Technical Instrument cluster LCD panel failed

[MadAlicesDad]

The car is my daughter's 2008 58 plate 500 1.4 Sport. The central LCD on the instrument panel has been playing up for months, to the point where it now shows nothing. The weird thing was that if you disconnected the battery, it would work perfectly for a few days. Anyway, time to replace the LCD...

I've taken out the instrument cluster to get the part number (735471904) and whilst I had the chance I also removed the LCD panel as a 'practice' run.
Put it all back together and now the display is totally blank Everything else (lights, tacho etc) works.

Unfortunately the only LCD panels I can find do not include the part number of the cluster, for example https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393404412793?fits=Car+Make%3AFiat&epid=21016624695&hash=item5b98baf379:g:WWYAAOSwcyNdJjm1

I've emailed a couple of places that claim to have them but have yet to get a reply.

Does anyone know of suppliers that do stock the suitable LCD display?
Will the displays that are available definitely not work in this cluster?
If I send the cluster for repair, is the repairer going to hit the same unavailability problem?
Are all instrument clusters from cars of a similar age interchangeble or do I need to find the same part number?
What if a replacement comes from a car with a lower mileage?

Any help very gratefully received.

TIA Mike

 

[jrkitching]

Others have recently reported that availability of replacement LCD speedo panels has all but dried up, at least in the UK.

@typecastboy is our resident expert on this; I believe he's swapped at least one LCD panel, and replaced a number of clusters. He can better advise on what's compatible with what.

If you go for a secondhand cluster, you need to find one with lower mileage than your existing one; when you realign the cluster (you need a licenced version of MES for this), you can adjust the mileage up, but not down.

 

[typecastboy]

OK so, as JR has said there seems to be an availability issue with the LCDs at present. They are around £87.50 usually. It boils down to the year of the car generally.

Pre mid 2010 cars with no stop start, Post mid 2010 cars up until 2015 (the 2015 have tyre pressure sensors and traction contol) and then the face lift cars.

You need to get a replacement from the same generation as described above. Due to the lack of parts available I would seriously think about just getting a second hand one.

You will need a licenced copy of MultiECUScan to allow you to up the mileage to you current car which means you have to buy one with a lower mileage than your car. You can't go down, only up for obvious reasons.

There's a fella on the Fiat 500 Owners Club Facebook page called ChrisCRCFisher. He sells them for £150 which he will pre-set to roughly what your car is if you tell him the mileage. It will still need a proxy alignment as it's a "foreign body" to the car. MultiECUScan will do this or Fiat will charge you £118. An independent about half of that. He needs to know mileage, year and the colour of the speedo ring (white, black or yellow).

Failing that, there are lots available on eBay although most sellers seem to omit what the mileage is.

I think at present that's the best way of doing it due to the lack of available LCDs. What you could do of course, is if there was a high mileage one on eBay for the same year etc as your car, you could buy that and just nick the LCD out of it.

I've done three of these now and I've bought one from Chris which worked perfectly.

The reason yours isn't working at all, asuming you haven't broken it completely may be the backlight (the orange light). There is a small two pronged electrical connection that yu have to line up when you push the LCD panel back onto the body of the speedo. If they are not lined up properly then then orange backlight won't work.

Hopefully this all makes sense.

 

[MadAlicesDad]

Cheers mate,
I think the back light is working as there seems to be a slight change in colour when ignition is turned on but I will check it again

 

[Ralf S.]

Look up this thread.

https://www.fiatforum.com/500/484838-replacement-lcd-circle-speedo.html


I recently ordered one from the German firm (Autoteilkontor) on eBay.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353238989707?hash=item523eaf3b8b:g:iNcAAOSwxe1gVCpW


They list the compatible part numbers in their ad'... but if yours is a 2011, then as a headline, "2008-2011" would appear to be a fit.
I have to add, I couldn't match the part number on the rear casing with the ones on the advert but the ribbon on mine had a sticker with the COG-VLIT 1592-02 555 001 312 600 which is listed in the ad' too.


It looks like you tried autoandmarine https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/39340441...624695&hash=item5b98baf379:g:WWYAAOSwcyNdJjm1 but they were out of stock when I ordered one, so I dunno why they have it listed at the moment.


Ralf S.

 

[Ralf S.]

Cheers mate,
I think the back light is working as there seems to be a slight change in colour when ignition is turned on but I will check it again

Mine (or at least, the missus's) had a very faint glow.. new LCD fixed it.


Ralf S.

 

[MadAlicesDad]

Sorry for the tardy reply, it's been a mental week.
Went out to it Sunday morning to check the backlight connection as suggested above. The display wasn't working when I opened the car or with engine running so I set about removing the trim to get the unit out. At some point I opened the door again and the display came on, good as new! Nice and bright and perfectly legible. I had touched no cables or looms!

I went for a drive. All good for about 5 miles when the pixel problem started again, so I definitely need a new display.
I'll try some of the sellers listed.

