LOOKING FOR: Speedometer/Instrument Cluster

[Duck 16]

Hi all,

Looking for this:

Long story short - I nicked the ribbon cable that runs to the LCD, blowing out about half of the segments. No good! I need a replacement.

If you've got a junked car sitting around, four torx screws underneeth pop the whole thing off (complete with bezel and front guard - not shown in the above picture), and there are 3 cables you'll have to remove out the back.

Thanks!

-Iain

PS - odometer telemetry is stored in the computer elsewhere, so yes, these clusters are interchangable, and the mileage is retained.

[Speedie 4]

I will check to see if the one at the wrecker is still there up island.Cheers,Cameron

[Duck 16]

Thanks so much, Cameron!Any idea if it's a pulse, pure, or passion? I guess I can always mix and match the back bits (LCD attaches to the "black" part of the board, which separates from the "white" front part that the gauge is printed on).-Iain

[smart142 605]

I have a speedo hiding in my garage somewhere Got it used from Germany a couple of years back. Cost me 61euros and 12 shipping. It will be interesting to see what the wreckers want for one.

[yellow bumble bee 3]

Phoned the wrecker that has used smart parts in Chilliwack. They want $200.00 for a used head and have one in stock. I did not ask if it was pure, pulse or passion.Roy

[Overkll 0]

Was it Famous Erik that was parting out a smart? I think he would have what you need (and his prices were very reasonable).HTH and GL(Looks like you already contacted him!)

Edited June 26, 2009 by Overkll

[Dang 0]

Duck....I did the same thing. I actually didn't break the ribbon cable, but some of the segments went out. The connector at the bottom of the LCD was where the problem was. I was able to get it working about with a little bit of patience, pressure and heat, so right now it's OK, but not sure it will last. I thought you put the MDC one in? Best of luck! Dang

[Duck 16]

Heat! I didn't think of that. Yeah I didn't physically break it, it's just come off the glass. I've had teh BordComputer in and out three times now (can't make up my mind) but want it out for good. It's encouraging bad driving habits that I'm convinced are killing my turbo so I want to eliminate it at the source. That and I'm trying to teach my other half how to drive and the BordComputer is almost impossible to read in any kind of sunlight at all.I fixed it once before by stuffing a bit of adhesive-backed foam between the glass and the plastic, to "squish" it tighter... but this time I guess it bounced around so much in there (even though I secured it back) that it pulled apart just enough that the elements don't want to show.Did you use a heat gun?$200 is too steep for me I'm afraid. I was hoping to spend around $80 or less if I was getting a replacement speedo.-Iain

[Duck 16]

Hey Glenn, did you find yours?-Iain

[Dang 0]

Did you use a heat gun?

Duck....Yes, but with super low heat. Would't want to melt anything!Another trick, at least on mine, is if you look at the picture you will notice there is a little bit of plastic that bridges between the two sets of connectors. On mine if I pressed down on the connections on the right, the segments came back. That plastic sits on top of the hold down tab which tends to try to lift the connections up. I found by trimming it just a bit, I could get it under the hold down tab, and that helped keep the connections flat so the didn't try to "lift" from the LCD. So far it's worked, but I'll never be able to take it apart again I'm afraid!Best of luck! Dang

[smart142 605]

Hey Glenn, did you find yours?-Iain

Yup! pm sent!

[Duck 16]

Hey Dang - I'm about to give the heat-gun idea a try. I'm afraid that it may not do any good, however - I pressed all along the LCD part and couldn't get the dead segments to illuminate at all. I can't see any physical breaks at all (even a scratch) along the ribbon itself so I've no idea why those segments aren't working... As a kid I remember never having much success at all with these bonded/glued LCD/glass ribbon cables though. Man they are a pain in the butt! If there were at least pads I could solder on to, I could just painstakingly replace all ~30 traces on that ribbon with actual wires, and be done with it. Is there any way at all to solder or glue a wire onto glass?...I did notice something, though. Even when a segment is turned "off", if it's connected properly, it's ever-so-slightly darkened. Segments that never come on (because the cable is damaged) are completely invisible, no dark haze at all. Which I guess is an easy check to see when a segment is properly connected (even if not darkened at that time).Glenn dropped off the speedo he had but unfortunately I think it's from an older-generation car, as it didn't properly boot ("------" instead of mileage, speedo needle went haywire). Also of note is that our Canadian cars have a mod (all I can figure is it's for the DLR's) called a "Canadaflexboard" that is layered over top of the existing circuit board, and bridges together all the illumination lights for the LCD and speedometer gauge itself. It is easy to transfer from one to another as it is simply held down by the bulbs themselves (it's got holes in it and sits sandwiched between the bulb casing and the board).-Iain

[Dang 0]

Iain...If you can't get it to come back at all, that's not the best sign. I could at least get it to come back if I pressed it the right way. Sounds like you might have something harder to fix than just a bad connection.Can't you just take the LCD part from Glenn's and put it in your cluster rather than change the whole cluster? The clusters are keyed to the VIN of the car. I think it's a mileage tamper thing. I hate that "CanadaFlexBoard" thing. It catches on the Bulbs/LEDs when you are trying to install them. The only thing it does is changes the way the dash lights work (they dim), and also prevents the rear fog indicator light from coming on if you turn one click past the headlights. (I actually removed that part, as I have a rear fog light.)Best of luck! Dang

[Duck 16]

Hey Dang,I'm not sure what you mean, LCD part vs. whole cluster, as it's just one circuit board. So it's all or nothing, no?I actually had a good look at things tonight and was able to get all the segments to work if pressed in a "complex" way. I simulated this by adding 3 pieces of foam, and voila! It worked. I gave the heat gun a shot as well but it didn't work. So, for now, all is well!Like you, I don't think I'll be taking mine apart again anytime soon. I will miss "worm under a leaf" and "end of a hot dog", for gears 5 and 6, though. -Iain

[Dang 0]

I will miss "worm under a leaf" and "end of a hot dog", for gears 5 and 6, though.

I was thinking the non-LCD end of that ribbon cable was connected via a socket, but it's not is it? Glad to hear you got it working!!!Cheers! Dang

[Duck 16]

No socket on mine! It's a plastic ribon that runs from the LCD (glued?) to the back of the circuit board. Mine doesn't have a socket, it's glued on to the circuit board there, too.-Iain

[waxx 0]

as i was tinkering with my dash, i was also a victim of this..

so i quickly bought another dash off ebay.uk.... hopefully it would work by simply switching it..

anyways... after more researching.. i came accross this site...

http://www.minitools.it/replacement-flat-f...mart-dashboards

dunno if they would sell me a couple tho...

[gordo.bernard 1]

I don't know exactly what the problem part looks like, but would the metallic, conductive "crazy glue" that is used to repair broken rear window defroster grids help in this scenario?

[waxx 0]

I don't know exactly what the problem part looks like, but would the metallic, conductive "crazy glue" that is used to repair broken rear window defroster grids help in this scenario?

im thinking more maybe these would work better:http://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Conduct...1686&sr=8-2http://www.amazon.com/Chemtronics-Conducti...1686&sr=8-1