Mosfet, thanks for the great link to the Idaho articles. Good info that I had not read before. Not trying to drag you through the mud on this thread. Yes, the corvettes have several digital components and one is the electronic brain which controls just about everything on the car. It does have a diagnostic link as many of the other newer brand cars now have too. Attach a device to it and read the codes to find your problem.
The problem I want to solve is a totally separate issue. The displays on the dash cluster crack, get sunburnt or just need to be replaced sometimes. Kind of like breaking a single pane in your window--you don't want to replace the whole window when you can just put a new piece of 8"x11" glass back in. In the corvette case--they don't make the replacement displays nor do they even make or have stock on the original total and complete dash cluster assembly.
The digital dash display cluster is a separate unit housing the two giant boards which process info regarding 1-speedometer, 2-fuel gage/oil temp and press/coolant temp, and 3-tachometer graph displays. These thress areas each have a dedicated and separate "really dumb" LCD display. The liquid crystal glass plate is nearly an invisble crudely printed circuit layout. Through the use of some back lighting and pressure contacts with the main board, the liquid crystal areas.
So, if I knew what I was talking about, I would tint a piece of glass, print liquid crystal lines/patterns on another piece, bond the glass together, print a black block out artwork on the back and attach some rubberized conductors which press against the main boards copper ribbon pin-like connectors. Then I would replace the broken piece with the one I made and let the rest of the electronics continue to function just as they have always worked. Problem is "can you really make an LCD of this rather crude nature or do you have to be an LCD manfacture in Japan or China to achieve this? "
I made a solar cell and a crystal radio in high school science in 1964 and it worked. Where can you get info on how to make an LCD? Would you know? Bill :lol: