Haynes' World is a regular feature that takes a look at what the staff at Haynes are doing with their cars, bikes and other vehicles. This time, Euan's Skoda Yeti’s instrument cluster lights are on the blink.
Owner: Euan Doig
I enjoy fixing things. If anything goes wrong in my life, I’m more than happy to research a fix before taking the offending item apart and sorting it.
However, on occasion this enthusiasm has got me into trouble (we won’t talk about how my attempted repair of my girlfriend’s hair dryer turned it into something capable of stripping paint. At 30 paces). Painful experience (she can dish out quite the ear bashing) has taught me that it’s good to know your limits.
This caution has undoubtedly saved me money on my Yeti. You see, the dashboard illumination has started to play up.
The white lighting behind the speedometer, between the 7 o’clock and 10 o’clock positions, has begun to flash randomly, which is somewhat distracting, especially as the days are becoming ever shorter with the onset of autumn and winter, and I’m doing more driving in the dark.
How to remove the cluster?
What to do? Well, actually removing the instrument cluster from the dashboard is a doddle, because you simply remove the piece of plastic trim at the bottom of the cluster by pulling it towards you.
This exposes two Torx screws, and once these are removed the cluster can be pulled from where it sits in the dashboard.
Then it’s just a case of unplugging the wiring connector and the cluster is free.
And this is the point where that painfully won experience comes to the fore. You see, the old ‘let’s give it a go’ version of me might have taken apart the cluster, in search of a loose bulb.
However, the new ‘one step at a time’ me decided research would be in order, and it’s just as well I did, because there are no bulbs in the cluster. Instead it’s full of LEDs attached to a printed circuit board. Yikes. That was way outside my comfort zone. I was stuck.
New instrument cluster or refurb?
I was starting to think that the only way to fix the issue would be to buy a new cluster, but a new one would have been too expensive and a used one could easily suffer a similar issue. And in both cases I’d lose my mileage data. Not ideal when the time comes to sell the car.
However, further internet research took me in the direction of a company here in the UK called Cartronix, which claims it can repair flickering clusters such as the one on my car. Win-win! The cost is less than I’d have to shell out for a new cluster, and I’d retain all the data.
An appointment is booked, so watch this space.