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Instrument Cluster Replacement!

Benjamin T

Go Kart Champion
Location
BC Canada
i got a spare cluster out of a wrecked 07. the installer i went to has the board out and is swapping the LEDs right now as he has time. hopefully it will be done by next week.

he says it's possible to just swap boards between my cluster and the donor one, so it's not going to be an issue with recalibration/odometer reset/etc.
 

JetTurbo

geezer
Location
South Florida, USA
Car(s)
2018 GTi Autobahn 6M
DIY for a high-line cluster so you can see what's needed for vag-com changes necessary:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?&id=3604801

That procedure is dependant on obtaining the security codes to re-code the immobilizer.
From the referenced post ...

maloosheck said:
... There is a slight problem with the whole hi-line cluster swap: you need to read the immo PIN from your existing cluster and from the new cluster. The only way I know to do it is to use the VCC. I noted that not all of the clusters allow to read their immo PINs. Maybe it is a matter of a different encrypting algorithm not yet implemented in current version of VCC: VAG K+CAN Commander 1.4. Anyway, if you cannot read your own cluster's PIN, I would not even start this mod....

From what I have read, VAG K+CAN Commander can read the immo pin from some US 2006 BPY ECUs,
but apparently VW responded by changing the ecu coding enough to break VCC's system on later ECUs.

Although nitroscope8 was a bit harsh - his message is not wrong.
At the end of the day, whether you want to innocently update your cluster
or do something illegal - the procedure is exactly the same.
That is why VW has gone to great lengths to prevent it.

The correct procedure would be to install the new cluster
and then tow it to a dealer to initialize the new cluster
using the VW authorized method.
This will also create a record that will show up on CarFax,
so if someone is trying to scam lease miles, etc they will get burned.
 

GTI_SS

illektronik
Location
Sydney
Car(s)
APR Edition 30 GTI M
i got a spare cluster out of a wrecked 07. the installer i went to has the board out and is swapping the LEDs right now as he has time. hopefully it will be done by next week.

he says it's possible to just swap boards between my cluster and the donor one, so it's not going to be an issue with recalibration/odometer reset/etc.


How did you go with the swap?
 

Benjamin T

Go Kart Champion
Location
BC Canada
How did you go with the swap?

no news. he replaced all the blue leds with white from same manufacturer (siemens?), but when he powered the board up only 70% of the bulbs came on. he did some preliminary tests and found that there are resistance issues w/regards to the leds that did not power up and he's trying to determine why.
 

cmdrfire

FIA World Rally Car Champion
Location
UK
White and Blue LEDs experience a different voltage drop. There probably is not enough supply to the white LEDs to change them. This is why a change to Red/Green/Amber LEDs would have more likelihood of success.
 

cmdrfire

FIA World Rally Car Champion
Location
UK
Reducing the values of some of the resistors could help, if there is a voltage dropping problem; however it may cause issues elsewhere. Keep us posted.
 

Benjamin T

Go Kart Champion
Location
BC Canada
i wish i could comment more, but electronics is not my forte and i was way out of my element when he tried to explain to me what was going on.

it was the last two leds going clockwise on both the speedo and tach that wouldn't light up. all the other leds worked.
 

GTI_SS

illektronik
Location
Sydney
Car(s)
APR Edition 30 GTI M
no news. he replaced all the blue leds with white from same manufacturer (siemens?), but when he powered the board up only 70% of the bulbs came on. he did some preliminary tests and found that there are resistance issues w/regards to the leds that did not power up and he's trying to determine why.

'He' being me?
 
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mortygt140

Ready to race!
Location
Leeds, England
Car(s)
Golf GT TDI
The cluster swap is not illegal as long has you are not altering the mileage in such a way has to deceive some one into thinking the vehicle has done less mileage than it has...i.e clocking the car.

Ive done the cluster swap from midline to highline and changed the mileage with Vag commander and vag-com but I have a full service history plus all previous Tax & MOT test certificates to back the mileage up that I had to change.

Darren
 
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