vw lcd display fading made in china
I have a cluster from by Golf that has a dead full pixel display. It started off with dead lines (mostly vertical), got worse with hotter days, then died completely (with a little help from my attempts to fix it). It seemed to me when I investigated that the bond between ribbon and display was failing on indvidual lines.
If you figure out how to bond a new display to the circuit board, I"d be interested in getting this cluster repaired so I"d have a spare for when the cluster in the car goes dead (it was the former spare). Of course, if somebody comes up with a good group buy on these again...
- If the bulbs are out behind the display, then all the rows and colunms do work on the Audi/VW/Seat instrument cluster"s LCD display, but the background light of the LCD display is uneven, or some cases the display is completely dark. This case no need to repair the pixels, you do not need a silver cable, nor a new LCD display of the instrument cluster. This case you just need to buy the lightbulbs that provide light behind the Audi/VW/Seat LCD display.
- If the Audi/VW/Seat instrument cluster"s LCD display has really pixel problems, then typically lines or colunms of the display are missing. Several cases the characters are broken, numbers and letters shown on the instrument cluster"s display are unreadable - the backlight is even. In case of a real pixel problem, when one or more pixels are missing from the display, you need to buy a silver ribbon cable or some cases a complete Audi/VW/Seat LCD display. It really depends on that if it is a BMW, a Mercede and Audi, Saab, VW or other make, and of course if it a MID display, a speedometer, a board computer or other LCD dipslay. Most cases, when you have a pixel failure, and you decide to repair it, it"s really worth to buy a set of bulbs too, as bulbs tend to go out during repair - this is due to the massive mechanical shocks experienced during the pixel repair procedure.
Well, most of the Audi/VW/Seat pixel repair KITs we sell are designed to be simple and easy to use. The word easy should now be the subject of further discussion. An average Audi/VW/Seat instrument cluster"s LCD pixel repair is far more difficult then replacing a lightbulb. You definitely have to have good mechnical skills, and some household tools, such as nippers, screewdrivers, household tape, and other goodies to fix things around the house.
If you have to ask one of these questions, then you definitly should NOT do an Audi/VW/Seat instrument cluster"s LCD display pixel repair at home (we were asked these questions before, this is not a joke):
Well, Pixelfix is an internationally registered trademark. Pixelfix only sells the highest quality Audi/VW/Seat speedometer LCD display silver ribbon cables, that are capable of lifetime operation. We sell most of our repairs with lifetime warranty, and you will find the exact same displays, cables, and other spare parts that we use for professional repairs. The silver ribbon cables we use for Audi, VW, A6, TT, A3, A4, Passat LCD display pixel repair are real silver, which is a very expensive base material, that is why the price is much higher compared to carbon ribbon cables.
You may keep an eye on your package, if you ordered the Audi/VW/Seat speedometer LCD display silver ribbon cable with postal delivery on you may check the status on your local post office"s website, or if you ordered next day deliver then you need to see TNT / FedEx or DHL tracking site for status.
All Audi/VW/Seat instrument cluster"s LCD displays, silver ribbon cables, speedometer spare parts bought in the webshop will come with an invoice. All invoices are issued electronically, so you will receive an e-mail with the printable invoice in it. This invoce can be printed and filed to the accounts.
No worries, we do provide technical support, and help repairing of the Audi/VW/Seat instrument cluster"s LCD display. However there is an advice you ought to consider before starting the work. If you have not repaired Audi/VW/Seat instrument cluster"s LCD display before, this is mandatory. PLEASE read the manual, and if available watch the video BEFORE starting the work. This will definitely save a lot of time and will help to do a hassle free work.
No worries, this symptom can be due to a bagatel problem which can be fixed easily. If there are no pixels on the Audi/VW/Seat instrument cluster"s display at all, that MUST be due to one of the followings:
- the contacts of the Audi/VW/Seat LCD display or the panel are not perfectly clean - this case there is no contact between the Audi/VW/Seat LCD display and the panel
- the alignment of the silver ribbon cable is no good, so the pads of the silver ribbon cable do not match the pads of the Audi/VW/Seat LCD display or panel.
