Odo/Trip & Time date displays failing
 

1999 A8 D2 FL 2.8 2WD
The Odo/Trip and Time/date displays are just barely legible at first start on a cool morning and become rapidly illegible as things warm up. Appears to be the displays themselves are faulty.


I know this isn't a new question. I have had a trawl of this (and other) forums.

This is what I found on this forum.
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15315
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12914
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=13040
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12556
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/album.php?albumid=118
http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12007

Possibly I could send the cluster away to one of the many cluster repair companies. I'm not keen on this idea as the car is my daily driver and if the cluster went astray, getting the car running again would be a world of pain. Also, I'm cheap and can drive a soldering iron quite well.....

So, my main questions:
Has anyone ever found a source for the two offending displays? This bigger central ones.... easy. These two I cannot find.

Failing a new source, what probability I could salvage a the displays from (say) a B6 A4 cluster or similar and transplant? Anyone tried?

Cheers

Nick

You could try contacting Sacer:
https://www.sacer-shop.com/car-brand/audi.html

I've bought a few things from them in the past and they were very helpful. It's possible they might be willing to source the parts if they don't have something compatible in stock.

Thanks for that - I'll mail them.

Nick

Did you get anywhere with this Nick?

Cheers Frank

Hello all.

I have sent the below email to Sacer and Totaltronics. I'll let you know if I get a response.

"Hi*

In the attachment is a picture of the screen fitted to the above car (Audi s8 d2 2002) . As with many cars of this age, they start to fail. I can't find anyone who has any of these as a DIY or a complete repair service. Can you help at all.*

Thanks Frank*

Reply from Totaltronics.

Hi Frank,

unfortunately none of our suppliers has such screen in their offer.

Usually it's because either the car is too rare or the part doesn't fail, hence there is no market for it.

Kind regards
Patryk

totaltronics.com

Just to be clear..... are we all talking about the same screens here?

I'm talking about the ODO/trip and time/date, but the one in the pic looks like the larger, central semi-colour display?

Patryk at TotalTronics reckoned he could do the smaller ones when I discussed it with him.

Need to chase up Sacer......

This fell down the priority list due to recent battles with other aging VAG product in the family. B6 A4, which although relatively low mileage and known history seems to feel that going wrong every two weeks is acceptable... And its an absolute horror to work on.

Then there is a recently acquired Octavia II. It looks ok from on top, but when you get right under it..... seems to have been used for boat launching into salt water. Was apparently MoT'd by a blind man last time as all flexihoses split..... which would be easy enough to sort if all the hard line fittings weren't corroded solid. The powder coated pipe is the very devil to re-flare :mad:

Nick

Yeah..... Sorry Nick, I am actually talking about the color center display. Misunderstood your thread. I'll jump to the thread that's specific to this display when I get something to update.

Assuming they are the same brake fittings as the D2 with the C-shaped spring holding the flexi in to the bracket:

1. Press the brake pedal and hold it down with a broom. This stops fluid draining out when you open the system
2. Try and get the hardline union moving in the flexi fitting, but obviously don't turn it too far otherwise you'll corkscrew the hardline. Just enough that it comes loose.
3. Cut the flex off as that is sacrificial.
4. Cut the C-shaped spring off (chunky wire cutters + metal fatigue)
5. You're left with the hardline and the flexi end fitting. Hold the hardline fitting still and wind the flexi fitting off it (mole grips etc)
6. Let the brake fluid drip out (won't be much - only the downward portion of the line, as the master cylinder is cutting off fluid flow from the reservoir)
7. Heat the hardline union with a blowtorch until the plastic coating melts and oozes out of the union, then before it cools use a spanner etc to wiggle it and get it rotating. You can then wiggle it up from the flare whereupon you can clean out all the corrosion and old plastic and eventually get the fitting to spin freely.
8. Clean the end of the hardline with sandpaper and thinners and paint it with direct-to-metal paint (I use Rustoleum).
9. When the paint is dry, reassemble with the new flexi and a replacement C spring, then I usually give it a squirt of spray grease or waxoyl to stop moisture getting in again.

Thanks for this MJ. Some good tips there. Especially holding down the brake pedal to prevent fluid loss (why have I never twigged that one before?). Only snag is that the designers must have realised they had inadvertently left a work-around loophole with the C-clip design and the Skoda is different. The fittings on the end of the flexihoses have flats to prevent them rotating in the support bracket and a single forked clip to hold them in it. This means your trick can only work fully where there is enough freedom in the hard line to release the fitting from its bracket while the joint is still done up. It would have worked on one side, but not the other.

FWIW, the more exposed pipes on my C4 A6 seem to be made of Kunifer and still mostly undo even after 24 years.....

Nick