DIS LCD Replacement - guide

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Cabbyfan

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Hi, some of you may know I had a defect on my DIS, common to B5s but rarer in B6s. I went all OCD and decided I had to fix it because it was bugging me.

Problem below -

IMAG0737.jpg


Looked all over, impossible to buy just the LCD, so did some research and decided it was worth a punt on trying a B6 saloon cluster and seeing if the LCD was the same as in my cab cluster. Bought a cheap cluster on EBay, arrived today, stipped and fitted. Results below.

1 - remove cluster from car etc, dead easy, 2 screws and 2 connectors (dont drop the screws down inside the dash trim like I did, takes 5 mins to retrieve).

IMAG0755.jpg


2 - open up cluster to access the LCD. Basically 4 screws and some clips. Pull the needles off with firm straight up motion, scarey but fine. Remove black background trim to reveal underneath. Unclup gray metal cage holding the LCD and the white/orange spacer underneath.


IMAG0756.jpg


IMAG0757.jpg


IMAG0758.jpg



3 - VERY gently release the brown locking clip on the LCD ribbon strip connector by tugging slightly at each end directly away from the face of the clocks.

IMAG0760.jpg


4 - remove LCD, swap with LCD from donor clocks

IMAG0759.jpg



5- put everything back, remembering to line up the needles at the rest position on the dials !

6 - re-assemble and install back in car.

IMAG0761.jpg


7 - have a brew and a chocolate biccy while looking smug at not having to buy a new cluster for £600 plus programming :)

Before and after picture below...

fixed.jpg
 
Last edited:
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Cracking job mate... Could you have opted for the colour LCD like on the S4??

Handy guide though :)
 
Thanks :)

I think the colour DIS upgrade is very difficult to do, certainly not worth the cash as a retrofit in my opinion. I am just really happy to get my DIS looking as it should, when I bought the car (Dec last year) I know it had a fault on it, just took me a while to find a fix.
 
Good work, and thanks for the guide! I'll add it to the DIY guides sticky.

Mind me asking what the replacement cluster cost you?
 
There were colour DIS's available for all specs as optional extras, but rare as rocking horse poop and very, very expensive!

I believe the colour DIS is a different pin out for different engine groups... it's more complicated than just diesel vs petrol; but all petrols vs TDI are definitely different and the B7 parts bin is off-limits: e.g. the B7 2.0TDI is NOT swappable with B6 TDI's.... and Audi only let you buy the full cluster, not just the LCD, so it's something stupid like £600! I have the list of different part numbers and prices somewhere...

Hazzy Dayz do it for about £600.... sob sob....
 
quattrojames said:
Good work, and thanks for the guide! I'll add it to the DIY guides sticky.

Mind me asking what the replacement cluster cost you?
Click to expand...

Not at all, £55 :) Not sure what to do with it now though, probably just keep it for spares. Just glad my punt paid off, I was 95% sure the LCD would be a fit but cab clusters are different in outward appearence so it was defo a punt :)
 
lostbok said:
There were colour DIS's available for all specs as optional extras, but rare as rocking horse poop and very, very expensive!

I believe the colour DIS is a different pin out for different engine groups... it's more complicated than just diesel vs petrol; but all petrols vs TDI are definitely different and the B7 parts bin is off-limits: e.g. the B7 2.0TDI is NOT swappable with B6 TDI's.... and Audi only let you buy the full cluster, not just the LCD, so it's something stupid like £600! I have the list of different part numbers and prices somewhere...

Hazzy Dayz do it for about £600.... sob sob....
Click to expand...

Oooo im feeling rather smug here, Iv got a B7 2.0TDI pod in my box of tricks from a car that we broke last year, I wonder if its a colour pod that can be amended to fit my car ?

Ummmmmm , rubs hands and plans a dig it out min tomorrow.

here it was when no one wanted to bid on it for only £15

Audi Speedo Pod 8E0 929 950 S on eBay (end time 06-Apr-11 11:23:25 BST)
 
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Turkster - please PM me if that works!!! I've been repeatedly assured (albeit only by one company) that it's completely impossible to get a B7 TDI colour LCD + cluster to work on a B6 TDI.

I think the complication is when trying to get the whole cluster moved over: You might get the LCD to swap, but then I'm not sure how it it actually works since the B7 colour (or even the B7 black and white monochrome) DIS screen is a higher resolution to the B6 red/black ones...

I'm really after the whole cluster as there's a bug with the Audi Bluetooth integration and certain (early) models of the DIS clusters.
 
I was told by someone at Audi that it's the immobiliser that causes issues when putting B7 clocks into a B6 and that it has to be deactivated permanently.

Engage smug mode - I have a colour DIS - rather pleased with my eBay luck!
 
That's an excellent guide mate, and I bet you're well smug! Thanks.

And turkster, keep us all informed. :)
 
Finding this thread has made my day. I'm so pleased to see that the B6/B7 cluster DIS is on a removable ribbon cable. You would think that these screens must be available somewhere in the world. I'll see what I can find.

