Hi there, can any one help me ??
Today driving along and my trip computer (lcd bit on dash) has gone blank.
Every thing else elctrical is working.
Has any one else had this fault ?? and how to fix it ??

Thanks in advance for any help on this

Haven't had that problem but I would guess it's the same as the Bravos. Shine a torch on the display, see the display still working? Ok it's just the lcd illumination bulb gone then. Fun to get at though

Remove the instrument cluster ( I assume you now how to do that- post up if you don't)

Then with the instrument cluster on somewhere safe, carefully lever up the plastic side clips just enough to release, working around the outsde.

Here's the rear section released

You may just need to release the front section - perspex side

Now you get to here and I think the illumination bulb will be a tiny bulb somewhere here.
Haen't done the job on a Stilo so can't tell you exactly which bulb it is here

Cheers for your reply...
I will shine a torch on it to see if I can see if its still working...
I will then let no if it is...
It sounds quite hard a job to take apart ???
Will I need any special tools to do this ??

Whoops, no scrub that. The cluster lcd display is backlit by 3 leds integrated into the circuit board on the Stilo (nothing like making it difficult) so it's highly unlikely all 3 have gone at the same time.

So you might have a u/s lcd panel or something is causing the 3 leds not to illuminate

If you're in to replacing the lcd panel yourself, it's quite easy to replace once you have the instrument cluster out

Is the clock showing the time ok with everything switched off?

No....
It lights up, but the whole lcd read out is completly blank ??time, milage ect...

????????
cheers for your reply

Looks like it might be a new lcd for you then. Could be lucky and it's a bad contact on the LCD 6 pin connector which you can see in the picture

I guess you've tried tapping it?

yeah I have tried tapping it,

I guess a will have to get a new lcd.... hopefully not to much cash for this...

Cheers Deckchair for your help

What i would first is just take out the dash gauges and remove and reinsert the lcd panel. A bad contact anywhere there, even on the two connectors on the back on the dash gauges, could cause an open circuit. Always disconnect the battery first though

cheers for your reply again Deckchair,

I have tried taking the dash out to get to the lcd, but am having trouble doing this, am I making things difficult for myself or should it be easy ??

Having trouble with what exactly?
Taking the instrument cluster out?

Disconnect the battery first

Remove the two screws at the top. Reach in and pull the top of the cluster towards you. Disconnect the two electrical connectors at the rear.
Rotate the unit so it's clock face down and end towards you, Then carefully move the unit out through steering wheel
Could be wrong as it's a long time since i did it and my memory isn't what it was but I think that's all there is to it

This looks a lot like a Mk2 Punto instrument cluster. If so, perhaps the LCD has two 'zebra strip' contacts (as they are known in the trade). The zebra strips are alternating conductive rubber (black) and grey rubber slices.

If you press around the edges of the LCD and the rest of the display suddenly appears, that suggests a contact problem, which would be good news. Don't confuse with localised darkening in the area of pressure, though, which is an LCD characteristic and doesn't necessarily mean that it's working.

What I find works well is isoproyl alcohol (contact cleaner) - it actually swells the rubber. At first the strips may go all wavy and you feel like it's never going to work again, but then the strips dry out and return to straight again, except they will now be an original tight fit and will make better contact.

If there is still no display, it suggests a major electronic problem to me, and it could get expensive at that point.

But hold on a moment - my Stilo had a different type of LCD altogether which was a backlit active-matrix display. This is square, colour (white, green, yellow etc. on a black background), and known as the Multifunction Display. If you have one of these, then I suspect a backlight fault would be more likely.

-Alex

Hi Alex, where have you been? What ya driving now?

See the pics up above though? The Stilo has 3 leds on the circuit board (in those octagonal shapes) so it would be highly unlikely for all 3 to go and Matt says the display lights up, which is easy to tell on the Stilo, so it isn't them. The clock is normally always on and visible, whether the back is lit up or not, so it has to be a display problem, either the matrix display not putting out or not being fed the information

It's different from the Punto and Bravo where you can't see anything on the display at all unless the single backlight illuminates

So it'll be
display
display contacts
dash cluster rear contacts
or computer

What car is it Matt? I'm guessing a 1.6 or 1.8

Deckchair5 said:

Having trouble with what exactly?
Taking the instrument cluster out?

Disconnect the battery first
View attachment 45626
Remove the two screws at the top. Reach in and pull the top of the cluster towards you. Disconnect the two electrical connectors at the rear.
Rotate the unit so it's clock face down and end towards you, Then carefully move the unit out through steering wheel
Could be wrong as it's a long time since i did it and my memory isn't what it was but I think that's all there is to it

Click to expand...

don't forget to remove the two screws on the lower side of the cluster!
you can remove them by lifting up the flexible part between the cluster and the upper steering column housing.
Also take care to fully pull out and tilt downward the steering wheel, this will give you maximum clearance to remove the cluster.

See the pics up above though? The Stilo has 3 leds on the circuit board (in those octagonal shapes) so it would be highly unlikely for all 3 to go and Matt says the display lights up, which is easy to tell on the Stilo, so it isn't them.

Click to expand...

I was thinking of the multifunction display that my Stilo (Abarth) had, which had a fluorescent backlight rather than LEDs. It wasn't clear to me whether Matt's Stilo had a multifunction display or not. But you're right, Matt said the display lights up, so I guess it rules that one out.

Deckchair5 said:

Hi Alex, where have you been? What ya driving now?

Click to expand...

Hi Decks - After selling the Stilo I spent a third of the money on a broom-yellow Mk2 Punto Sporting with belt-drive (as I call it), which was a good move considering what's happened to fuel prices. Bodywork and interior in excellent condition. It's not a perfect car - the instrument cluster died and was expensive to replace, and the teeth have chewed off the driveplate ring gear. Also the ride quality is horrible - very hard, sharp jerks in all directions. The Stilo was much smoother and with twice the power, it was quicker off the mark than the (1.2) Punto. But in all other respects the Punto is a good car - smart and practical.

For the bigger jobs I bought another 164 (used to have one before the Stilo), which is a truly great car. I like the proportions (the 15" wheels are the same size as the Punto, but look much larger). It's a 3L V6, metallic green and rust-free, leather interior, manual transmission, the handling and ride is superb (I always reckoned they were better than the Stilo), the power is exhilirating (it's as fast as my Uno Turbo), and it tows things - it's 17 years old and so I bought it for 1/16th of what I sold the Stilo for. It's also proving to be very reliable - it just goes and goes, though the engine has numerous small oil leaks. One day I'll take it out and refurbish it (and replace the heavy clutch).

Every car is a compromise. The Stilo was a good overall compromise, but it was expensive. It's cheaper to run three more-specific cars, though I don't use the Uno Turbo at the moment, as it's winter time. The Uno Turbo has the performance and economy but less practicality and comfort, and it gets wet inside when it rains... then it rusts...


-Alex

Probably that "Sporting" name part of it means pour treacle in the shock absorbers for that nerve jangling but exciting and "sporty" ride

Petrol's £1.15 p/litre here and £1.26 diesel and a heavier load on road tax for the emissions unfriendly tanks (road tax is laughingly supposed to be for upkeep of our roads but is a cute stealth tax used by every government there has ever been) so the cost of motoring is rising sharply