1995 850 Instrument Cluster Failure

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 31 Oct 2014, 19:13

Good evening MVS,

Ever since I've owned this car ('95 T-5R) the coolant temp gauge, fuel gauge, and tach have intermittently not worked. I tried to fix this by swapping in a different cluster only to find that it was from a wrong year 850; the speedo didn't work, the transmission arrow was flashing and the ABS light was on.

I found this thread: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=42486
where OP took the cluster apart and re-soldered the connections on the board.

Anyone have any experience doing this? I took mine apart and managed to find one connection that is obviously bad. It is on the fuel gauge/temp gauge side and presumably could be why those two gauges don't work. I've been searching the tachometer side of the board but I don't see any bad joint there. Any ideas on how to effectively check these joints?

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: Broken connection on fuel/temp gauge side of board.

Post by **jreed** » 01 Nov 2014, 05:27

I looked over your images and didn't see any other obvious signs of misplaced or damaged joints. I noted the multiple moose images patterned in the top metal layer on the circuit board -- cool & fascinating!

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 01 Nov 2014, 13:37

It is difficult to see the joints well in these pictures. More resolution would be helpful. I suppose I'll try fixing the broken joint I found and hope it fixes my problem. I won't hold my breath, though.

Yes, the Moose herd on the PC board is pretty cool. A nice little Volvo easter egg.

Post by **rspi** » 02 Nov 2014, 01:50

These VDO clusters are failing. My system had a bad wire harness at the top of the cluster so I wired in a harness from another junked car. You can test the cluster by opening the hood, jumping A7 and pressing the button 3 times. The temp gauge should go to the bottom of the red mark, the speedo and tack should go to the top of the gauge, the odo should start adding a little mileage and the fuel should go to 1/2 of a tank.

If the wires are good, you should keep looking for a good cluster. I have tried several things to fix one from hitting solder joints to baking the board. A lot of wasted time. I'm about to start trying to figure out if it is possible to get a '98 cluster to work and just upgrade the thing since the fit.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 02 Nov 2014, 21:21

Finding a working used cluster is probably my best option, I agree. I'm going to try soldering the old cluster on the off chance that it actually works. I've got nothing to lose.

Post by **Ben850** » 02 Nov 2014, 21:54

polskamafia mjl wrote:Finding a working used cluster is probably my best option, I agree. I'm going to try soldering the old cluster on the off chance that it actually works. I've got nothing to lose.

Let me know how you figure this one out M.
I have two other turbo clusters in my storage, but I still have to pull the one from my T-5R to change its odometer gear.
Since it was in an accident, I may be changing other parts in that area as well.

To further my frustration, I have to discern the wiring for the Viper alarm/remote start/anti-theft...

It is a complicated wiring issue that the previous owner had no paperwork to help with.
That is my problem, I digress.

I have extra clusters and parts. Let me know M. I might be of help.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 04 Nov 2014, 18:17

I soldered the broken connector but, alas, no luck.

Ben850 wrote: I have extra clusters and parts. Let me know M. I might be of help.

OMG yes please!!