B4 Cluster Elmos 10417A Replacement

[papadelogan]

Just for giggles I did a search for for "elmos 10417a" and one of the first links was this:

http://www.1sourcecomponents.com/partinfo/elmos 10417A.htm

Too bad the minimum order is $250 AND "no individuals".... bastridges!!

 

[ChubsAuto]

I had thought about ordering the min # of chips to make a $250.00 order but I just couldnt justify it. If it gets to the point where the clusters get so hard to find that you have no other option then to get replacement chips then it may be worth it. Havent made much progress this week on much of anything, work has been keeping me covered up. I have 4 engines to change now, a 97 Probe that should have been done Monday but the customer provided engine has no compression on #1, a 99 Durango customer also provided and hopefully good havent checked it yet, a 03 Grand Caravan we got the engine for this one and hopefully will be done by the end of the week, and a 04 Sebring convertible dunno for sure if it needs a motor havent seen it yet but by the customer described noises and all the fun lights that came on its more then likely dead. Between all of those and all the other jobs on the book Ive been to tired in the evenings to do much of anything. I hope this weekend to make some progress.

 

[kooyajerms]

Don't kill yourself Derek, you've made huge amount of progress since January 1st.

Not to say I'm not excited about getting your first real conversion =)

 

[Digital Corpus]

what is another month when we have cars as old as ours when we keep them running good and smooth? I echo Jeremy's sentiments about taking your time.

Oh and this might help the both of you so the wheel doesn't have to be reinvented since these two projects seem to have similar goals:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=264096

 

[papadelogan]

Well, my buddies borrowed my Passat for their weekend of skiing at Keystone and it got down to -6* F or so.... and my cluster finally died. CRAP!! Having the MFA would be nice, but mainly I just want my cluster working again.

dewhite - will you be offering your services to us poor non-skilled folk? puh-puh-puhLEEZE?

 

[ChubsAuto]

Not a problem at all, replied with PM Thanks

 

[ChubsAuto]

I finally got some stickers that actually stick and look decent made up for the check engine and glow plug lights here is a picture.

I also did a little tracking down on my parts cluster and figured out how to add other led's in the open locations. I added an LED for high EGT's, Im going to be using it along with the MFA LCD mod Im working on. The picture looks odd for a few reasons, the cluster had no EEPROM on it, and the face plate is for a non MFA cluster even though its on a MFA LCD. It was the only face plate I had laying around and not in a cluster. Its my test cluster so it gets all the experimentation done to it first.
BTW Kooyajerms that is your cluster in the first picture, I just have to clean up the lens or find a better one in my selection and it will be ready to go.

 

[starrd]

Nice work!! I have found that using DVD scratch remover works well on cleaning up the clear cover. You can actually polish out scratches if you spend the time on it.

 

[ChubsAuto]

Thanks for the tip, I was thinking about trying 2000 grit wet sanding and buffing with plastic polish. I think I will try the scratch remover first and see how it works. I have a cracked lens that is no good anywho so even if it doesnt turn out well its not loss.

 

[G60ING]

I like to use mothers metal polish for wheels on the cluster face.

 

[dieseljunkie]

Just want to let everyone know I sent my VR6 cluster to Derek to reprogram the tach so it reads correct for my TDI. Derek did the work promptly and I got the cluster back in less than a week! He even advanced the odometer so it's representative of the mileage on my vehicle, and replaced the trip reset button, which recently stopped working. Thanks a million Derek! You are providing a valuable service to the B4 TDI community!

 

[Windex]

Well, I have been proactive and bought a vr6 cluster, only to find out that it is a 95, with the screws on the gage faces

So now the fuel gauge on my b4 tdi cluster is acting wonky (pegs way past full, almost against the pivot post for the temperature gauge.

In reading a number of threads on this, am I correct to understand that the cluster (elmos) is usually salvagable by replacing the voltage supply caps? I am hoping to make this one work until I can locate a reasonably priced VR6 cluster from 1996 0r 1997 and send it to DeWhite.

 

[ChubsAuto]

A failed power supply cap will usually effect all the gauges not just one. It could be the elmos chip causing problems or it could be that you have a bad stepper motor on the fuel gauge. Does the gauge still buzz and the needle flicker when you turn the key on ? If so it may just be a bad stepper. If your looking for a used cluster I saw a couple on ebay today, It looked like the last one may have a problem because the tach needle wasnt zeroed out like the rest of the gauges. Hope that helps a little

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-9...arQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_666wt_941

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-9...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-9...rQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_2264wt_988

 

[Windex]

Yes, the needle flickers- for about 3 seconds when the car is first turned on. Is there any way to isolate whether it's the driver circuit in the elmos or the stepper itself?

