w203 lcd display quotation

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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 !

Specially-made precisely-cast aluminum shell improves the anti-static resistance of the balance  Jamming capability;  Five-key operation, super large LCD backlight display,

Sometimes, after about an hour"s driving, the backlight on the LCD panel goes off (so the orange light in the image above fades to nothing). The vehicle has not yet been driven in the dark, it has only been driven in fine conditions during the day, so I do not know if this is just the LCD or all backlighting.

If the LCD panel fades out, does this also mean that the illumination on the speedometer and other dials would also fade out (but I have not noticed it, because this was during the day) --- or is the backlight of the LCD on a separate circuit from the backlight of the dials, so that if one goes off the other may still be operational?