If i replace my instrument cluster, what happens to the mileage

I need a new cluster for my 99 996 and I am wondering what will happen with the mileage. It is my understanding that the mileage is stored in the DME and not the cluster itself... I went to the dealer and they said that a cluster can only be programmed to a DME one time, so to be careful buying from a salvage yard or the like... The dealer wants $2000+ for a new cluster and programming which I am not willing to pay, so I am looking for options... thanks, Keith

cluster should only be about 1400, whats wrong with your cluster ?

After taking my car out of storage, when i started it up, I noticed that the LCD had apparently leaked. It is there permanently, even when the car is off. It doesnt affect the operation of the numbers and is just an annoyance... -keith

I have the exact same problem.....mine leaked on the last 2 digits of the total miles driven...it is not that important to me, so I am not going to pay 1 or 2K to fix it....but I have seen clusters on ebay for about 350-500

The mileage is in the cluster. I put a 996 cluster in my 1997 Boxster. The 996 cluster had 990 miles on it. My 1997 Boxster had a bit more than 990 miles.... It was a used 996 cluster from ebay, but advertised as new. As soon as I pluged it into my Boxster and saw 990 miles I knew it was used. It had a bad middle LCD display as you can see from the picture. Due to the bad LCD I put the Boxster cluster back in. I could put that 996 cluster in your 996 and it will work. It will show 990 miles just like it did in my car. But it has a bad display. Your dealer has given you some misinformation.

Seeing that you have disected a cluster to a certain extent, is it possible to buy a used cluster and just transfer the middle display, and hence keeping my mileage readings, etc... Also, is it possible to use an 02+ cluster? I know that the speedometer reads higher and is slightly different, but will the correct compensations be made ?

I forgot. It had 989 miles. After I plugged it in I drove around to see why the middle display looked funny. So I drove 1.4 miles with the 996 cluster in my Boxster. There are problems with the LCD displays, and clusters were replaced under warranty. Apparently my ebay cluster was a warranty replacement and instead of being destroyed, it ended up on ebay. The seller had other used 996 parts so I suspect the seller worked at a dealership.

I would love to be able to fit a GT3 cluster if it would work

I know that whatever electronic encryption used by VDO in their odometers was broken a year or two ago so it might be worth looking around online for someone to help if you end up with a different (newer) cluster.

Well im not into faking mileage or cracking clusters...I would love to be able to jsut replace the LCD of my cluster with one from another,, while keeping the heart the same... Any options will be entertained if you have links however

I have a lot of this cluster stuff on renntech. When I gave up on trying to get the bad middle display to work I took my Boxster cluster apart and put the Boxster circuit board in the 996 cluster. That way the 3 LCD displays in the 996 cluster were actually from my Boxster and, of course, the mileage of the combined cluster was now the mileage of my Boxster. But for some reason the volt meter would not work with the combined cluster. So rather than playing around further and ending up with 2 defective clusters, I put my Boxster cluster back together and back in my car. You cannot use a 2002 cluster on a 1999. 2002 is what I call the new style cluster. You would need 1999-2001. Also, if you have a C2 then you need a C2 cluster, not a C4, or the fuel gauge will not read property due to the different gas tanks. You also cannot use a turbo cluster.

VDO does not selll parts for the electronic cluster. If you buy a used cluster and need to reset the mileage then there are private companies that can have the display read anything you want. There are links to some of these companies on renntech. However, a dealer with a PST/PIWIS cannot change the mileage because it is locked once it has 62 miles on it.

If i buy an identical 99-01 cluster can i remove the speedometer LCD and replace my defective one?

I had considered this myself. I thought about taking the good middle/speedometer LCD display from my Boxster cluster and putting it in the 996 circuit board to replace it's bad display. But it is connected to the circuit board via ribbon wire with a lot of little solder joints. And if I screwed up with the soldering iron I would end up with 2 bad clusters, so I gave up on that idea. Someone who is use to working with circuit boards could do it. That way you do not even have to deal with the mileage. Just swap the speedometer/obc display.

Ok cool, It might wind up being the cheapest option. If i cant find a place that feels confident in doing it then I will just use the one I buy... Does this option still limit me to 99-01 clusters do you know?

You are still limited to the old style 1999-2001 cluster as the displays are different for 2002-2004. In fact, I guess you could use the display from a Boxster - but I do not know anyone who has tried this. If you get a Boxster donor cluster then it would have to be from 1997-2000 as those are the years for the old style. Or, maybe VDO will start selling parts..... You should also check with a speedometer shop that deals with electronic VDO clusters. When I started the Boxster/996 swap 4 years ago I checked with several speedometer shops and VDO for a new display I could buy. I was told back then that no parts were available. Maybe this has changed now that the cars are older. Let me know if you find a place that sells displays so that I can finish my project.

