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W203 Coupe Instrument Cluster failure

35K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  jefbols01 
#1 ·
Hi.

I have had a complete instrument cluster failure on my 2006 Facelift W203 Coupe out of the blue. No gauges, lights or LCD display work on the cluster.

The car however drives fine all external lights etc work, radio, windows central locking. Except when I turn the ignition switch on then the headlights come on automatically even during the daytime. Removing the key switches them off.

After checking every fuse in all the compartments (Boot, dashboard and bonnet) The warnings lights in the cluster came on permanently and remain on even when I remove the key from the ignition and lock the car. Therefore I have had to remove the fuse to prevent the battery dying.

I have been to two specialists and fianly dealer. All couldbt even get a fault code from the system and told me to get an entire new unit. However I am not keen to spend £900 before labour costs to get a new one. I have found a company who repair clusters and have quoted me £150 or my money back if their fix doesnt work. My question is has the cluster failed or is there some other small check I can do. I dont want to send it in and find out that somthing else is wrong.

Also driving the car around at present will this confuse the mileage stored in the central memory to what was on the display

Thanks
 
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#2 ·
The mileage is stored in the computer, the transmission, and in your cluster. Your cluster would just match it's serial number with that of the ECU and transmission and should show mileage. The problem is, the mileage on the cluster would be reset.
Check your battery voltage. Usually when the battery/SAM is acting up the cluster is the first thing to stop working. I doubt your cluster needs to be repaired, these things almost never die.

Check voltage and go from there.
 
#3 ·
The cluster uses flexible Mylar ribbon cables that use a special conductive glue to attach them to the circuit boards. Heat, cold, and vibration can cause those connections to fail, and then then the cluster malfunctions. There may be some specialty electronic repair shops than can fix these Mylar cables, but usually not.

The mileage is stored in two places - the cluster and the EIS (electronic ignition switch module). If the mileage between these two varies by more than 100kms, then the system is "locked" and the cluster will only show "------" (although both units will continue to accumulate miles as you drive). This cannot be fixed via programming, even with SDS.

So buying a used cluster won't work if you need to keep the odometer working. The cluster in my C240 failed and I've been dealing with no odometer for several years now. I have done a lot of research on this and what I have found that there are some tools made by VDO and also some aftermarket tool called and "Enigma" that can re-program the clusters. If a used cluster is reprogrammed to 0 miles, supposedly it can then be re-married to the EIS using SDS. I found a place here in the USA that will zero a cluster for $175 - I just haven't had time to send one of to try it.
 
#4 ·
Thanks.

I will take it to another merc specialist and have the voltage tested. I dont have the tools to perform that. My next door neighbour is an electrician and has every testing tool I can think of. Can I test with a multi-meter anywhere or should I simply leave that to the specialist who has a better idea of what to look for.

cheers
 
#8 ·
I'd guess it was low voltage caused by a poor connection. The first step to any electrical problems on these cars is to make sure you have a healthy battery, clean and tight battery connections, well-cleaned ground connections, and clean connectors on the wiring harness. Having electrical contact cleaner on hand is helpful.

I had a similar experience with an SRS problem related to the passenger seat sensor. While I checked all the battery and electrical connection stuff I wasn't able to resolve the issue while the seat was in the car. It seems physically removing the seat and re-installing it resolved a ground issue in my case.
 
#11 ·
Cluster failure resolved itself

I started my MY2007 CL203 coupe yesterday afternoon and had the exact same symptoms as panda bear. There was a complete instrument cluster failure with no gauges, warning lights or LCD working and the steering wheel function buttons didn't work. The stalk functions for high beam and indicators and wipes/washers still worked and the radio, windows and c/locking also worked but there was no 'clicking' of the indicators (I only knew they were working by visually checking from outside). The car drove fine with all external lamps working (I had set these to be permanently on in the function settings). The car otherwise drove normally.

I left the car standing for just over 24 hours and then after having read this thread I went to start it again this evening only to discover that the cluster was back to normal with everything working again.:smile I haven't driven many miles in the last few weeks since I was laid off work.:frown I think the battery has run down slightly more than usual and that this may have been the cause. I will check the battery properly tomorrow. Hopefully its was just a temporary low voltage problem as suggested by 300DFan above.
 
#14 ·
Hi.

I have had a complete instrument cluster failure on my 2006 Facelift W203 Coupe out of the blue. No gauges, lights or LCD display work on the cluster.

The car however drives fine all external lights etc work, radio, windows central locking. Except when I turn the ignition switch on then the headlights come on automatically even during the daytime. Removing the key switches them off.

After checking every fuse in all the compartments (Boot, dashboard and bonnet) The warnings lights in the cluster came on permanently and remain on even when I remove the key from the ignition and lock the car. Therefore I have had to remove the fuse to prevent the battery dying.

I have been to two specialists and fianly dealer. All couldbt even get a fault code from the system and told me to get an entire new unit. However I am not keen to spend £900 before labour costs to get a new one. I have found a company who repair clusters and have quoted me £150 or my money back if their fix doesnt work. My question is has the cluster failed or is there some other small check I can do. I dont want to send it in and find out that somthing else is wrong.

Also driving the car around at present will this confuse the mileage stored in the central memory to what was on the display

Thanks
please tell me if you have settled this issue .I have my own mercedes w203 car.same problem .no instruments cluster lights even speed metre fuel gauge and all out of work. Headlight on always when ignition on. Checked fuse number 42 that is for intrument cluster .what will be the issue ?
 
#15 ·
I just got the same issue with this post. The battery looks the top cause of this because it discharges with the headlights on and then tries to charge it, discover is in bad shape (not getting full charge). I don't have clue why is related to the dashboard but you can make one easy test: Start the vehicle, If the headlight comes up with the dashboard plugged, just unplug it and then turn off the engine the light must come off. If this happens, welcome to the club! Unfortunately tools like Autel "jumped" this model (W203) in their system to get fix ECU. the "bench work" appears as a different name but Autel can not communicate with ECU anyway. I just tested ECU and find something interesting about it. It can not be the issue because when you correct it maybe don't want to start the car anymore. I return to his original backup and continue starting it. I used generic computer software such as Ktag to work on it and get successful backup and reading. I will replace the battery, but this makes me check and test all the wires and see if have some more issues than can derive from this feature. Soon will post the results, but basically, the battery could be the main issue.
 
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