Did you need to remove the negative battery connector in the engine bay to do this?

Could you post the original and replacement cluster part numbers you used?

I have a 2004 B7, and when the temperature is warm parts of the top of my DIS fade a little. It's not too bad, but nice to know that I should be able to replace this fairly easily.

Great work on finding this out Cabbyfan.

Can I ask, do you need to remove any of the steering column surround to get at the two screws holding the Cluster in place?

Cheers, Lee
 
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lscolman2 said:
Finding this thread has made my day. I'm so pleased to see that the B6/B7 cluster DIS is on a removable ribbon cable. You would think that these screens must be available somewhere in the world. I'll see what I can find.

Did you need to remove the negative battery connector in the engine bay to do this?

Could you post the original and replacement cluster part numbers you used?

I have a 2004 B7, and when the temperature is warm parts of the top of my DIS fade a little. It's not too bad, but nice to know that I should be able to replace this fairly easily.

Great work on finding this out Cabbyfan.

Can I ask, do you need to remove any of the steering column surround to get at the two screws holding the Cluster in place?

Cheers, Lee
Click to expand...

No, you don't need to remove any of the column surround to get at the two screws. As long as you have the correct torx driver and the right length, you should have no trouble. A little tip for getting the torx bolts back in is to superglue them onto the end of the driver, you have to lift them slightly to find the hole, and even with a magnetic torx driver, mine 'drooped' a bit! :)

I've removed my cluster a couple of times, last time to replace a faulty fuel gauge (thanks Cabbyfan for kindly selling me the one from your salvage cluster!) and I've never disconnected the battery. That's not to say you shouldn't, but it was ok for me. The connectors on the back of the cluster have levers that you need to unclip and fold back at the same time as pulling gently on the connector, they don't just pull out. You'll see how though once you've pulled the cluster forwards. It's very tightly fitted by the way, and you might need to loosen the dash trim either side of the steering column to get it back in without scraping the anti rattle felt off it.
 
lscolman2 said:
Finding this thread has made my day. I'm so pleased to see that the B6/B7 cluster DIS is on a removable ribbon cable. You would think that these screens must be available somewhere in the world. I'll see what I can find.

Did you need to remove the negative battery connector in the engine bay to do this?

Could you post the original and replacement cluster part numbers you used?

I have a 2004 B7, and when the temperature is warm parts of the top of my DIS fade a little. It's not too bad, but nice to know that I should be able to replace this fairly easily.

Great work on finding this out Cabbyfan.

Can I ask, do you need to remove any of the steering column surround to get at the two screws holding the Cluster in place?

Cheers, Lee
Click to expand...

I spend a long long time looking for just the LCD, its not available. I even emailed all the cluster repair places I could find and no one of them would supply the LCD. I worked out that the LCD was common to the A4 range from about 2001 to 2004, so the cluster I bought was for a A4 saloon but the inner bits were the same as my Cab one, hence the LCD was a straight swap. There are lots of ones on EBay for B5's, they wont fit.

Need to be a little careful with clusters for a couple of reasons, first there are different clusters for different cars especially diesels, second some of the later ones had colour DIS and I suspect the LCD may be different and third the clusters are coded to the car especially for the imoboliser hence you cant just unplug one and plug a new one in.

The one I bought on EBay was part code - 8E0920950G, which actually came from a 3.0 A4 B6 saloon.

One tip, lower the steering wheel down as low as it will go and when refitting if you put the 2 torx screws into the holes on the cluster then lower it back into position it makes it much easier to refit !
 
Hi,

Thanks for the updates.

Cabby, can you confirm if you can use B7 LCD clusters (2005-2008) for transplant? You mention the cluster being incompatible, but do you know if the LCD's are the same?

Cheers, Lee
 
lscolman2 said:
Hi,

Thanks for the updates.

Cabby, can you confirm if you can use B7 LCD clusters (2005-2008) for transplant? You mention the cluster being incompatible, but do you know if the LCD's are the same?

Cheers, Lee
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I cant be 100%, if your DIS is all red/yellow then odds are yes but I would need to see part codes to tell. EKTA lists dozens of part codes for instrument clusters, some are colour and some are red. If yours is a 2004 car with a red DIS then you will probably be ok with a cluster from a simlar age.
 
Hi Cabby,

My transplant is complete!

Took the DIS from an S coded (Jan 2005) model into my Q model (Nov 2004).

Oddly seems a little sharper, and now no faded pixels appear, even when it gets really warm.

Thanks for the guide. It really is much appreciated from another car owner with OCD.

Cheers, Lee
 
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Hi and sorry for the thread resurrection.

This may sound like a silly question, but I LOVE the full colour DIS found in a few rare b6s and b7s.

I know normally to get these into a B6 is a massively expensive job and near enough impossible, however after seeing your guide I have a question.