Let"s talk about the worst case scenario, you started the repair, but you do not seem to deal with the repair of the Audi/VW/Seat instrument cluster"s display. This case we have a backup solution. We always stand behind our customers, so you may send the Audi/VW/Seat LCD display unit to us for repair, and no matter what the condition of the unit is, we can help. More precisely, up to this point we always succeeded, meaning none of our customers managed to do such a damage in the unit that we could not fix. The repair does not cost a fortune, in a lucky case it is 20-30 Euro plus return delivery cost only.
Today, I’m talking to Volkswagen Group CEO Dr. Herbert Diess. Volkswagen is one of the two biggest carmakers in the world — there’s a battle every year between VW and Toyota for the top spot; they both sell around 10 million cars a year. To put that in perspective, Ford sells around 4–6 million cars a year, and Tesla currently sells around 900,000 cars a year. So, yeah, Volkswagen Group is big.
It’s also complicated: Herbert oversees a huge range of familiar car brands: VW, of course, but also Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Bentley, as well as Skoda and Seat in Europe. A recent management shuffle also put him directly in charge of Volkswagen’s software subsidiary, which is called CARIAD, and, of course, he’s in charge of VW’s aggressive efforts to electrify its lineup and shift all its cars to being EVs.
That $2 billion investment turned into an EV charging network called Electrify America, which aims to expand to 1,800 stations and 10,000 chargers by the end of 2025. For comparison, Tesla already has just over 900 stations and 10,000 chargers. If VW can get it right, it can spin the consequences of Dieselgate into a pretty significant competitive advantage as the country transitions to EVs.
Herbert and I talked about all of that and the overall transition to EVs, including VW’s new EV microbus, which is very cool. We also talked about how a company like Volkswagen can move as quickly as smaller competitors like Tesla, whether or not Volkswagen will let others buy the software it’s developing for its own cars, how he’s thinking about self-driving cars, and more. If you listen, you’ll notice a real theme is vertical integration: Herbert thinks Volkswagen Group has to do a lot of things itself instead of depending on suppliers.
There’s a lot to talk about. VW just announced that the Microbus is coming back as an EV. I saw some photos coming out of CES that look very exciting. The Microbus is obviously a legendary car. I think people are excited about it.
VW itself has just restructured a bit. You just took over leadership of the software group called CARIAD, which is fascinating. I actually want to start with the basics: VW is a massive major car company that serves lots of businesses and markets. It’s an old company. I don’t think people are familiar with how it works. How is VW structured?
I probably agree with you there. Let me ask you about software: VW is very good at making cars, and manufacturing at scale, and making sure that its vehicles are reliable. You sell a gas car. VW’s cost for that car to maintain it over time is zero: if the customer has a problem with a traditional gas car, they’re on the hook for repairing it — buying new tires and replacing parts and such. That actually can generate some profit for VW and its dealer network over time.
With a software car, my expectation as a customer is that you are going to continuously provide me with new updates to the software: you’re going to run a cloud service that delivers new backend features, or mapping support, or whatever it is. You’re going to run a radio network and partner with a cell carrier. Those are all costs that VW has to carry just for me to drive the car that I already bought. Where is the revenue that supports those costs? I don’t think people want subscription fees just to operate their cars — or at least I haven’t seen that market develop yet.
This all tracks with what you’ve said: VW will stop selling gas cars in Europe by 2035. Is that data driven by the availability of batteries and infrastructure? When do you think you’ll have enough batteries? When will there be charging infrastructure?
