Porsche Cayenne Turbo Main Dashboard Digital Display Repair

[Roli Savvaris]

Dear members,

I am so happy I can CONFIRM that the main dashboard digital display is finally working (lighting up) again properly.

I am writing this because there have been some issues which I need to add to help fellow members repair their display which were not previously covered.

Of course I would not have managed to do this without the help of the forum and the other members who contributed before me.

I believe this fix is only for the turbo models which have the 2 transformers on the backside of the tachometer, so it should be different from the S and standard cayenne.

First of all, in the previous topics explaining this fix, they started with the cayenne turbo fix and ended up talking about the other models making things complicated,... this is only for the Cayenne TURBO I repeat.

I have taken pictures of extra steps to be followed to make this a bit more user friendly.

First of all, my main display all of a sudden stopped lighting up the LED in the middle section of the dashboard. This is where you can check the menu of the car, mileage/kilometer reading, digital speed display and other functions.

I need to make a note, there are two brown transformers behind the display, one is for the lights of this main display unit and the other one I think must be for the lights lighting up the analog dials (speed, rpm, oil temp, turbo, water temp,). I say this because only the main dispay was not lighting up (but visible at night at a very weak light visibility meaning it was working but not lighting up) while the analog dials were lighting up as normal. I only changed the one transformer and it fixed the issue. I wish I had ordered another transformer to replace the other one just in case as it would have only costed me an extra US$29. I am saying this because you need 1 or 2 hours to remove the dashboard unit, and the person who did the soldering for this transformer would have done the second one for free. He actually had to do it twice, but because he soldered it on the wrong side initially as he was too tired from a long day so he had to remove it and resolder it properly.

A couple of notes, after removing the air ventilation unit you have to remove a rubber cap from around the key lock. Underneath is a plastic circle which needs to be unscrewed (anticlockwise) so that it gets removed and the key lock is loose enabling the covers to be removed so that you can get to the screws behind it. This was not mentioned previously and should be noted.

The next step is removing the screws behind the vent/lock surround frame, and then in the middle of the display cluster there are two more screws underneath the cluster in the middle section which should be removed so that the display cluster is finally loose.

Then, there are two cables behind which come off similar to cpu's from computers, the have a hatch which needs to be pulled outwards away from the cable plastic unit and voila the cluster is free.

Next, removing the dashboard display cluster and repairing it is a whole new process (new ball game) and has not been covered anywhere on the net since non-turbo users changed topic and started writing of putting in turbo displays which they found on ebay to make the dash look a bit more fancy (though the turbo gauge would be there only for show and the battery power gauge would not be there any more)

So after removing the dash display unit, you have to remove 6 screws (smaller than the T20 previously used so far in the process - I think T15 or something else) and then remove the clips to remove the outer back plastic.

Next you need to get hold of the bottom of the motherboard which is pretty difficult if you don't know what you are doing.

To do this is easy if you do it once or have someone to tell you how to do it without damaging the unit and especially the dials.

The are 3 screws on the motherboard which you need to remove. Next, which is the tricky bit, You need to turn each dial ( oil temp, speed, water temp, rpm, and turbo) ANTICLOCKWISE many times till each dial is loose and gets removed. Without doing this it is impossible to remove the motherboard without damaging the unit. Now that this is done you can untighten the plastic clips to get a hold of the motherboard.

Next, there are 2 brown transformers. The one you need to change (although as I stated before you might as well change both of them at the same time) is the one with the white and orange cable close to it as this white and orange cables are the ones going towards the display unit. I gave it a chance and tried this one first because of the wire colouring and it worked.

To do this, you need an experienced person with good soldering skills. Which is why I left my mechanic and took the unit to a computer repair person. What he did was the following: He heated up the bottom side of the brown transformer (not the side you see the transformer but the side you see the 6 plus 2 metal pins coming out the other end) and cleaned it and removed it. He then soldered the new brown transformer in place. I took the unit to the car (without putting the dials back on) in order to test that the lights are working and I thanked God that they were.

