Instrument cluster problems - lights on/door open buzzer and airbag light

[jeepster]

Hi,

I have a couple of problems with the instrument cluster on my Polo 1.4 Tdi.

The first is that the door open/lights on buzzer does not work - I have tested the door switch and that is fine. I connected a power source directly to the poles of the buzzer unit itself and it didn't buzz, so it needs to be replaced, unfortunately I don't know where I can buy the buzzer unit without having to buy the whole printed circuit board / a new set of clocks.

If anyone knows where I can get a buzzer unit, that would be good.

If I buy a new set of clocks will that mean that my mileage will display the mileage of the car the clocks came off or is the mileage information stored in the ECU rather than the clocks? Also, is there a relay between the door switch and the instrument cluster or is the blue wire directly from the switch to the cluster?

The second problem is one that I caused - when the clocks were apart I touched the soldering iron on to some of the joints which looked suspect but this seems to have caused the rev counter to stop working. So my second question is does anyone know how to diagnose circuit board component problems or is it just a case of looking at the solder joints through a magnifying glass to see which ones are broken and re-soldering them?

I look forward to any helpful advice.

Thanks,
John.

[jeepster]

Good news - I have fixed the Rev counter. I think I didn't attach the needle firmly enough, so I pressed it back on properly, now it works.

Bad news - now my airbag light is staying on. I don't know if it is because I have dislodged some connector under the dash by pulling the clocks in and out several times to adjust the needle positions.

I'm still trying to find the buzzer unit, so if anyone has a set of clocks with a working buzzer that they are selling cheap I might be interested in buying them.

[alexperkins]

Buzzer you can probably pull from a similar era VW clocks like a golf or passat and swap it across. Either that, or get a piezo buzzer from maplin and solder it onto the board.

[jeepster]

Thanks for the suggestion Alex, I will keep a look out for some cheap clocks. Any thoughts about the airbag light?

[alexperkins]

have you got VCDS? Youll want to scan it and find out what the actual error is ideally for the airbag.

[jeepster]

Not sure what VCDS is. Sorry about my ignorance.

[alexperkins]

VCDS/Vag-Com is the diagnostic system for VW group cars

You can get a cheap copy cable on ebay that will allow you to plug into the car and read error codes to find out whats actually causing problems

[jeepster]

Ah, ok, I will look into that. Thanks again.

[jeepster]

I checked on eBay and saw there were some cables labelled VCDS KKL 409.1 OBD2 - is that the right one?

[alexperkins]

Yeah that'll work fine

[jeepster]

Thanks Alex.

[jeepster]

Fixed lights on/ door open buzzer - I got a second hand set of clocks on eBay, from a petrol Polo, anyway I managed to unsolder the buzzer from the PCB and solder it to my clocks. I think the reason the original buzzer stopped working was that my car had serious rain water leak issues (which I have now fixed), as the metal behind the clocks is very rusty (not structural) and I think the copper wires in the buzzer deteriorated in the moisture.

I will post another thread at some point on the subject of waterproofing my Polo, as it was a bit of a drawn out process and other people might benefit from my experiences, as it is now water tight and no longer smells damp nor has any condensation on the inside in the mornings.

If anyone is looking for a set of clocks for spares or repair I have the remnants of the clocks I bought on eBay, which I no longer need and will sell for a few quid - please just ask.