As an aside, what the hell is the failure mode for this?

 

[MadAlicesDad]

None of the sellers suggested list the LCD for the unit I have. There are two numbers on it: 503002124500 and 735471904

There also don't seem to be many complete clusters for sale on ebay. I'm running out of ideas...

 

[jrkitching]

I'm running out of ideas...

Well, as a last resort, you could always buy a new one.

https://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Product&ProdID=25377

A donation to the forum will get you 10% off this price.

 

[MadAlicesDad]

Well, as a last resort, you could always buy a new one.
.

£510!!!??? That's not going to happen! It's a battle scarred skip. The fuel warning light works so it's serviceable and I can disconnect the battery before the MOT to make it work for a few minutes!

 

[Ralf S.]

Does anyone knoe who makes these (or rather who doesn't)?

Could be a contender for a Group Buy..


Ralf S.

 

[jrkitching]

£510!!!??? That's not going to happen!

I feel for you, I really do. It's a seemingly trivial fault which ought to have an equally trivial and inexpensive fix, but it doesn't, at least not right now. Get this fixed by a franchised dealer and the final bill will be well north of £1000.

This issue is quite frequently reported here, and is a good example of the kind of fault that makes running a 500 out of warranty a potentially expensive gamble. Many of these faults have relatively inexpensive workarounds for DIY mechanics prepared to improvise, but the problem with these unofficial workarounds is that most of them rely on an equally unofficial and somewhat fragile supply chain which, as we are seeing, can dry up overnight.

Back in the day, it was usually corrosion which put older cars beyond economic repair at MOT time; now it's more likely to be some bit of Chinese electronics which costs peanuts to make, but £££ to obtain in the UK when you need it. Either way, it's the same agonising decision; whether to pay close to the market value of the car to get an MOT for another year, or trade it for peanuts to a scrappie who you know is going to make a lot of money breaking it and selling the parts.

 

[Ralf S.]

I've seen a few of the "instrument cluster" (aka "ECU") repair places offering a repair service.

They may have a stash of the LEDs... even if they don't want to sell them separately, getting them to replace the LCD (c.£250) is cheaper than a new speedo.


Ralf S.

 

[MadAlicesDad]

I feel for you, I really do. It's a seemingly trivial fault which ought to have an equally trivial and inexpensive fix, but it doesn't, at least not right now. Get this fixed by a franchised dealer and the final bill will be well north of £1000.

This issue is quite frequently reported here, and is a good example of the kind of fault that makes running a 500 out of warranty a potentially expensive gamble. Many of these faults have relatively inexpensive workarounds for DIY mechanics prepared to improvise, but the problem with these unofficial workarounds is that most of them rely on an equally unofficial and somewhat fragile supply chain which, as we are seeing, can dry up overnight.

Back in the day, it was usually corrosion which put older cars beyond economic repair at MOT time; now it's more likely to be some bit of Chinese electronics which costs peanuts to make, but £££ to obtain in the UK when you need it. Either way, it's the same agonising decision; whether to pay close to the market value of the car to get an MOT for another year, or trade it for peanuts to a scrappie who you know is going to make a lot of money breaking it and selling the parts.

Cheers for the sympathy, but seriously, I'm not too worried.
I have two daughters, both with 500s. One worries about any slight noise, warning light, vague squeak her car makes. The other didn't notice when the flexi joint in the exhaust had sheared.
Luckily it's her car that has this problem.
Speedo works and fuel light works. She won't worry about it. Also she's at uni for 2/3 of year so car is unused most of the time.
I'll put a can of fuel in the boot until next term!

You're right about old Vs modern cars though. I have a Mini Cooper I bought new in 1992. Failed 3rd MOT with a rust hole in the sill. Still going though, if only a £100 welder could sort electronics...
Old picture but still as shiny

 

[MadAlicesDad]

Since the weather got warmer, the display works fine.

WTF IS THE FAILURE MODE??? [emoji34][emoji2959]

 

[typecastboy]

Moisture maybe making it happen?

 

[MadAlicesDad]

I always thought it was related to damp as once there was some warmth in the car, it was ok.
It just seems to to a lot more heat than previously.

 

[A3jeroen]

Broken solderjoint?

gr J

 

[Boroboy1655]

My brother in laws did the same and i used the following to source a repair emailed them with the age of my 500 and they sent me the correct part.

www.akspeedo.com

 

[marky9074]

There's a fella on the Fiat 500 Owners Club Facebook page called ChrisCRCFisher. He sells them for £150 which he will pre-set to roughly what your car is if you tell him the mileage. It will still need a proxy alignment as it's a "foreign body" to the car. MultiECUScan will do this or Fiat will charge you £118. An independent about half of that. He needs to know mileage, year and the colour of the speedo ring (white, black or yellow).

Anyway to contact this guy outside of Facebook (I'm not active on there anymore)? I'm looking for a LCD cluster from a Sport to jazz up our daughters Lounge. I've seen one on eBay for £250 reset to 0 miles.