Went back to the pc repair man and he put back the dials by moving them CLOCKWISE till the were strong back in place and at the zero mark for all dials. I will have to move the Speed and RPM dials to -3 miles per hour and some RPM down (by turning them clockwise till they get there) as these two dials will slightly move up when the engine is started. At the moment, the car when turned on showns 3 miles per hour when the digital is on 0mph. Which means when driving, the digital mph shows say 25mph while the analogue dial shows 28mph.

Now regarding the links I used for the first stage, which I can't seem to find any more, you can view the stripping process by opening this PDF from this location:

http://www.soloporsc...rbo_Cluster.pdf

At the top it says click here to view the original topic but the link is dead.

Moreover, here is a picture of the lock and the plastic bits that have to be removed.

I can confirm that this solution worked for me and saved me a lot of money from going to Porsche who would have sold me a unit for 1500 pounds plus labour, or going to someone else who said he would repair it for me for 500 pounds (about 470 pounds in his pocket for a couple of hours or less since the transformers cost US$52 including the DHL 3 day delivery from China (ordered it on the Friday 17th August and got it today (bearing in mind the weekend in between)

As for the transformer, I bought it from the following (highlighted in red) who were previously recommended in your other posts and paid by paypal:

hello

Transformer for TOUAREG, PORSCHE and BENTLEY instrument Cluster Illumination Repair

price: 29usd

shipping to UK: 23USD BY DHL

TOTAL: 52USD

you can by paypal

our paypal address: lily@keyecu.com

or make order in our web, and make online payment via paypal

emily

best regards

www.keyecu.com

msn: info@keyecu.com

email: info@keyecu.com

skype: keyecu

I hope this post will help someone save money on repairing their TURBO dash display.

Keep up the good work fellow members.

[hahnmgh63]

This could be a life saver. Thanks for the info.

[bigbuzuki]

IIRC to remove the gauge needles from their shafts was a matter of pushing and turning the needle anti clockwise about 1/8" from it's natural stop and then pulling it off it's spline.

Same pushing, anti clockwise procedure and pushing them on for reinstalling.

Edited August 22, 2012 by bigbuzuki

[Roli Savvaris]

Hi again, here are some more tips,...

I should not have used my mechanics panel removal tool and used the plastic ones as covered in the previous posts,... you can see some markings on the leather under the airvent in the pics. I opened the box again and moved the needles about a centimeter down and tested and it works in line accurately with the digital display now.

I have also added a pic of the blue and green cables since I was there and a few pics of the new transformer which you can see is different than the original which had a green dot on it and is slightly bulkier,... I hope these are more reliable, although since I recently purchased this car and don't know if the previous owners ever changed them they might have done 97K so far over 6 years.

The other thing to make note is the one screw in the back of the top dash cover hidden in the rear darkness needs a long screw driver so I took a pictures of the tools I used - make sure not to use the metal removal tool or you will scratch the leather as noted above. (by the way although off topic, anybody know how I can repair the leather damage - I also got a scratch from glass which was broken when one thief broke the driver window)

There is a picture showing the front of the dash without the needles (and withot the thin plastic layer which has the readings on it (0-180 miles per hour). As a side note, would this plastic be available from Porsche as km/h for people who want to export their British or American car to countries with kilimeters/hour and vice versa for people importing cars to get the miles/hour plastic cover,... this is not stuck on the front and it is not painted, it is a thin strip of black plastick with white and red numbers and figures as we see it when lit)

This would be helpful for people who in some other posts were thinking of paying 1500 for a new instrument cluster because of import rules they have to abide by since although the digital display can change to km/h or m/h but the law states that the analogue must be the same as the countries say for passing an mot and dealing with import regulations)

Oh, and you will need the magnet tool if your T20s are not magnetized as there are some srews in awkward places and you will have to use a spot light if they accidentally fall behind.

Also, apology for the previous person posting as they had made note of the keylock fixing mechanism,... I wasn't paying attention like with the fault in damaging the leather here.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

[Loren]

I like to use plastic tools like these on dash and other delicate pieces.

These are laptop/tablet tools but they work well on Porsches too -- and you can't beat the prices...

http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Plastic-Opening-Tools/IF145-000?utm_source=ifixit_guide&utm_medium=wiki_text&utm_term=if145-000&utm_content=product_link#productDescription

[Roli Savvaris]

Thanks Loren,

Gotta get my hands on a pair of these :)

[gbstu]

Great thread!! Roli, did you happen to find the speaker for the indictors/warning signal during your repair? I understand it is part of the cluster, my speaker gave up a few months ago....I'm about to pull the instrument cluster to see if I can repair, thx, Stu

[Roli Savvaris]

Yup, It is in there, I didn't take a pic of it though sorry. You will not need to remove the speedo dials as it is behind the first cover,...

