A VIC-tory for Retro Repairs
Jon Morlan revived his 1991 Oldsmobile's VIC, an early infotainment system, by building a test rig for repairs and preventive maintenance.
When they are not innovating with the latest in computing technologies, sensing components, or artificial intelligence, a large subset of the Hackster community is working to enhance — or just keep alive — all sorts of retro tech. Retro computers and video game consoles are among the most popular devices featured in these projects, but if it plugs in, someone is probably interested in it.
Automobile infotainment systems do not typically fit into this category (at least yet) as they are largely a more recent phenomenon. But as with most technologies, there is a deeper history than most people are aware of. Early, experimental infotainment systems date back to the era of the tape deck and analog gauges in the 1980s.
Jon Morlan is an owner of a 1991 Oldsmobile Trofeo, with what was called a Visual Information Center (VIC) system that first appeared in 1989. Not to be confused with the popular Commodore VIC-20 computer or the VIC-II video interface chip of the same era, the VIC was an early, yet impressive for its time, in-car infotainment system.
With no practical flat-panel LCD displays in sight, the VIC was equipped with a small 6-inch Trinitron cathode ray tube (CRT) television screen. Located in the dash, this system could be used to control the radio, trip computer, and heating and cooling system. It also integrated with car phones, which were a big thing at the time.
It may not be especially practical anymore, but between the CRT screen and the charming retro graphics it displayed, Morlan was quite attached to his VIC. So when the infotainment system finally gave out, he was not going to let it go without a fight. After hearing a high-pitched sound and noticing that the display turned into a single, thin line stretching across the display, Morlan started looking for some help in repairing it.
The owner of the repair shop that he relied on for years had retired, and after finding no one else with knowledge of VIC repairs, Morlan decided to take on the repair work himself. This was not easy, as no documentation on the CRT could be located. So, Morlan built a test rig to assist him in finding the source of the problem.
Building this test rig not only helped Morlan to fix his own unit, but allowed him to help many other owners of this VIC system. By testing every feature of the device, and monitoring power draw, most issues can be quickly diagnosed. Many problems can be fixed by swapping out some failing capacitors or other passive components. But if the display itself is bad, often the only solution is replacing it entirely, which is becoming harder to do as the years go by.
Only about 19,000 VIC units were ever released, so very few are still in service. But if you do happen to be an owner of one, Morlan highly recommends preventive maintenance. Many serious problems can be avoided by doing some minor repairs now. That might just prevent catastrophic failures in the future.