.....

 

You got a great deal on that cluster! And this is certainly a project you could tackle, with the right guidance. I swapped in a LCD cluster to my non-LCD car and it's mostly functioning (don't have washer fluid level, brake pad wear sensors, radio wiring because of aftermarket stereo).

Check this out to find out what it would take to get that cluster functioning in your car:
Understanding differences between Audi A4 clusters and the compatibility issues - AudiWorld Forums

As for the mileage, it can be reset. There's a member on VWVortex/Fourtitude and Audizine (same guy) who can read the EEPROM on the cluster and write some mileage value less than 100 miles, essentially resetting it. When the cluster mileage is less than 100 you can use VAG-COM to input your car's actual mileage so it doesn't skip a beat. When I did this I unsoldered the EEPROM from the cluster's circuit board and sent it to him using a letter envelope, and paid something like $25. Then I soldered it back on. Alternatively you can send him the cluster and pay a little more if you don't have the ability to unsolder/solder on small SMD chips.

To make use of the LCD cluster you really do need the new wiper arm. Without it that cluster is useless IMO. You have the advantage of having a vehicle to steal all of the wiring and parts from, which is awesome as long as you're willing to do a little wire routing/installation.

Lastly: if there are dead pixels, the same member I mentioned above sells new LCD screens, and for a price may also install them. I installed the LCD screen myself, but I've got extensive soldering experience.

 

Fantastic info! The mileage problem was my main concern. If that can be sorted out I will pursue this mod.

So, looks like I have to go back to get that wiper arm!

I don't mind soldering, got plenty of experience.

Today I'll pull my cluster and hook this one up to see where it stands.

Ahem....now I'm kicking myself that I cut the red connector off the wiring harness since I was in a rush...

Is there anything else I should grab for this swap while I'm there? Relays?

Edit: MetalMan, any idea why I can't recode that ECU for a manual? I've searched and searched and found the info about login codes, tried that to no avail. I can change the car to FWD/Quattro, but not to manual from auto. Could it be because the ECU is from a canadian car?

 

Updates on my other projects:

Polished intake manifold: Still need to finish cleaning up some casting marks and get it media blasted.

New valve cover/upper coolant pipe: Thinking about getting it powder coated a matte/wrinkle blue (or paint matched??). I might end up with red, but I think blue would fit with the car better, if it looks right.

Flip key remote: Seems to be somewhat intermittent, confirmed last night with vag com. I may try to reroute the antenna. I've already spent $100 on this project so I might as well get the key cut and try it out in daily use. Might get that done today.

Fog lights: Haven't touched them yet. Searching for fog light grilles on ebay and the classifieds with no luck so far. Considering getting just the fog light surround and making my own RS4 style lowers grilles.

I still have an electrical gremlin somewhere that I'm trying to track down. That has motivated me to redo all the wiring I have done and to redo the shitty stereo wiring that the PO installed.

I should also diagnose why my cruise control doesn't work..at least I'm keeping busy!

 

There aren't any relays associated with the cluster that I know of (aside from the ones already in your car). For wiring, there will be at least one wire going to the ECU (fuel consumption signal, for MPG readout), 3-ish wires going to the radio (to read which station your on, CD #, etc) and 5-ish wires going to the wiper arm.

Since I didn't have the wiper arm harness I got fancy with wiring... spliced in a ground from the ignition switch wiring, and may have also picked up a +12V switched line from there. Then there are (I believe) 3 signal wires which all go to that 3rd cluster connector.

On your current cluster there will be only a few wires going to the 3rd connector. Based on what I did with my wiring, I only used one of those wires for the new cluster: it's the wire which comes from the climate control unit, to display the ambient temperature on the screen. You'll have to bust out the voltmeter and try to guess which wire it is, but have faith! I was able to figure out which wire was the temperature signal on the first try

Do you mind me asking what sort of soldering experience you have, and/or how you got that experience?

 

Lukas, I recoded ECUs for Meloman and tware4021, going auto to manual, and in both cases even though the donor cars were American, they were country-coded for Canada. I had to change them to America, and in meloman's case, it took a couple code change-and-save cycles for the ECU to take the recode. Try it a few times - recode for the proper transmission, save it, back out, go back in, and see if the save took. If not, change to USA and do it again - not sure why I had to do it more than once but eventually the recode for manual-US saved and everything worked.

 

Sounds good, I finished reading through that whole thread. I have an aftermarket radio as well so I won't worry about those wires. I'm most concerned with getting the MPG data.

I don't plan to pull the whole harness, but I'll take a look when I go back tomorrow, couldn't make it there today. So I'll probably follow your route and get creative with the wiring.

Hmm, I'm sure I'll have more questions as I actually get into the wiring. My cluster has the small, I believe 8 pin, black connector at the bottom. A guy was just posting about that connector in the thread and it looks like I'll have a little more work to do since there is no pin out of my connector available currently.

I don't profess to be a soldering guru, I've just grown up working on projects with my dad, a lot of which involved soldering. I used to construct those build it yourself circuit boards for clapper lights, things like that.

Were those cars actually from Canada? This one is from Canada, including having the warnings in French! What exactly do you mean by changing the country? The ECU is currently coded as 06251. I need it to be 06201 but it won't take that recode. I CAN however recode it to say 06051. The first two digits, 06, should be a US code already.

On a different note I got the new door pulls and latch installed. What an improvement!

Before:


After:


Before:


After:

 

Oh and I found out why my door handle was floppy.

 

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I am in CA And have computer issues that won't allow it to pass smog. Any Ideas?