I own a 996 Carrera 2 1999 U.S Specs and I'm not aquainted at all with u.s specs miles and would like to swap my u.s spec cluster to a euro gt3 after 2001, is this possible or not and what the mileage will be reading? Tarek S. 996 Carrera 2 1999 Cairo, Egypt.

My "MPH" is winking on and off on my cluster (2000 C2). As long as the actual numerical MPH shows, I am not touching it. It might just be a loose solder joint on my LCD?

My car is gradually losing the LCD digital speedo readout, my local dealer is unsure whether he can reset a used speedo's ODO and says that clusters also hold the cars VIN number etc which would also need to be reset. Does anybody know if this correct. The Dealer is qouting $1700 for a replacement unit but I can source a used one for $400. TIA

Once a cluster has 62 or more miles on it it is locked and cannot be changed by the PST2/PIWIS. Then you have to go to the aftermarket. Your dealer should know this.

TP, thanks for the response. Would you know if the Dealer is correct in asserting the speedo also contains the VIN number?

A used cluster is going to have a VIN in it, but the VIN can be changed. But you do not need to change the VIN unless you have a MOST car.

Excuse my ignorance but what is a MOST car (I did search!!).

MOST is the fiber optic radio deal that started for model year 2003. With a MOST car you do not have a user radio code/code card like the older cars. There is however a code in the radio that matches a code in the instrument cluster. We believe this code is based on the last 8 digits of the VIN. So on a MOST car if you replace the instrument cluster with a used cluster you have to change the ViN in the used cluster to match your car or the radio will not work. There are other details, this is the simple version. On a non-MOST car you do not have to change the VIN. In fact I put a used 1999 996 cluster in my 1997 Boxster. So that used 996 cluster has the VIN from the donor car. My Boxster is not a MOST car so the VIN did not need to be changed.

ToolPants you're better than my wife, you actually do know everything!! If there any way of being 100% sure that a car has the mileage it actually shows on the ODO given the speedos can be altered or replaced?

There is no way to be 100% sure for the reasons you mention. I guess that is why there is carfax, and looking at service records. A rule of thumb is to compare the engine operating hours in the DME to the mileage in the cluster and see if they jive. But this assumes the cluster and DME have not been changed or altered.

i just installed the blue led kit in my '99 996 cab. it was a pain in the *** because the led's have to sit perfect or they dont work. point of the story is this, the lcd screens are NOT soldiered to the ribbons. just remove the silver metal clip that holds them down and you can pull off the screen easily. the screen has contacts that merely touch the ribbon and the metal clip kepps them in place.

You don't have to replace the whole cluster. The replacement part can be found on eBay. Installing is relatively easy and it keeps the original mileage. http://www.ebay.com/itm/172124641482

Holy-Find-An-Old-Thread-Day......A gem from 9 years ago.......

Heh - as soon as I saw posts from Tool Pants, I knew the thread was ancient without even checking the date. 9 years might be a record necrothread. necropost1_zpsa32d5a93.jpg

Quotes source post: 13092157

That's basically an ad for your business and you should be a site sponsor before posting such things. That said, however, how did you find a source for new LCD panels? I talked to VDORepair and a couple other companies who all said they couldn't be sourced. Being the unbeliever that I am I set out to try to find a source myself and had no luck (admittedly it was a hobby level interest for me so I didn't put tons of effort into it). Do you have the other two panels as well? Our left LCD healed itself, but I expect it will go again at some point. If new LCDs are available, however, I'd be more interested in replacing it proactively and I'd prefer to do all 3 at once while I'm in there.

The LCD Panels can be found on ebay, but finding someone to install them is another story all together. I decided to go the route of a used cluster and copying the code (mileage and VIN) from my old cluster. I've seen several Boxster guys do this when upgrading to a 996 unit, but unfortunately I'm having some trouble writing my mileage to the new cluster. Still working on that. I will follow up if I manage to get it figured out. Here's the thread that gave me the idea: http://986forum.com/forums/general-d...auge-swap.html

There are a few places mentioned in this thread that might help. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...cd-repair.html I bought a climate control led from them, module master, and it was not hard to replace it, just wear white gloves. Don't do it with oily bare hands and leave the protective film on until the last minute. Or you risk dead pixels and permanent finger prints some of which may cause edge contact degradation.

Thanks for the reply. I've looked through that thread, but I'm still intimidated by the soldering portion. I have very limited soldering experience and haven't done anything like this before. I'm concerned that if I DIY I will damage either the ribbon on the new LCD, or worse the board on my cluster. This is the closest thing I've found to a decent video demonstration of the process. I would think affixing the cable to the board would be the same procedure. Jump ahead to the 6:00 mark for the relevant bits. How To Fix Nissan Quest LCD Display Problem - Replace Ribbon Cable - YouTube

I believe that Palo Alto Speedometer will do the swap for you for ~$250-300