Friday, May 25, 2018

Project : W210 - Removing the Instrument Cluster Pt.3



OK here is the "newly" replaced instrumental cluster. Everything is working just like it should except for a few errors on the central LCD.  One thing I am a bit confused was the "Hydraulic Oil Level" error.  I am surprised to see this error because it wasn't on my original instrumental cluster error.  So I did some digging online and found out the the hydraulic system was only fitted in a wagon W210.  The hydraulic help to maintain the ride height in the even of heavy load on the rear boot.

I checked my eBay purchases regarding about this instrumental cluster and found out it was taken out from a wagon W210.  So now I learned that old error from old car will be memorized in the instrumental cluster. 

There is no way I will be able to delete the error.  We will see how it goes in the future.  I might just put back my old instrumental cluster and replaced only the moldy plastic covers.


Here are two more errors that has been popping out for a few years. There are the ASR and ABS.  There are many reasons for these two errors so a proper diagnosis will be in order after I fixed the engine shaking problem.  Thanks for reading!

Monday, May 14, 2018

Project : W210 - Removing the Instrument Cluster Pt.2



Here is the instrument clusters comparison. The top part of the picture as you can see with faded plastic with mold is from my original W210. The bottom half is the used cluster I bought from UK eBay.  Big differences isn't it.


When I bought this instrument cluster, the initial plan was to just replace the plastic bit that was faded with mold and uses back all the original parts.  Then I realized the used instrument cluster actually will work on my car even though the speedometer and rev meter is not correct. As you can see the picture above my W210 is in "km/h" whereas the used instrumental cluster is in "mph".  Thank goodness this cluster has another set of reading in "km/h" only smaller in font size printed below the "mph"


See the rev counter from the picture above ? They are also different.  The one on the left picture is my original cluster that rev peaks at 6000rpm whereas the other peaks at 5000rpm. Not really a big deal because I rarely rev this car over 4000rpm!


The above pic is another comparison of the cluster.  There are several differences as some of the bulbs are missing from the used cluster.


The best part of replacing the cluster is finally my center LCD display is now in full working order! The original cluster has been faulty for about 7 years.  This is very common on the late 90s and early 2000s Mercedes Benz.  

Normally the ribbon connecting the LCD and cluster will require replacement which will set me back around BND$50.00~BND$80.00 and require a proper electrician to weld the ribbon.

Luckily this used cluster LCD is in perfect order so I don't have to replace them.  The only things is now my mileage has drop from 220,xxxkm to 179xxxkm.  This is because this mileage is recorded from the previous car where the cluster is from!

  So far so good on replacing all the parts bought UK!!!