If you are experiencing the typical Pixel Loss problems associated with your Mercedes-Benz Instrument Cluster, it is time to fix it once and for all!! This DIY tutorial is meant to assist you in repairing your W202 C-Class, W208 CLK, W210 E-Class VDO instrument cluster's odometer, temperature and time display readouts.
Product and Service Links:
- Repair Ribbon Cables
- New LCD + Ribbon Cables:
- New Backlight Illumination Lamp Set
- Professional Repair Service (Includes Light Bulb Replacement):
PROCESS:
- Unclip the front plastic cover by lifting tabs (5) around outer perimeter of instrument panel.
- You need to fully remove all the plastic housings (front and back).
- Gently push the gauge needles to the 0-position and gently lift them off the gauge faces.
- First, you will need the new ribbon cables. These are not soldered, rather you need to "heat-seal" them on with special tool. See below
- Ribbon cables can be purchased directly from our web store. Delivery is Fast!
- Pull on the black plastic to release the ribbon cable from PCB for the center odometer lcd.
- Start to open & separate the plastic coverings from the PCB.
- There are some hidden clips (white plastic) at the side and back of the lcds.
- Tear off the old ribbon cables and carefully clean the attachment areas with microfiber cloth and anhydrous isopropyl alcohol or acetone.
- Tip: Its easier to clean if the area is lightly heated. I used the plastic sleeve and the soldering iron and heated the area up and then cleaned it with cotton bud.
- Align the tracks with the tracks on the board and the lcd. The lcd tracks are not easily visible unless in direct sunlight or angled/tilted.
The soldering iron must be hot, with blue teflon attached to tip, leave on for 3-5 minutes. Gently press iron's tip onto the ribbon cable. You can leave it on for about 5 seconds and then move to the next area. Overall i did mine twice as i did not apply enough heat and it started to lift.
Re-assemble. Do your best to not put tension on the new ribbon cables. Make sure the LCDs are properly seated on white plastic backing. Sometimes when the black plastic cover is pushed down onto the LCDs, the left and right ones have a tendency of ink bleeding. If this happens, you'll have to replace LCDs.
Our best recommendation when putting the needles back on is to make sure they are slightly below the 0-positions, because once accessory power is applied to cluster, they will rapidly vibrate and lift a few mm to a higher position.
