guages went crazy

larrydc

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 11, 2013
Location
King City, CA
TDI
96 Passat stationwagon
Had to jump my old battery this morning and the speedometer and fuel gauge went crazy. How do I fix it? Tried disconnecting the battery. Helped a little bit.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
did you hook it up right? are you sure you hooked it up right?

the one and only cause of this failure is 12v going to the ground or getting back fed some how with a shorting wire. either way, its usually a ground issue that feeds back some voltage back and screws it up, fix and check all your grounds or you hook it up backwards. other things can cause this but it always falls back to volts traveling bacward though the ground into the cluster or other things.
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
It's because battery voltage dropped below 12v on your car, the clusters cannot stand up to that.

First, you must get your battery charged and or replace it if it's not good. Then if the condition persists you'll likely need to contact Derek at Chubb's to see about fixing it.

The clusters are very fragile and they won't stand up to low voltage.

Steve
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
Whats the volts on the battery right now, after its fully charged and the lights left on for a few minutes? and when its being cranked? How old is the battery?
 

Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
Yep, it’s a low voltage issue, not a ground issue.

Derek is the man to see about the clusters. I just got 2 MFA back he converted to TDI. He does good work and is cheap.
 

ketchupshirt88

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2012
Location
waupaca, WI
TDI
2005 Passat daily, a bunch of others in the graveyard out back...
Many have had the same issue, it only takes one attempted start too many to kill a cluster. Not really any middle ground.

I just found out my wife’s Prius has b4 cluster issues... lol.

The combo meter on Prius is also sensitive to low voltage and the capacitors fail.

I’m bringing this up because I was curious if that’s what Derek commonly fixed on these, the capacitors I mean.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Yup... the voltage spike caused your cluster to go meet its maker. :( We see this quite often with that vintage of cluster.
 

larrydc

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 11, 2013
Location
King City, CA
TDI
96 Passat stationwagon
Guess I made a mistake driving it to town like it is and now neither the clock nor the odometer lights up.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
It's dead Jim, and it will chose to be dead in a bunch of interesting (and sometimes changing) ways. :)

There are no user-serviceable parts on the cluster... you'll have to track down a replacement cluster or send it to an electronics dude like the one posted in this thread.
 

larrydc

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 11, 2013
Location
King City, CA
TDI
96 Passat stationwagon
I wouldn't even know how to get the cluster out to send it to someone that could fix it. Where could I find a replacement? How much would it cost?
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Removing the cluster requires taking out the filler pieces on either side of the lower cluster surround, the right side has the vent in it and the left side is part of the light switch I think. Behind that I believe are two screws that need to be removed and there may be two screws in the plastic surround above the cluster, somewhere in the middle. I'm saying maybe because I think my B3 surround is a tad bit different but I can't say that for certain.

Anyway, pull all those screws and the surround should pop off (it's snapped in place). Once that's off the screws that hold the cluster in place (2) will be revealed. Remove those two and the cluster will tilt forward allowing you to get your hand in behind there to unclip the two cluster harness connectors.

Tilt your steering wheel to the lowest possible position, tilt the top of the cluster down enough to grab it and pull it out and then maneuver it into position so you can take it out by sliding toward the center of the dash.

The person to call is Derek, at 217-824-3954, Chubs Auto Repair, his userid here is ChubsAuto but you'll have the best luck calling him. He will provide you with all the info you need.

Steve
 
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