Turning on ignition kills instrument cluster

[silasramsbottom]

Switching on the ignition in my mkII Octavia kills the instrument cluster such that nothing shows, it doesn't light up, the gauges drop to zero and the indicators/hazards work but make no sound. I get a bit of flicker and then everything goes off.

 

Everything else works fine and all of the fuses in the engine bay and under the dashboard look fine.

 

I'd suspect wiring but the instrument cluster works absolutely fine until I turn the key to start the engine.

 

Anyone got any ideas?

[silasramsbottom]

Apparently it's just the common instrument cluster problem. The reason that it powers down when I turn the ignition is that then causes the ECU to shut it down. 

 

 

[silasramsbottom]

So weirdly, the instrument cluster comes back to life at the weekend, but the battery drains and I can hear some beeping sound from under the bonnet.

 

This morning, I jump start it and everything works fine. Independent garage that I took it to can't find any fault and think that the surge I gave it from jump starting it had resolved the issue and that I'm better not paying for a replacement instrument cluster unless it plays up again.

 

Bit of a relief as I've been quoted £813-£1000 for a genuine replacement to be supplied and fitted.

[Cryonut]

Have you washed the engine bay?

 

I had a similar issue when changing the brake fluid, the Gunson easy bleed came off the master cylinder, used a hose pipe to wash all the brake fluid, the next day the cluster died, took about 2 weeks to dry out and return to normal.

[silasramsbottom]

8 minutes ago, Cryonut said:

Have you washed the engine bay?

 

I had a similar issue when changing the brake fluid, the Gunson easy bleed came off the master cylinder, used a hose pipe to wash all the brake fluid, the next day the cluster died, took about 2 weeks to dry out and return to normal.

 

Haven't washed the engine bay, but should as it looks terrible! I'm based in Glasgow and we've had a lot of days with very cold temperatures plus the car only does short journeys to my son's nursery and back mainly. So maybe these factors contributed.