whats wrong with my gauges?

[indygurl]

For the last few weeks since it has been really cold and using my heat more often, my gauges do this. at first they were fine and would go back to normal when the car cooled down now it stays this way. Does anyone know why. And it is only this one square that does it.

[heavywoody]

It's probably an issue with the solder joints for that section of the display. Or a bad bulb. Cold temps do weird things to the digital clusters.

[indygurl]

Checked the bulb so maybe it will work right this summer. At least I can see it when I get at that angle. I just need to know how long my tank will last until I repair my sending united next months.

[indygurl]

It just bothers me when it doesn't work. It's my fourth cluster.

[3X00-Modified]

Where are you getting them from? all just "used"? If so I think it's time to send one to someone for proper repair and not just gamble with a 24yr old part.

[RobertISaar]

it is an operating characteristic of old LCD displays(assuming it is LCD, not LED).... in addition to poor contrast ratios, bad viewing angles aren't surprising.

why it does that when warm..... i'm not entirely sure. normally, that kind of situation is only present when it is very cold out, the "liquid" part of LCDs will actually freeze and cause weird characters.

[indygurl]

I think it was because it was so cold out then when it gets warm. Now that it's back to about 30-40° it is working fine again.

[RobertISaar]

going from extreme cold to warm/hot will cause condensation issues for a period of time(think soda can coming out of a refrigerator). the condensation eventually evaporates/boils off though.

did it ever go away after a long period of time of running? i really couldn't give an estimate of how long that could take though.

[Rettax3]

AAAAHHHH! Okay, YES your instruments are LCD (not LED or plasma). NO it isn't a problem with the bulbs -or you just wouldn't see it well or at all, it is a back-lit display for those who don't have one or haven't played with them. NO it isn't a solder-joint problem (almost certainly). The displays use polarized lenses to interact with the liquid crystals, when voltage is applied it causes the crystals to orient themselves in one direction, and a polarized lens allows light to be either blocked or passed through. So, the crystals in your display (that one display is a separate module than the others, which is why it is the only one acting odd). The Berettas use a metalized contact-surface on the glass LCD housing. That surface needs to be cleaned (thoroughly, yet delicately) for the very low voltage passing through them to get cleanly through so the crystals in the segments of the display orient fully.

Basically, in a clean, static-free area, disassemble the cluster until you have gotten each of the three individual modules out (or at least the one you want to fix), remove the glass LCD panel, and gently wipe down the contact surfaces with rubbing alcohol. Also clean the surfaces where the LCD panel touches, so it has a clean place to connect to. Re-assemble and test.

Now is a perfect time to swap-out the orange lens with another color if you want to. On my Yellow Indy, I replaced it with a white fibrous material, and the stock incandescent bulbs glow through a nice golden-yellow. I plan on swapping the panels out on my Teal Indy someday too, with a turquoise-ish color to compliment that car, and my white GTU's digital cluster as well (yes, I have three fully operational digital-instrument cars ) with either white or a clear diffuser and back it with white LEDs, switchable with red LEDs for easier night-time viewing.

Since you have spare clusters, it would be good to practice on one of the other ones until you are comfortable with the process. You might even get all four up and working right. Good luck...