 

[ChubsAuto]

If its still self testing then its more the likely the stepper. What is happening is the stepper isnt going back to its bottom stop every time so the cluster just keeps driving it from there, as it sticker higher and higher the needle just keeps going around till it gets stuck at the top. Its an easy fix, if you can solder you can probably fix it yourself or if you want to send it my way I can fix it for you. Just PM me if you want more info on fixing it.

 

[MattofMattRabbit]

I took my fuse box down the other day to check my glow plug fuse and my cluster died when I put it back in place. The odometer and clock are off and every gauge is just stepping randomly. When I turn the key off, the gauges stay in their random new position. Any chance its one of these same problems? I plugged an extra vr cluster I had laying around and it did the same thing. the wiring seems all seems fine, so I'm a bit lost.

 

[dieseljunkie]

Could be low voltage. After fully charging the battery, try connecting the cluster. If that's not it, send it to Dewhite, he has the know how and the tools to fix it. He reprogrammed my VR6 cluster to TDI . advanced my odometer and put in a new power supply cap.

 

[G60ING]

Ok, I'm ready to take the plunge and celebrate the 2year anniversary and 50k miles for my TDI Corrado with a MFA conversion. Sending you a PM to iron out the details.

 

[djrhetoric]

Just installed a Derek converted cluster in my B4 this weekend and couldn't be happier with it. The plug-and-play part of the deal is fantastic! Thanks Derek!

 

[G60ING]

I got my cluster. I'm very happy. Thank you

 

[dieseljunkie]

Did he blot out the unleaded fuel logo? He did such a great job on mine I have to really look to see that it was there.

 

[G60ING]

yes he did

 

[VWannabe]

I have a 1997 Jetta TDI that the tach and speedo have quit working on. Can you fix those as well? Might not be quite the same as the Passat but probably close. I can PM you if you would like.

 

[G60ING]

I test my cluster swap last night so I can swap it in sometime this week when my current cluster hits 310,000. It work perfectly. Thanks

 

[Megawatt]

Nice post...Thank you very much!!......

 

[ChubsAuto]

Im have a design worked out and tested for a fairly simple low voltage protection system for the B4 clusters. When the battery voltage drops below a pre set level (yet to be decided on but around 10.5 volts) the control board will disconnect power from the cluster completely for about 10 seconds, if the voltage rises above the set level and falls again within the 10 second window the timer will be reset. I have a small batch of circuit boards made, I still need to tin plate them, and I have the components ordered and they should be here tomorrow. Im going to make up a test batch and give them some real world testing, if there are no issues I will be ready to offer them to people wanting to protect there clusters from a low voltage death. Thanks for the positive feedback Im glad I can help other B4 owners and a couple A3 owners that I have done also. Derek

 

[G60ING]

I love my cluster

 

[Windex]

Im have a design worked out and tested for a fairly simple low voltage protection system for the B4 clusters. When the battery voltage drops below a pre set level (yet to be decided on but around 10.5 volts) the control board will disconnect power from the cluster completely for about 10 seconds, if the voltage rises above the set level and falls again within the 10 second window the timer will be reset. I have a small batch of circuit boards made, I still need to tin plate them, and I have the components ordered and they should be here tomorrow. Im going to make up a test batch and give them some real world testing, if there are no issues I will be ready to offer them to people wanting to protect there clusters from a low voltage death. Thanks for the positive feedback Im glad I can help other B4 owners and a couple A3 owners that I have done also. Derek

Awesome Derek,

Let me know when your boards are close to done and I will send you my clusters for you to work your magic.

 

[ChubsAuto]

I got the first board assembled and in the process of testing it, I did get it one time to turn on the relay without time delay once it got about the threshold voltage. Im not sure why it did it that one time and I have not been able to recreate it so it may have just been a fluke. Im going to do some further testing and abusing on this first board and if all goes well I will assemble the rest of them and have them ready to go.

 

[ChubsAuto]

I would like to get some opinions on what the cluster disable voltage should be. I currently have it set around 11 volts but I want to know what you guys think. So far all the on the bench testing has gone well, soon I will be installing one in my car to give it some real world testing. Here are some pictures

The relay, terminal strips, and capacitor are glued to the board to prevent damage from vibration.