*Petition Audi* Pixelation of the Drivers Display Problems? You have them, come here *MUST READ*
1st Gear
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 125
From: USA
I have the same problem on my wife's Audi A-6 and I don't expect problems of this nature on a car of this caliber. This isn't a Hundai or a Kia and is not priced like either of those .
Kurt
kbunting@verizon.net
Kurt
kbunting@verizon.net
Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 31
I have the same problem with my 2000 A6 4.2L. I have read about this before on here, and I'm pretty sure I have an idea of what's going on. I can't confirm my suspicions though until I get under the dash.
From what I remember, there is an issue with the soldering coming loose or cracking. This isn't really a * quality * issue in the sense that it's bad workmanship... I think it has to do with the type of soldering used to assemble these circuits.
The circuit that runs the display has some pretty tiny traces on it, so with not much solder over time thermal loading can cause damage. It's just natural wear and tear in my opinion. The real clincher is this: RoHS. Ever since the RoHS directives in Europe, they can no longer use solder containing lead. Well, lead is what made it strong and flexible so that thermal loading wouldn't cause premature failure. The use a tin solder instead, which is more brittle.
So, if anyone can find the thread in which the guy took his dash apart and gave a how-to on re-soldering all those connections, please post it up! I'm dying to find it so I can try to fix my display!
Thanks!
From what I remember, there is an issue with the soldering coming loose or cracking. This isn't really a * quality * issue in the sense that it's bad workmanship... I think it has to do with the type of soldering used to assemble these circuits.
The circuit that runs the display has some pretty tiny traces on it, so with not much solder over time thermal loading can cause damage. It's just natural wear and tear in my opinion. The real clincher is this: RoHS. Ever since the RoHS directives in Europe, they can no longer use solder containing lead. Well, lead is what made it strong and flexible so that thermal loading wouldn't cause premature failure. The use a tin solder instead, which is more brittle.
So, if anyone can find the thread in which the guy took his dash apart and gave a how-to on re-soldering all those connections, please post it up! I'm dying to find it so I can try to fix my display!
Thanks!
2nd Gear
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 695
From: New England
It has nothing to do with soldering in most cases - most of the time it's because of the actual ribbon that connects the display and the board. This ribbon contains a microcontroller that computes the data on the board to a matrix-format ready for the display (which, of course, is a matrix).
There isn't an easy answer to this problem. I don't believe any one has really fixed this problem unless it was one of the more rare soldering problems. The easiest is to actually pay the dealer, the next easiest is to buy one off of ebay for 1/4 the price of the dealer, and the third easiest is to send it in to specialists to fix them, there are a few companies who specifically deal with this issue - might take me a while to find them again. Finally the last option is to buy a new screen and ribbon - there is one website that sells them and again, it might take me a while to find it. I think Audizine had something going with that website/guy.
If you don't want to spend a decent amount of money (minimum of $100), you aren't going to be able to fix it. I've had mine apart and being an Electrical Engineer, i can see that there isn't anything wrong with the leads on the ribbon, thus it has to be somewhere between the leads and the display which is the ribbon!
edit: Here is the cable and the links are below it.
WHEW!! I found it: (read the thread)
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...23#post2807423
Here is where they are getting them from:
http://www.sacer.com.cn/ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=69
Here's a site that fixes them (it's in german):
http://www.tachopix.de/pixelerror/na...v/colnav.8940/
There isn't an easy answer to this problem. I don't believe any one has really fixed this problem unless it was one of the more rare soldering problems. The easiest is to actually pay the dealer, the next easiest is to buy one off of ebay for 1/4 the price of the dealer, and the third easiest is to send it in to specialists to fix them, there are a few companies who specifically deal with this issue - might take me a while to find them again. Finally the last option is to buy a new screen and ribbon - there is one website that sells them and again, it might take me a while to find it. I think Audizine had something going with that website/guy.
If you don't want to spend a decent amount of money (minimum of $100), you aren't going to be able to fix it. I've had mine apart and being an Electrical Engineer, i can see that there isn't anything wrong with the leads on the ribbon, thus it has to be somewhere between the leads and the display which is the ribbon!
edit: Here is the cable and the links are below it.
WHEW!! I found it: (read the thread)
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...23#post2807423
Here is where they are getting them from:
http://www.sacer.com.cn/ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=69
Here's a site that fixes them (it's in german):
http://www.tachopix.de/pixelerror/na...v/colnav.8940/
Last edited by nm3210; Sep 25, 2008 at 05:35 PM.
1st Gear
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 7
Pixel issue resolved
I wrote a letter to Audi NA and three weeks later they called back. They got in touch with my dealer (who offered no assistance initially) and then the dealer’s service manager called me and offered to split the cost of the parts and labor for the repair. I went for it. My contribution was around $450. This seemed worth it to me.
The interesting thing is that the dealer replaced the entire instrument cluster not just the center of the display. I back on the road with my A6 and it is perfect once again!
RGW
The interesting thing is that the dealer replaced the entire instrument cluster not just the center of the display. I back on the road with my A6 and it is perfect once again!
RGW
2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 681
From: Jersey City, NJ
count me in on this too. bought my 99 a6 with nothing visible at all anymore except (strangely) in the mornings, when i can barely make out some of the readings. I just turn it off most of the time, hurts my heart a little less if its just off. Also my fuel gauge decides to show whatever it wants within a quarter of a tank of whats really in there. any ideas on if this is a cluster issue or tank? fuel sensor recall was done.
