V 20mA 7-8LM white" LEDs with 1k resistors. I went with SMD since I like to make my life harder. (or as an attempt to make the buttons lit more evenly - with mixed results). 680 ohm was too bright.




I soldered resistor to the LED on the bench with small angle, so I can position the LED on PCB pretty much exactly where old bulb was without the middle part touching the PCB.






Hopefully it will work for a while now.

 

Are the led still dimmable with the knob on the dash?

I have this problem on my 04 TSX as well, however after reading this thread, my situation is slightly different. The back light on the radio and hvac screen is off most the time but will randomly (usually after hardish bumps) come back on and have flicker in the past, which is very distracting at night. I found that when I hit the radio (not hard enough to break the plastic of course) the backlights will sometimes come back. On top of this I also have a problem with the lights for the buttons, most of the ones for the radio controls also go away and comeback, usually it comes along with the back light but not all the time. Sometimes after hitting it the back light we come back but not the button lights but occasionally comeback after hitting it again. BUT the button lights for the hvac system are always off other than the one for the fan control, AC and modes. All of the buttons functionally work.
I would also like to add that I have a aux adapter that connects under the radio unit, and when move that connector around (usually pulled forward and up) the backlights and button lights come back?? I don't know if all of this is a sign that maybe the transistor is getting bad but isn't dead yet or (what it seems like to be) a poor connection somewhere?

I will also add that I have not yet opened up the unit and took a look at the circuit board but I will later tonight.