Surely if I was to buy some B7 dials with colour DIS, could I not just replace the screen like you have done above with the colour screen and it would work?? I understand why new dials would need reencoding and the likes, but surely if all youre doing is swapping the lcd, theres no reason it cant be swapped for the colour version surely?? As the colour is dictated by the DIS and whats availible on the LCD, nothing else? Or am i completely wrong?
 
unfortunately not as simple as that: apparently you need the whole module behind the LCD to display the correct colours and resolution and that includes the engine management gubbins, so it is engine specific.... the TDI modules in particular are completely different to the petrols.

I THINK that most S4 (colour) LCD's will fit into most other petrol engines such as 1.8T's as I believe that is what Gareth from Hazzy Days did to his 1.8T (don;t come after me if that doesn't work though: I'm offering no guarantees that all will be 100% compatible), however the S4 or B7 2.0TDI LCD's, even the monochrome ones will definitely not work in B6 TDI's like mine.

Given there were some 1.9TDI B7's, I'm guessing that there's a module there than may work in B6 TDI's... but I would be guessing with that....

It does look nice, but £675 inc installation.... sob sob....

Audi A4 8E (DIS)Driver Information System - Vw & Audi Sat Nav, Bluetooth , TV Tuners, Cruise Control Installations UK
 
A B6 2.5 TDI colour scrteen fits a B6 1.9 TDI, it's just the coding. B7 units can't go into B6's as the immobiliser would need to be permanently disabled.

The colour DIS screen connects to the circuit board of the cluster in a different way than the red/yellow displays do, so it's not a case of just popping it in.
 
I'm so glad I found this. Have the exact same problem on my Audi TT MK2. It seems to use the same display. Does anyone know if the LCD can be ordered separately or am I best sending the whole cluster off to be repaired? Audi want £500 to fit a new cluster.
q2uGy.jpg


VdXi1.jpg
 
Can you post or message me the full model if your tt and I will see what I can find out. It does look like you have the same problem I did, if you read my guide then you will see how easy it is to fix with a doner unit...
 
hi guys,

i have a vw mkV golf, non turbo 1.6 fsi. labeled as rabbit.
my LCD is also almost dead, with only backlight most of the time.

occasionally, it lights up correctly, like mint.

i've asked the ebay sellers both saying the one they are selling will fit.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Size: LCD Display 88x64 pixel; Driver (code D1560TOB)

Adaptable For:

Audi A3/S3 VDO (1996-2003)
Audi A4/S4/RS4 B5 (1995-2001)
Audi A6/S6/RS6 C5 4B VDO (1997-2004)
Audi Allroad C5 (1999-2005)
Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Passat B5 and B5 Facelift (3B and 3BG) VDO
Volkswagen Jetta/Bora
Volkswagen T4/T5
Volkswagen Polo

Seat VDO

i'd appreciate any help,...
i'll try to check onto this thread, or maybe you guys can email me? fobs76 @ gmail. com


cheers~~~



[/FONT]
 
Hey Fobs, I have never done a VW one I'm afraid but the Audis is this age ie late 90s and early 2000s I'm pretty sure the LCD is on a ribbon cable directly soldered to the circuit board. The solder joints fail and the display plays up. Unless you are good at very fine soldering personally I wouldnt try. If you google audi or VW cluster LCD solder you should find other blogs saying the exact details.
 
Cabbyfan said:
Hey Fobs, I have never done a VW one I'm afraid but the Audis is this age ie late 90s and early 2000s I'm pretty sure the LCD is on a ribbon cable directly soldered to the circuit board. The solder joints fail and the display plays up. Unless you are good at very fine soldering personally I wouldnt try. If you google audi or VW cluster LCD solder you should find other blogs saying the exact details.
Click to expand...

the entire lcd is okay, only like you said, the display plays up.
even if i get a new replacement, i still need to get it soldered, so perhaps i would just get some electronics guy to re-solder the current one. Save some money, but a little risk of doing the task two times (very low possibility that the current LCD is damage).

ebay seller says this fits the mkV 2005 golf, 320762812239
 
Hi ppl i just rectified the same problem on my S3, i learnt the hard way as i tried soldering it myself n cocked it up so got hold of a guy in Leicester who offers this kind of service via ebay!!! My dis is now like how it should be!! Will try n post a pic up once i find out how!! Lol
his ebay name is allsortsuk2009 just hope this helps as i was getting peed off with no dis!!! Thanx
 
I was searching and reading forums in all kinds of languages but could not find correct info.
Are the (b6)red middle displays on petrol and diesel models the same? I cant seem to find any difference between them at least 1.9 ,1.8 and 2.0 models all look the same except the rpm section. I would like to buy a petrol cluster and use it to swap my defective 1.9tdi red display.
 
I have a colour DIS on my 2002 TDI. Don't see what the fuss is about myself but I guess it's nice to have nonetheless!
 
Did you had to do something else or just a straight forward lcd swap? i just bought a petrol cluster just waiting for it. Thank god we dont need to solder anything like the older models do.
Will let others know if it fits or no but i cant find any reason why it should not fit hehe
 
I just got a random cluster for the A4 B6 as a punt because it was quite cheap. I don't think there is any difference in the actual LCD bit itself between clusters. It was a straight swap no coding. Still works nearly 4 years on :)
 
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