Hi,

At some point whilst driving, I noticed my display had changed from the usual green & black, to this inverted black & white. It still seems to be working, and I've turned the ignition off and tried the < > &Info soft reset, but not fixed it.

It's not just that the green channel of the RGB has failed, as that would result in a magenta tint to everything. Making sure Day/Night mode is set to Day has no effect on non-map screens, as expected.

 

I have access to VCDS if that would help diagnose or fix it...

You could look at VCDS but there's not much it's likely to tell you I'm afraid. The screen is driven from a different board to the rest of the unit, and most likely it's a screen or screen board failure.

Shoot me a message if you want it looking at.

Indeed. VCDS shows no related radio faults.

 

I suspect posting the whole unit to North Yorks would cost as much as a replacement display. Is there any difference between manufacturers, or would just swapping the display module for something like https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384057860375 be an easy fix? Does the VW/Skoda/Etc branding sit in the display module or with the main radio unit?

There's a few different models of screen, but all made by Continental. The one you linked to is a VW branded one and as such will have red LEDs rather than green like yours. The boot screen and menu colours are driven from the main board though.

 

Ultimately it depends how handy you are with a set of torx drivers and ribbon cable connections as to whether or not you go for a self fix. But I'll ship you a tested Skoda display like the one you linked to for less than he wants for the wrong one.

 

 

I don't think red lighting would be right

 

How much would you charge for the correct one?

Ah ******. Just had a closer look at your unit, it's one of the early ones with the speaker button top right. I don't have anything to replace that other than a complete unit.

Is it just a different picture printed on the button, or does the panel have different functionality/connectivity to the main unit? I could cope with the 'wrong' symbol if it worked the same. I suspect the cables are different between models so they wont even plug in, but it's worth asking...

No, completely different screen, different connectors and hardware I'm afraid.

I managed to find a donor on eBay with the freezing-up issue but with a working display & touchscreen; now nicely transplanted.

 

So now I find myself with a spare locking-up main unit and a dicky display that could be fun to try to sort out

Is there a recommended way of getting the metal backing plate off of the rear of the display module without breaking the plastic clips? Neither plastic surround nor metal tags seem to have enough give in them to easily release.

Small screwdriver into the slot & pry gently outwards while holding the metal backing up & the plastic part down. It's a knack but fairly simple once you get it. Do the two at the top first and the three at the bottom are easy after that.

Thanks. I'll give it a go. What's the worst that can happen

Worst is, you broke a broken display. 🥲

 

But seriously, the plastic might crack but I've never done it.