Has anyone just cleaned and reseated the ribbon cable with any luck?

The problem is the glue on the ribbon starts to melt over time and then the ribbon starts to perish and breakdown, so you may not be able to remove it cleanly. There are a few companies in the UK which will repair the cluster and there is a kit available on eBay for you to replace the ribbon yourself - not for the faint hearted as you have to drill through the back of the instrument cluster.

You may have some luck in the US as yours is the same cluster as the BMW X5 so you may find a BMW specialist who can fix it for you if you don't fancy the DIY route. A few on here have done it - I tried and messed up my speedo and fuel gauge so the DIY repair ended up costing more to fix in the long run! Current Fleet:-
2018 Discovery 5 3.0 HSE
2021 Ford Ranger Wildtrack
2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt 5.0 V8
1993 Defender 90 200TDI Pickup

Gone - not forgotten
2016 L405 4.4 SDV8 Vogue SE
2012 L322 4.4 Westminster
2004 L322 4.4 V8 Autobiography LE
2000 P38 RR 4.0 HSE (ex Clarkson test car)

Last edited by nicksaab on 16th Jul 2015 9:03pm. Edited 2 times in total

Good question, also has anyone ever replaced it themselves successfully....??? Pete
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

I jumped ship on that one and got akspeedo to do the job.

They are quick to fix and return back too.

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic25999.html If it dont work.......burn it!

If the IId tool cant fix it.......burn the FF.

If the FF cant be fixed......buy a Land Cruiser!

If the LC cant be fixed..............................................BUY a horse !!

i tried doing my sons x5 and what a fiddly job it is ..still didnt work after anyway...i'd certainly leave it to the professional peeps .. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

I have been in contact with Akspeedo. I'd like to see their instructions before I purchase parts or decide to send it off somewhere. For some odd reason that section of their site is password protected. I've seen PDF instructions for E39 repair.

The repair is a basket case for DIY, show me a man who has done it successfully first time and I will shake his hand and take my cap off to him. In my day I could solder to mil spec but this job is difficulty level 10. I should of saved my £20 and 3 hours for the pub Send off and let the guys who have done it many times have their due pay or get one from a scrapper.

Is this cluster identical to any BMW models? I might get a bad one at a junk yard to practice on. I know its not quite the same but I'd have an idea if I want to trynit on the FF.

i second the post about leaving it to pro guy. i tried and cocked up the fuel guage, and it wasnt quite good either. for £20 you get the ribbon and instructions etc. and then you cock it up and buy another binnacle, (£100) and that one is no better. (and will have the dot) better still send it to akspeedo, and take a £90 hit and its all done. its still cheaper than a new tyre, which the 'road lotto' will throw at you anytime.

I did this just yesterday and as stated already its not for the faint hearted. Im used to doing stuff like this on my old VWs but I wouldnt recommend it to a novice. The instructions make it look straight forward but its super fiddley and one slip of the drill could things badly.

When I had a look there seemed to be two ways to do it, take the whole thing apart which means you need something to assist with reinstalling the needles correctly or drilling through the front so you can get to the screws without taking it all apart...

I'll have a go at anything but to me this looks like a hiding to nothing, to me it's just not worth the £70 odd difference between doing it yourself and letting someone else do it... Pete
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

I got mine back from cartronix today, I posted it to them on Wednesday lunchtime and it was back in my car this (Friday) evening

Absolutely superb job - it's clear, crisp and (finally) readable. Well worth getting it done properly. 2002 Range Rover Td6 Vogue

Hi Chaps,
sent my speedo off to cartronix this am, underneath the unit are the little light things.
has anyone changed these for another colour? is it just the 4 or 5 under there?
cheers
jake 2003 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 on Gas
1961 88" 2.25 diesel - George
Gone - 1997 3.9 V8i Discovery - Burt

Akspeedo hasn't responded to my question to see their instructions before committing to buy. Anybody have a copy?

I did mine myself, it is a bit fiddly but if you take your time it is OK. There is nothing that is glued in which can't be re-done, so if it doesn't work 100% first time just take it apart again and retry. The instructions I had were clear and easy to follow, but I'm afraid I don't know if I still have a copy of them. The whole fix took me a couple of hours or so and total cost was under £20, well worth doing.

MC