1998 986 base - 30.8k miles - flawless condition
Garage queen sleeping in the garage for about 10 days. Storage temps usually around 55-60F.
I put the key in and was presented with this. WTF?
I did a bit of research. The LCD laminate layers are breaking down. Also a common occurrence with the climate control module. The instrument cluster presents a more complex repair as it was never intended to be repaired. The flex cable connecting the panel to the cluster board is soldered in. This requires highly specialized tooling and very special skills to solder a flex cable without melting.
I called several speedo shops including Palo Alto Speedometer. They wouldn't touch it and suggested finding a new cluster and reprogram milage. I then contacted VDOrepair.com and was quoted $389 (with return shipping) to repair the cluster. This was cheaper than finding a used (unknown) cluster and having the milage reprogrammed. I shipped the cluster to VDOrepair over the weekend and I should have it back in the car in a few days..
Will this happen to all of our clusters over time?
This car was stored in a stable temperature environment.
