Dashboard "worm"

I know, this is an odd title. No I don't actually have worms in the dashboard. I had to be out of state for 5 weeks so I disconnected the battery and when I reconnected it this little wiggly pattern (sort of a worm look alike) showed in the tachometer, just under the MPH display. See pic attached. Any idea what happened here? Thank you in advance for your help.

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Common symptom when LCD displays like this start to go bad. When an array of pixels die, the result is what appears to be a various dots and/or in your case, a worm formation. This is because pixels in LCD displays are in clusters. I know it may seem a little confusing. Lots of people think that when a pixel dies, it should be "lights out", but it's actually reverse. The pixel stays on. Problem is usually because of heat and age. There is no magical fix. The display will need to be replaced. I'm sure there is some companies that will offer a rejuvenation service of the display, but IMHO, replacement is the best option.

Back in 2007 I had the same problem in my 2000 Boxster and posted my problem on a Boxster forum I was active on at the time. http://babblers.org/showthread.php?t...t=Boxster+heal I first noticed it after a heavy rain, perhaps moisture got into into the rear cluster, but slowly over time it began to resolve. After 6 months it was completely gone never to return. Other people also shared the fact their display had the same anomaly. This is what one member posted: I've seen this kind of thing happen during cold weather, or when the display has been pressed with a finger or cleaning cloth. It's always resolved itself over time as the liquid crystal warms up and is no longer up against the display screen. . . B3freak may very well be right it is replacement time, but in my case it eventually resolved on its own. By chance did this worm coincide with any introduction of moisture to your car? Similar problem with my 2000 Boxster As you can see it slowly began to resolve 6 months later the problem is completely resolved

Hi, Thank you both for the replies. Yes, actually, while I was away we had a rainstorm and my basement got wet. The water only got about an inch high and was quickly drained with the sump pump but there was still a lot of moisture in the air when I came back. I suspected that it could be the reason and ran the car with the heat on as high as possible but that didn't work. I guess the approach now is to wait and see if it will "fix" itself?

Back when my “worm” occurred the car was only 8 years old and used clusters were hard to find. I was actively looking for one but couldn’t find a black cluster. Slowly I noticed it began clearing up. That’s why I waited it out. If it happened to me today I would still probably wait it out to see if it resolves but I would also look into replacement/repair. Since that part of the cluster is not the Odometer, I wonder if you could just replace the one gauge in the cluster.

Thanks. That gives me hope!

I'm definitely no expert on display technologies, but since I've dealt with electronic manufacturers since getting into the studio production business 25+ years ago I've learned a lot from them. The gauge displays in these cars are really not radically different from any other LCD type display. Imagine it like a sandwich. (see attached image) When the layers are exposed to heat and moisture, they can separate in regions across the display and lose display uniformity. In some cases, when the car is returned to a nominal moisture level, the display will return to it's correct state, but in my experience, once they're damaged, they rarely "fix themselves". Again, the results are cluster formations that are usually stuck pixels that look like worms. My best advice, is get a dehumidifier and dry the car out. That may help.

Mine did this and resolved itself eventually.

Why not use a battery maintainer?

Mine had issues with the pixels, leaving it in the sun fixed it, no more problems.

With the cold weather round the corner, I'll be using the heater a lot more soon. This may help get rid of the residual humidity in the cluster. I'll wait it out and see in a few months if the problem persists. Thank you all for the feedback

Many users get the "half-moon" in the HVAC controller screen, also a LED display. In warmer temps it does fade a little, but never completely goes away. /X3

My 996 has what look like scratches where OP has worms; they've been there for a few years. I'll take & post pics.

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Difference is, the one you note above is easily repaired in about 20 minutes start to finish. The instrument panel....., not quite as easy to access.

I had that on mine too. Pelican Parts sells a replacement part for under $100 and it's fairly easy to replace. Just do it in a clean environment.

Good point. Didn't think of it to be honest.

Update: I just compared the old pic with a new one and some of the crazy pixels have gone away! Not a lot, maybe 15% max but it's going in the right direction!