my cluster on my a6 went out all the lines are gone,is there anyway i can fix this problem without having to buy a new one

 

nope

 

These guys have reman units : http://www.bba-reman.com

Or maybe salvage? some listed on http://www.VAGLinks.com

Cheers
Massboykie

 

Did you check if the instrument bulbs behind the cluster displayare burnt out? Shine a flash light at the display to see if it still is working. On my 1998 A6 wagon, the transmission range indicator and the outside temperature indicator had burnt out bulbs which were soldered dirrectly to the printed circuit boards. You can get replacement bulbs for those at Radio Shack.

 

A6hcw,

Soldered to the boards? Both those are burnt out on mine. Think I will pass if that is so.

Trip meter won't reset, think I will have to start a thread about that. Like to have a direct number instead of calcs to figure mileage on fillups.

Cheers,

George

jj,

"All the lines are gone." What's that mean, anyhow? All the traces on the board, all the wires in the connector to it? Excuse me if I am dense.

 

The most common problems with the instrument clusters would be burnt out bulbs and dirty connections. Another problem with 2000 and newer, might be the immobilizer. See www.ross-tech.com and search for immobilizer.
What do you mean by " all of the lines are gone"?
For bulbs which are soldered on, there is a "desoldering wick" which soaks up the old solder. Once the solder is gone the bulb wires can be pulled out with a needle nose pliers. All you need is rosin core solder, the desoldering wick, a pencil soldering iron, a needle nose pliers,a wire cutter, screw divers, torq bit screw drivers, etc.
Most of the instrument bulbs screw out, but these arenot usually stocked at local auto stores.

 

Search the forum for "Instrument Cluster Bulbs", which gives more information.

 

The bba-reman option above seems to be a good idea for $200 and I'll probably do it when it gets worse. Right now my 04 has 57,000 miles and it dims when its hot out. AC works well as a temp solution .