One thing that’s facing the entire car industry up and down is the chip shortage. We’ve seen various ways of dealing with it. Some automakers are holding their cars back. Some like BMW are shipping cars without features and offering $500 credits because the cars don’t have touchscreens. My father-in-law just bought a pickup truck, and the heated seats don’t work. He has to go back when the chip is available so they can install it. There are a variety of solutions to the chip shortage. How is VW dealing with it? When do you see it ending?
Let me bring this all the way back around, then I promise I’ll ask you an easy one. You started by explaining how the company is structured and where the growth is. You said that VW is not very strong in America right now, but that you want to get stronger. You think you have a product portfolio, and you’ll go from 4 percent, to 8 percent, to 10 percent market share. Will that growth come in EVs, or will it be a mixture?
SEOUL (Reuters) - Liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens were expected to slowly fade and die, giving way to lighter, thinner and tougher organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels in everything from smartphones to televisions.A man watches Sharp"s television sets at an electronic shop in Tokyo in this March 19, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files
But LCD is refusing to go quietly as its picture quality keeps getting better. At the same time, the major backers of credit card-thin OLED panels - led by Samsung Electronics Coand LG Electronics Inc- are struggling to make the technology cheap enough to mass produce. The two South Korean firms this year showcased 55-inch (140 cm) OLED TVs, but priced at around $10,000 (6,220 pounds) - 10 times that of an LCD equivalent - they have yet to reach store shelves.
OLED displays, used on Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note smartphones, have been touted as the future display model to replace LCDs across the consumer electronics spectrum - from TVs to computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. OLED is more energy efficient and offers higher contrast images than LCD, and is so thin that future mobile devices will be unbreakable, and will be able to be folded or rolled up like a newspaper.
But OLED panel makers such as Samsung Display and LG Displayhave yet to address major manufacturing challenges to lower costs to compete against LCD panels.
At the same time, LCD panels, which are used on 9 of every 10 television sets, are still evolving and show no sign of giving way in this latest battle to set the global standard - less than a decade since LCD effectively killed off plasma screens.
“OLED still has a long way to go to become a mainstream display, as it has to become bigger and improve picture quality,” said Chung Won-seok, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities. “The use of OLEDs will continue to be confined to small displays at least for the next 2-3 years. Its usage as a mainstream TV panel is only likely in 2014, but even then there’s a possibility of intense competition with LCD TVs as that technology keeps improving.”
Far from fading, LCD panels now offer better picture quality - up to four times better than OLED - and use less power, creating robust demand from smartphone and tablet makers.
As has often been the case, Apple Incmoved the goalposts by upgrading the display resolution for its iPhone and iPad, still the high-end LCD market"s gold standard, prompting rivals to upgrade their display panel qualifications. Analysts at Macquarie predict Apple will adopt high-resolution screens for the MacBook Air and iMac monitor next year, accelerating the industry"s shift to high-resolution displays.
"The pixel war is an absolute bonanza for LCD makers," said Kim Byung-ki, analyst at Kiwoom Securities. "Manufacturers from LG Display to Samsung, Sharp Corp, AU Optronics Corpand Chimei (Innolux)all will gradually convert their traditional lines into more high-end product fabs, and that will curtail supply and boost profitability."
These higher-resolution panels cost more than double the commodity-type LCD screens, boosting panel producers’ profits. Even Samsung, the standard bearer for OLED panels and also a major LCD manufacturer, is actively promoting LCD screens for tablets and laptops over OLED, said a person familiar with the matter, who was not authorised to talk to the media so didn’t want to be named.
Both Sony and LG Electronics now sell ultra HD (high definition) LCD sets that boast four times the picture quality of HD TVs. The two firms, which are selling 84-inch TVs, aim to reduce that size to cater for more popular smaller sets.
Japan’s Sharp is the frontrunner in IGZO technology, which uses indium gallium zinc oxide instead of amorphous silicon, in panel manufacturing. LG Display, a major supplier to Apple, is investing 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) by end-2013 in its production of low-temperature poly silicon (LTPS) panels - a technology used to make screens for the iPhone and iPad.