[Roli Savvaris]

Hi Stu,

Did you manage to fix your speakers?

[gbstu]

Roli, haven’t pulled the cluster yet, when I do I will take pictures and report back

[gbstu]

Finally got around to fixing the speaker:

I found the part number of the speaker and tried to source it direct from Germany, the manufacturer’s min order qty was 1000pcs (and no US distributor). I found a seller on a Touareg forum offering the exact speaker, for $90 (a $2 speaker).

The speaker is 32ohm, I sourced a similar speaker on ebay for $3. It was 2mm smaller in dia so it did not snap into the back of the cluster perfectly; I used a little JB weld to hold it in place. I cut the wires and connector off the old speaker and soldered them to the new one (the clear/white speaker is the failed unit). The toughest part of the job was getting the cluster out.

FYI, the cheapest turbo cluster I found was $1700.

Hope this helps someone,

Thx, Stu

PS, the sound and volume are perfect.

[bigbuzuki]

Congrats on the repair.

Can you advise if the original speaker had any obvious damage. Was it open circuit, was the diaphragm torn etc.

Also what are the dimensions of the original and replacement speakers that you used.

Thanks.

Edited February 3, 2013 by bigbuzuki

[gbstu]

The speaker diaphragm was damaged. Original speaker 31mm, replacement 29mm.

[royxaxa]

is this speaker responsible for the turning signal "click" as well?

[gbstu]

Yes, this is the turn signal speaker

[royxaxa]

thanks for the reply Stu

apparently mine was broken :(

Edited February 3, 2013 by royxaxa

[mikeymikey]

Did anyone run into the issue with removing gauge needles? As per the post, I rotated them counter-clockwise and every needle except the RPM came off. I kept rotating the RPM needle but it does not come off.

Also, I notice that there is a play in the needles when putting them back on? Is that normal?

Thanks

[mikeymikey]

Update:

I removed the tach needle as well and gotten to a point where I have pulled the motherboard out and going to a local TV repair shop to get the transformer soldered.

Anyone has any recommendations to replace or change anything while I have the cluster removed? It is a painful process....

[mikeymikey]

I finally had the local car audio repair shop solder in new transformer, brough home and plugged in and, to my bad luck, it has not worked. The display is still very faded and I can only read if I use a flashlight directly on the display.

Anyone has any recommendations before I head to the dealer on Monday to get a new cluster insallted. It is about $3500 + installation. :angry:

[linksamui]

I did the soldering myself got the Multi color display back working nicely but the analog went dark on me. Will have to re turn somenofnthe dials. Got my fuel on empty most of the time when im 1/4 of a tank. So it would have to come back out again.

I think eventually these display screen will go bad my screen is about 85 percent condition. Anyone have an idea where to sort replacement?

[binger]

BBA Reman is one of the worlds leading automotive remanufacturers. I dont work for them however I use there service. Check out the link below.

http://www.bba-reman.com/catalogue/DetailedProduct.aspx?DetailedProduct=1398

[linksamui]

Took the cluster apart fixed the analog lighting then I opened the door the analog light went out again.

[ChinchiChiang]

Great DIY article. Changed both transformers today. Work as expected. Took more time taking trim pieces apart than the actual work. Not a hard job and definitely not worth buying a new display from Porsche:)

[linksamui]

I changed the two transformers the display worked for about 2 weeks and it's acting up again. It go on and off every time I hit the bumps on the road. First it was the analog that go bright or dim on its own. Now its the the display. The analog didn't do this before but the display was dark then it came back when it want to then it black again.

[Loren]

I changed the two transformers the display worked for about 2 weeks and it's acting up again. It go on and off every time I hit the bumps on the road. First it was the analog that go bright or dim on its own. Now its the the display. The analog didn't do this before but the display was dark then it came back when it want to then it black again.

This sounds like a loose connection or bad soldering.