How does one disconnect the two connectors - black and yellow - on the instrument cluster? I've folded the levers over (red arrow) but the connectors won't budge.
Anyone?

 

Info for you.

 

Thanks!
That looks to be for the older style connector though, not the later style with a lever clamping it in place.

 

Figured it out, you have to continue rotating the lever back towards the connector after opening it, i.e. past 180°

 

We had similar Friday afternoons...

I was removing my cluster to change T10 bulbs, in the hope of rectifying an issue. My cluster only comes to life after about 30 mins, albeit very dimly (hence thinking bulb change).

Is this a familiar issue? Connectors looked OK, I could change the T5 bulbs (4 of those too) but not convinced that's going to resolve anything.

 

I pulled my cluster to swap out all the bulbs, T5s and T10s, for red LEDs.
Sounds to me like your dimmer module is the issue, but I'm a novice at this. Hopefully dibbit will weigh in, he's set me straight on electronics on multiple occasions.
BTW, the admins will most likely ask you to post in the new member area, and to add a signature with your model and year.
Welcome!

 

Thank you - appreciate the advice and will be happy to do that.

I tried hard reset, after which it lit up (so at least the bulbs worked!), and then looking on OBD reader I found P1638, which a quick search indicated CAN/instrument malfunction... so at least I'm narrowing down.

 

The P1638 won't directly have anything to do with the dashboard lights, as the lights are controlled by the dimmer module. It might however indicate something wrong with the connectors that this thread is about. Maybe try gently wiggling the connector/wires and see if the dash lights flicker.

Do any of your other backlights work? Eg sat nav, cruise control button etc.

Does your dimmer knob on the steering column do anything (including at the maximum setting that it clicks into)?

 

Note: it is possible to mangle some of the pins if care is not taken when first attaching the connector. If the lever does not operate smoothly , then disengage it and check all pins for straightness.

Z

 

Thanks - So no backlights, no outputs from the instrument cluster at all inc the LCD and warning lights, dimmer knob unresponsive, and need to manually release the park pawl. It sounds very much like the symptoms of the Technical Service Bulletin S484 (mentioned in"UK instrument cluster repair", Dec 23, 2022, Kreyszig), although that is prior to this model year.

So I've had a delicate "wiggle" of connectors, and a delicate inspection of the rear PCB, to look for lumpy soldering or burns. No signs of anything obvious. There's a few threads like this, which - having eliminated the obvious - have ended up with either needing to source a replacement cluster or repair. So my next move I think is to send it off to Autotronics.

 

Make absolutely certain none of the pins are bent in the connectors, but otherwise it does sound like your instrument cluster is the problem. It acts as an interface between the different data buses on the car, so a faulty cluster can cause other seemingly unrelated problems.

 

Please let us know if Autotronics fixes this. It may be an option for me in the very near future