Instrument cluster question

[Britrover]

In need of some minor help as I am not seeing this covered in the 986 operators manual. I had my instrument cluster disconnected and taken out to investigate a clunk in the steering column. Now that the cluster is back on, the left gauge reads 599999 and I don’t know how to reset it to the actual value. I am sure others have run into this issue so would appreciate some guidance on getting this sorted.

[Britrover]

Anyone? I tried playing with the settings again to no avail.

[DrCactus]

Guess: Pull the fuse and reset it....

[RandallNeighbour]

I'm sitting here puzzled. That's a first for me and I've been yanking out clusters from my car for ten years now.

My first thought is that you need to a) unhook the negative battery terminal and b) unplug all three plugs on the back of the cluster and reseat them.

This may be something as simple as a plug that's not fully seated.

I'd definitely pull the fuse for the cluster first though, as that's much easier.

Just for general knowledge, did you take the negative terminal off the battery before you began work?

[KevinH1990]

My best guess is that your cluster was exposed to some type of electrical charge that corrupted your mileage data. The mileage is stored in encrypted form on an EPROM chip located on a circuit board in the cluster. You should be able to reprogram the chip, but that is a fairly complex process that requires some specialized equipment. You can read what I learned about programming a gauge cluster including step-by-step instructions here:

Programming a 996 Cluster to Work in a 986 - Rennlist Discussion Forums

Unfortunately, I don't know the encryption protocol that would allow you to substitute your actual mileage for the corrupted data. There may be a shop in the UK that can do it for you. (Check Boxa.net) In the U.S. I think Palo Alto Speedometer and North Hollywood Speedometer offer this service. I've heard that they charge about $200-$250 to program it.

I hope that someone else has a better suggestion.

Good luck.

[Chuck W.]

I read a ton of threads regarding clusters prior to swapping mine for a 996 one. And, I never read of anyone having the issue your having. I would guess that Kevin is correct that an electrical charge did it in.

So, do you send it in to have it reset to your mileage or put a new one in? Is yours fried? Can't help you there. If you elect to have yours reset, I used ODO-PRO.COM - Odo-Pro.com - The Digital Odometer Professionals to reset the 996 cluster to my mileage and can recommend them; $90 including return shipping.

Keep us posted and good luck.

Edit: Just noticed you're in the UK. Hopefully you have a company there that can help you out.

[Bobiam]

Originally Posted by DrCactus

Guess: Pull the fuse and reset it....

If this does not work disconnect the batt for a total reboot.