Hi all,

 

My partners 2012 Fabia Elegances instrument cluster is faulty, the “needles” for the speedometer, tachometer, fuel & temperature gauges don’t illuminate (the rest of the cluster does) and I’m told it needs a new cluster or, the old one repairing.

 

I’ve found a replacement cluster online from a 2012 car but, it does not have the fuel & temperature gauges, I’m assuming that’s displayed in the digital screen in between the tachometer & speedometer.

 

Whilst it would be ideal to have a matching cluster, I’ve struggled to find one anyway and it’s not a deal breaker she isn’t bothered so long as she can read her speed at night!

 

would this cluster work with my partners Fabia? If so, would there be any issue with the recorded mileage or is it not stored in the cluster as such?

 

Thanks for your help. :)

 

 

The immobiliser is in the cluster so you can’t “plug and play” anything, not even a genuine exchange panel, what is the VIN?

Edited 21 May, 20233 yr by Crasher

6 minutes ago, Crasher said:

The immobiliser is in the cluster so you can’t “plug and play” anything, not even a genuine exchange panel, what is the VIN?

Thanks for the reply.

 

Firstly, I’ve realised I was searching incorrectly and now have found a matching cluster! 🙄 
I’ve just photographed the VIN for you.

The old one can be repaired, given that it's all four needles I imagine they're all illuminated by the same failed LED which can be replaced by a workshop with the necessary equipment.

Just now, sepulchrave said:

The old one can be repaired, given that it's all four needles I imagine they're all illuminated by the same failed LED which can be replaced by a workshop with the necessary equipment.

Yes, I’ve looked into that and had a few quotes around £100,which of course involves the hassle of sending the old cluster away for repair but the car is in daily use - given used cluster’s are around £40 and my mechanic has the kit to code VAG cars, I’m preferring the cheaper option.

I very much doubt that your mechanic will be able to disable the immobiliser, he probably is not even aware of it.

 

Ther will also be the issue of the mileage recorded on the 2nd hand cluster being different to that on the ECU.

 

I had my cluster repaired while I waited at a place on the south coast, might have been Portsmouth.

 

These places usually do a very quick turnaround, repairs only take 10 minutes and they are sending out and recieving 100s of units a day.

 

Going the second hand replacement route is going to give you loads of grief and expense.

Any holidays coming up when the car won't be used? I'd be happy to attempt repair by post on a no success no charge basis, and at a lot less than £100 if successful. 

 

On the mk1s there's a track that goes under a sticker on the back of the cluster that sometimes overheats and burns out, can't remember which LEDs that takes out but might well be these. 

I get the genuine part number as being 5J0 920 941 D

On 21/05/2023 at 12:19, J.R. said:

I very much doubt that your mechanic will be able to disable the immobiliser, he probably is not even aware of it.

 

Ther will also be the issue of the mileage recorded on the 2nd hand cluster being different to that on the ECU.

 

I had my cluster repaired while I waited at a place on the south coast, might have been Portsmouth.

 

These places usually do a very quick turnaround, repairs only take 10 minutes and they are sending out and recieving 100s of units a day.

 

Going the second hand replacement route is going to give you loads of grief and expense.

I’ve spoken with my mechanic today and he confirmed that he has both done this previously and can do it for our Fabia, it’s a relatively common issue and he can indeed recode the cluster to her car so this will be my play.

Ok, I forget that Fabias are often simpler and the tech can lag behind other VAG platforms.

 

What I spoke of was correct for a MK2 Octavia 6 years earlier than your Fabia.

 

If he manages to overcome the immobiliser and mileage issues please let us know.

5 hours ago, J.R. said:

Ok, I forget that Fabias are often simpler and the tech can lag behind other VAG platforms.

 

What I spoke of was correct for a MK2 Octavia 6 years earlier than your Fabia.

 

If he manages to overcome the immobiliser and mileage issues please let us know.

I will certainly keep you posted, I’ve noticed on a few of the eBay listings for clusters it mentions the requirement for coding to the vehicle so I’m assuming it is indeed a relatively common issue, not much point in breakers selling such parts were it not possible to reuse them I suppose.

 

Yes it will be good to learn, my only experience was a change of ECU (a remapped one) which had the immobiliser function disabled as otherwise the vehicle would not have started due to the data stored in the instrument cluster.

 

I think the ECU and instrument cluster together can be taken from one vehicle and used on another but not individually, it sounds like the new instrument cluster can be recoded copying your immobiliser data.

5 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Yes it will be good to learn, my only experience was a change of ECU (a remapped one) which had the immobiliser function disabled as otherwise the vehicle would not have started due to the data stored in the instrument cluster.

 

I think the ECU and instrument cluster together can be taken from one vehicle and used on another but not individually, it sounds like the new instrument cluster can be recoded copying your immobiliser data.

I’m certainly hoping this is the case, my mechanic is certainly confident and after years of service with my own Volvo V70, I certainly don’t doubt him, time will tell!