Replacing the cluster?

Sometime in the last few days our 996 developed a "snowflake" in the ODO LCD. I know enough to know it's not a temp issue and it means the whole cluster needs to be replaced. What I haven't seen, however, is information on what's involved. What I'm looking for is: Part Number for the cluster itself. Does it vary based on options (e.g. OBC, colors, etc..)? How do you get it out and back in? Is it just plug and play or will it need a PIWIS to reprogram it? Besides the cluster itself, is there anything else in there that will need to be replaced? Thanks, -dave

you can replace the cluster plug and play, nothing to do. only thing to keep in mind is that the odometer will read the same as what is in the CLUSTER and not your ECU. Keep that in mind. Just by a cluster that look like yours (gauges placement and all) and it will work. It could be that radio has some problem communicating with the new cluster, in that case you might have to stop by your porsche dealer for a reset. but I hope some will chime in with more about that.

So if I got a new cluster with 0 miles, that's what it would show rather than what's in the ECU? Is there anyway (PIWIS?) to sync them so the cluster shows correctly? The CDR was replaced ages ago so no radio issues there, but I don't recall it having any connection to the cluster anyway.

Hi had to replace my cluster last year. You need to remove housing. One screw behind hazard warning light, another behind microphone. Both easy to remove. Housing should then be free, I think it has Velcro attachment to main dash board. There are three connectors to back of cluster, white, black and blue. Remove them and you should be able to remove unit from car. From memory there are several screws holding instrument panel to housing, nothing complicated though. Replace with similar unit ie gauges the same...note auto cluster is different! Mileage shown is in cluster not ecu. I had my cluster from ebay and had the mileage corrected for approx 150 $ by mobile auto technician with mileage adjustment kit.

Cluster replacement is one of the "gotchas" you look for when buying a pre-owned car...document the swap thoroughly in the event you decide to sell the car later, especially if you don't have the mileage corrected. When I purchased my 996, I checked the operating hours using Durametric to ensure that the hours jives with the mileage.

see my old thread when I played with my cluster -changing gauge faces https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...e-reset-2.html

Thanks for the link. I'll have to read it in more detail tonight. Since you've taken one apart (though I need a MkI cluster), did it look like the LCDs could be removed and replaced by a semi-skilled hand? I've wondered about just replacing the LCD by itself, but as the 996 is currently my DD since the P!g is in the body shop I don't want to take the cluster out and end up with it not being usable for some period of time.

best bet is to buy a cluster broken but with lcd working, only trouble would be to test them before buying... you can replace each gauge individually as you can see in my picture, but the lcd are part of the gauges

I think the MkI cluster is a bit different based on the pictures I've found in that I don't think the LCDs are attached to the gauge (like your Tach in that picture), but I won't know until I can actually get my hands on one to take apart without fear of making things worse. If anyone has a dead MkI cluster I'd be happy to take it off your hands The big P-Car Indy in my area put me on to Module Master who rebuilds clusters, but they don't list Porsches on their website. I sent them an email to see if they can do it and what they would charge. I also found D&D Instruments, but their response was that they don't work with Porsches.

I have the same snowflake condition in my 2001 996. I found these guys online, but have not used them yet. http://vdorepair.com/en/porsche-911-...1#.Uo-KjpFqe5c

Thanks for that link. Pricey, but better than the cost of a new cluster (best I've found so far is shy of $2200 from ECS). It will be at least a month before I get my Cayenne back and the 911 can be without it's cluster for awhile so I'd still like to get my hands on a dead cluster to dissect and see if I think the repairs are doable myself (actually a friend that knows how to solder decently on a board).

So I traded some emails with VDORepair and ended up talking to one of their techs. What he said was that the replace the bad LCD, but the act of working on the cluster has a tendency to make one or both of the others also go bad. So my understanding of what he told me is that the cost shown on that page is a worst case scenario and it will be cheaper if they only have to replace one LCD. In addition to replacing the bad LCD(s) they also replace the ribbon cables which he said also tend to be an issue. The other tidbit he shared is that they replace the LCDs with other used units that they've recovered from other clusters. They have not been able to source new LCDs to act as replacements. I still want to get my hands on a dead cluster I can take apart though.