Center clock display

[Dani_B19]

Hi all. went to look at an s3 on friday and the car was quite smart, mileage was a bit high at 90k but thats due to my budget, anyway the centre display were the rev counter and speedo is was quite messed up, lines all through it (looked at a a3 quattro before the s3 and this was the same) so i just wanted to know is there anything to be woried about and is it curable?

cheers dani

 

[alijames]

There are a few specialists who claim to be able to repair them, and some on here have repaired them themselves, by packing out the rear of the clocks to apply extra pressure onto the ribbon cable.

A new one from Audi is mega££££, and occasionally one comes up on eBay, but is that any better??

Cheers,

 

[benr]

As said its a common problem and has been discussed a lot. Seems to be due to the ribbon which connects the screen.

I think ive seen companies offering to fix it for as low as £120. i only really think its worth it if its really bad.

 

[Dani_B19]

tbh its the worst ive seen, ive heard it cost's quite abit if audi fix it. so how is the problem caused? both dealers told me it was down to the car been cold and it ease's off when the car warms up! this true?
cheers for the help

 

[Dani_B19]

anyone know who the companies are that can fix this then?

 

[colinra]

never used them myself but they say they can do it:

http://www.digitalmileagecorrectionspecialist.co.uk/audipixelrepair.html

 

[benr]

When it was discussed before i think there was a company on ebay for a very good price and a member could vouch for it.

do a search theres quite a lot of info out there

 

[Dani_B19]

cheers mate for the company. i id but th search's i did returned nothing. what is he name or phrase for the centre display?

 

[alijames]

http://www.clusterrepairsuk.co.uk/ are the ones who advertise on eBay.

Never used them, but might be worth a call to them...

Cheers,

 

[Nilz]

Dani, keep looking, im sure you will find a car with little or very minor probs at the mo, especially the way the car prices are....what sort of budget do you have???

 

[Dani_B19]

my budgets about £3000 plus my car(corsa 03 plate) so im limited to trade only really as im struggling to sell mine. so tbh i carnt be too picky or else iw ould hold out.

 

[Nilz]

OK, so how much are they offering for your Corsa??

I have seen quite a few on Ebay and other site at around 4.5 to 5k, which is a bargain for the amount of car you are getting!!

 

[captain420]

I picked up my (not) new 1.8T last night and drove it home over the course of about 2 hours - and during this time, the cluster went from completely black (nothing at all) to "partly visible". This morning when I fired her up, i could read 80% of it.. i am hoping that this evening it will have fixed itself completely!

 

[Prawn]

sadly, due to the way the problem occurs, it only ever gets worse with increasing temperature.

the problem is in the way the ribbon is bonded to the back of the lcd screen, over time the bonding fails, and when the ribbon heats up and expands, parts of it move away from the lcd, and the screen starts to fail.

In the cold winter mornings, I can see 90% of my screen really clearly, with hardly any missing pixels. it then slowly fades as the car warms up. in summer I can hardly see any of it at all during the day

 

[1animal1]

i wouldnt have said it was a deal breaker though chaps..... our cars are ancient now...if thats all thats wrong get it bought if your feeling the love!!

Know this isnt what you asked, im assuming that somebody will pipe up and say....best to wait for a spick and span S3 appears with 5k on clock and original tyres.....

am i ranting? im ranting.....sorry

 

[Dani_B19]

ok so ive bought the s3 just loved it, test drove it and couldnt resist

 

[1animal1]

nice one Dan...welcome to the club fella

 

[Dani_B19]

cheers mate. only downer is i cant pick it up till the 24th january, damn insurance company

 

[1animal1]

haha that'll be a killer fella.... why not get a months insurance from budget (who do a single months cover)...... unless you like waiting