While new technologies can be game-changers, these panels are not simple to produce, limiting availability and driving up manufacturing costs. Some warn of an LCD supply shortage.
“The LCD industry is improving more strongly than expected and panels are likely to be in short supply from 2013, as manufacturers upgrade their lines to increase high-end products. This requires more processing time and steps, reducing total output,” said Kim Dong-won, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
As LCD prospects improve, LG Display, the world’s top LCD maker, swung to a quarterly profit in July-September, ending a run of seven straight quarterly losses.
LG Display is expected to continue its solid performance, as Apple buys fewer parts from rival Samsung and moves more to high-end displays on a wider range of its products. LG Display shares have risen by around a third in 3 months, double Samsung"s gains. In Taiwan, AU Optronics shares are up 41 percent over that same period and Chimei is up 45 percent. Shares in cash-strapped Sharp hit a 2-month high on Wednesday after the company secured an up to $120 million cash injection from Qualcomm Inc, which will help it fund development of its IZGO technology.
“LG Display and its peers are actually sowing the seeds of the next cycle downturn by doing what they always do - wherever they see a profit opportunity, they focus on it, adding capacity and dissipating the excess returns,” said Stanford Bernstein analyst Alberto Moel.
A Common fault with the Mercedes C Class instrument cluster is a dimming of the orange LCD multi-function display. This fading often gets worse when the car is hot or has been out in the sun all day. The usual places to show the fault are the auto gear selection and W/S icons top right and the lower and upper edge, in some cases totally obscuring any information that may be displayed. When the car is cold, the display often works better for a time and appears of reasonable contrast only to later fail as temperatures rise.
The LCD unit itself forms part of the instrument cluster and can be removed and replaced. The negative is that the LCD unit is not available as a spare part (you have to buy the whole console!) The special LCD is manufactured by Motorola (Part number HLM7804) and is common part used in all variants of the C class dash with the arched speedometer and MFD.
So what to do… Buy a new speedometer (lots of cash) or a used one (incorrect odometer reading)? Or swap out the display from the cheapest used one you can buy !
To give an idea of the cost of a used instrument cluster from a breakers they are usually about £65 to £95 GB pounds. The online auction sites are a great source of cheap parts and if you are prepared to scour the listings you will find a bargain. You have the advantage of being able to choose any similar instrument cluster, not bothering about, model year, petrol or diesel types, engine size, 4 or 6 cylinder etc… This gives you the edge! Just buy the cheapest you can find. I managed to pick one up for £30, advertised with a photograph showing the display clearly illuminated still fitted to the car!
UPDATE – It appears there is a company who specialises in the supply of display ribbon cable kits for various MB models here. Also there is another company, probably in China who can supply the complete W203 display with bonded cable here (Also other MB and car models it seems) I have not used either company but I thought the links may prove useful.
Once removed, the back panel can be placed out of the way. Revealed is the main control PCB and orange multi-function ribbon flex connector to the LCD display. This orange flexi-strip is removed from the connector by carefully pushing down the 2 black ears either side, about 1mm, down and away from the connector, this releases an internal clamping mechanism allowing you to withdraw the ribbon flex. Once the flex is released, turn over the instrument pod and remove the instrument chassis from the lens unit.
Grasp each side of the ‘D’ shaped frame that surrounds the display and un-clip it, each side in turn from the front face of the cluster. This will reveal the thin glass LCD display.
Now push up from the bottom edge the LCD glass towards the centre of the dial face, push it just enough to clear the white plastic retaining clips at the bottom, then lever the LCD up and out of the back light holder.
Strip your ‘donor’ instrument cluster and remove your new LCD unit as described above. Fit it to your vehicle’s cluster and rebuild it in the exact same manner as you took it apart (again as outlined above) Refit to the vehicle and test. You should now be able to enjoy a nice bright, high contrast MFD unit !