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[Carbine]

'04 3.2 Manual Saloon.

Just had a bunch of work done to repair an issue with the fuel tank.

On the way home the RPM and Speed gauges froze where they were and haven't moved since. Coolant temp and Fuel gauges are not reading at all now. All other instrument panels seem to function normally, including warning lights and back-lighting.


Since this happened I've tried the following with no success:

- Switching ignition on and off.

- Disconnecting battery overnight.

- Removing instrument cluster and ensuring good condition (ribbon style circuit on the rear).

- Checking all fuses are intact and replacing relevant fuses regardless.

- Driving the car for a while.

- Numerous percussive maintenance attempts.

OBD reads RPM on data-feed and car runs as normal.

Any other suggestions? Feeling lost.

[Doctor Gollum]

Have you checked the harness connectors in the footwell, particularly the passenger one.

Pretty much all the instrumentation wiring runs through the two multi plugs on the passenger side.

Also double check the grounding points around the boot and the connections to the pump/sender unit. Under the plate in the boot floor... Four screws

Incidentally, what work was done?

And where in West Sussex are you? I have a couple of days free next week and long term experience with TVP Omegas having owned 2 and am not a million miles from the A29/283.

[TheBoy]

Are the gauges all at their zero points?  That could indicate power issue somewhere, although being ex-plod, that could take some tracking down, as different forces made different mods to each car.

[cam.in.head]

the fault COULD be to do with any of the above yes but also another possibility ( and an exact replica of what happened to mine was ).......
the instrument cluster  contains a pcb inside it which is double layered . the connections between the  two layers have "eyelets" for want of a better description that link one side of the board with the other and due to the heat behind the instrument panel these can expand / loose connection.
removing the board isnt too difficult and you should actually see the bad ones . if you are ok with soldering then you can bypass/ link them out .
 mine lost speedo,tacho and both guages . they just froze where they were and came back to life when the dash cooled down . first instances was a year apart then it gradually turned into every journey !   repair .. no problems since .

[Carbine]

Have you checked the harness connectors in the footwell, particularly the passenger one.

Pretty much all the instrumentation wiring runs through the two multi plugs on the passenger side.

Also double check the grounding points around the boot and the connections to the pump/sender unit. Under the plate in the boot floor... Four screws

Incidentally, what work was done?

And where in West Sussex are you? I have a couple of days free next week and long term experience with TVP Omegas having owned 2 and am not a million miles from the A29/283.

Thanks for your response. Going to look at doing all this today.

I'm nearby to Pulborough.

[Carbine]

Thanks everyone else for the responses. I am going to go through various bits and update when I've got a result.

[Carbine]

the fault COULD be to do with any of the above yes but also another possibility ( and an exact replica of what happened to mine was ).......
the instrument cluster  contains a pcb inside it which is double layered . the connections between the  two layers have "eyelets" for want of a better description that link one side of the board with the other and due to the heat behind the instrument panel these can expand / loose connection.
removing the board isnt too difficult and you should actually see the bad ones . if you are ok with soldering then you can bypass/ link them out .
 mine lost speedo,tacho and both guages . they just froze where they were and came back to life when the dash cooled down . first instances was a year apart then it gradually turned into every journey !   repair .. no problems since .

That sounds interesting. I will check that. Thanks also.

[Carbine]

Are the gauges all at their zero points?  That could indicate power issue somewhere, although being ex-plod, that could take some tracking down, as different forces made different mods to each car.

Only the fuel gauge and coolant temp. RPM and Speed remain pinned where they were whilst driving.

[Carbine]

Checked all the grounds within the engine bay and cleaned them.

Checked the connections in the passenger footwell and removed and reseated them.

I had a look at the flexible circuit board on the rear of the cluster and couldn't see anything that looked broken or wrong.

Issue still persists.

[cam.in.head]

not the flexible section on the back. its the pcb inside the cluster . eeasy enough to open up ,you dont need to remove any needles .the board is inside and held down by a long silver clip .
( this is what was wrong with mine . thats all i can say. yours obviously may be something different .)o

[Carbine]

Sent the instrument cluster to Autotronics for repair after pulling my hair out for a week. They returned the cluster to me in alleged working order after making a repair on the circuit board, but it still doesn't work. Needles aren't moving at all and remain stuck in place, but now at 0.

Have you checked the harness connectors in the footwell, particularly the passenger one.

Pretty much all the instrumentation wiring runs through the two multi plugs on the passenger side.

Also double check the grounding points around the boot and the connections to the pump/sender unit. Under the plate in the boot floor... Four screws

Incidentally, what work was done?

And where in West Sussex are you? I have a couple of days free next week and long term experience with TVP Omegas having owned 2 and am not a million miles from the A29/283.

Where are those grounding points in the boot you speak of?

Also, if you are still offering I'd be so grateful at this point...

[Doctor Gollum]

PM sent

[cam.in.head]

let mr gollum help you if he will. im sure hel check for power to the instruments and find out for you . if its still pointing to a cluster issue il gladly look at the pcb for you ?

[Carbine]

Unfortunately still not working after we had a real good look around the car. Issue perhaps still lies within the instruments themselves, or wiring between instrument and plugs in passenger footwell.

I'm going to attempt to source a replacement instrument panel to verify whether that's the problem.

[cam.in.head]

i assume you have confirmed earth and the two lives to the instrument connector ?
if so then my money is still on the internal pcb