Gauge Cluster Swap

[catillery]

After hunting down and repairing an ignition problem in my 84 928S (Thanks Pelicans!), I was on my 3rd reinstall of the pod when I snapped a connector on the gauges. Now the oil pressure, battery and tach are inoperable. At this point I am assuming I will need to change the gauge cluster. I have found them on EBay for 85, 86 and 88. Will any of these work for my 84? Thanks! Chad

[tmpusfugit]

IIRC '83 and '84 are interchangeable. Other years are not......

[Niles]

Would it be possible to repair your gauge cluster by soldering wires to bridge the break - i.e. solder one end of the wire to the copper trace on the cluster and the other end of the wire to the copper on the broken tab for each broken path?

[catillery]

Niles, I am assuming this is possible but I am probably not the one to do it.

[tmpusfugit]

The copper traces are extremely thin and the plastic they are on melts at a very low temperature. I tried soldering a bridge on a burnt trace on my board to no avail, and I have done a lot of soldering over the years. Not saying it can't be done, but it will not be easy. I suspect he is talking about the plastic tab that the flex circuit wraps around has broken off. That is a common failure IME.

[aluminum]

Originally Posted by Niles

Would it be possible to repair your gauge cluster by soldering wires to bridge the break - i.e. solder one end of the wire to the copper trace on the cluster and the other end of the wire to the copper on the broken tab for each broken path?

Somewhere Here I read about using " PIN Connectors " Not sure what pin Connectors are but would assume you soder them in then just connect ? Sounds simple > So perhaps just take your cluster to a laptop repair place and have them solder in pin Connectors in to the CU Board . now the other end ( your Wireing )
that requires a on site solder job
Can someone post some Pic's of these connectors perhaps .
Yes the Whole Connection area is poorly made .

[aluminum]

Originally Posted by tmpusfugit

IIRC '83 and '84 are interchangeable. Other years are not......

happen to know what complete cluster fits in a 1980 US Model ? Tks in advance
Also what Speedometer well fit into a 1980 Cluster ? something about 80 MPH Max is bugging me and I don't like Bug Spray

[928gene928]

One of the best ways is to send your '80 / 85 mph speedometer to a shop who specializes in VDO speedometers, have a new face put on (you select the range) and have it calibrated. I did the exact same thing with an 85 mph, also had the odometer done at the same time. Quick turn around, and as I recall it was like $150. The shop was in California, and just don't remember the name right now.

[lowpassat]

You guys may consider this a ghetto fix, but I have successfully repaired a few old Rabbit and Scirocco ribbon boards this way.

Go to your favorite FLAPS store any buy the Permatex kit for repairing rear defrost lines.

Take a piece of aluminum foil and fold it a couple of times, use an Xacto knife to cut a small repair piece to bridge the gap. Carefully take the Xcacto knife and scrape away the plastic to expose the ends of the metal ribbon. Brush some of the Permatex repair stuff on the ends, lay your aluminum foil patch over the ends and brush some more repair "glue" over the patch. Let it dry overnight and give it a shot.

Its worked for me, YMMV.

[AirtekHVAC]

You could also epoxy the cracked plastic pieces. I have had much success with epoxies. The goop brand of contact adhesive works very well also. If that is what is broken....