Gator911

I need a new cluster for my 99 996 and I am wondering what will happen with the mileage. It is my understanding that the mileage is stored in the DME and not the cluster itself...

I went to the dealer and they said that a cluster can only be programmed to a DME one time, so to be careful buying from a salvage yard or the like...

The dealer wants $2000+ for a new cluster and programming which I am not willing to pay, so I am looking for options...

thanks,

Keith

99firehawk

cluster should only be about 1400, whats wrong with your cluster ?

Gator911

After taking my car out of storage, when i started it up, I noticed that the LCD had apparently leaked. It is there permanently, even when the car is off. It doesnt affect the operation of the numbers and is just an annoyance...

-keith

Nicolaasdb

I have the exact same problem.....mine leaked on the last 2 digits of the total miles driven...it is not that important to me, so I am not going to pay 1 or 2K to fix it....but I have seen clusters on ebay for about 350-500

Tool Pants

The mileage is in the cluster.

I put a 996 cluster in my 1997 Boxster. The 996 cluster had 990 miles on it. My 1997 Boxster had a bit more than 990 miles....

It was a used 996 cluster from ebay, but advertised as new. As soon as I pluged it into my Boxster and saw 990 miles I knew it was used. It had a bad middle LCD display as you can see from the picture. Due to the bad LCD I put the Boxster cluster back in.

I could put that 996 cluster in your 996 and it will work. It will show 990 miles just like it did in my car. But it has a bad display.

Your dealer has given you some misinformation.

Gator911

Seeing that you have disected a cluster to a certain extent, is it possible to buy a used cluster and just transfer the middle display, and hence keeping my mileage readings, etc...

Also, is it possible to use an 02+ cluster? I know that the speedometer reads higher and is slightly different, but will the correct compensations be made ?

Tool Pants

I forgot.

It had 989 miles. After I plugged it in I drove around to see why the middle display looked funny. So I drove 1.4 miles with the 996 cluster in my Boxster.

There are problems with the LCD displays, and clusters were replaced under warranty. Apparently my ebay cluster was a warranty replacement and instead of being destroyed, it ended up on ebay. The seller had other used 996 parts so I suspect the seller worked at a dealership.

Gator911

I would love to be able to fit a GT3 cluster if it would work

JasonAndreas

I know that whatever electronic encryption used by VDO in their odometers was broken a year or two ago so it might be worth looking around online for someone to help if you end up with a different (newer) cluster.

Gator911

Well im not into faking mileage or cracking clusters...I would love to be able to jsut replace the LCD of my cluster with one from another,, while keeping the heart the same...

Any options will be entertained if you have links however

Tool Pants

I have a lot of this cluster stuff on renntech.

When I gave up on trying to get the bad middle display to work I took my Boxster cluster apart and put the Boxster circuit board in the 996 cluster. That way the 3 LCD displays in the 996 cluster were actually from my Boxster and, of course, the mileage of the combined cluster was now the mileage of my Boxster.

But for some reason the volt meter would not work with the combined cluster. So rather than playing around further and ending up with 2 defective clusters, I put my Boxster cluster back together and back in my car.

You cannot use a 2002 cluster on a 1999. 2002 is what I call the new style cluster. You would need 1999-2001. Also, if you have a C2 then you need a C2 cluster, not a C4, or the fuel gauge will not read property due to the different gas tanks. You also cannot use a turbo cluster.

Tool Pants

VDO does not selll parts for the electronic cluster.

If you buy a used cluster and need to reset the mileage then there are private companies that can have the display read anything you want. There are links to some of these companies on renntech.

However, a dealer with a PST/PIWIS cannot change the mileage because it is locked once it has 62 miles on it.

Gator911

If i buy an identical 99-01 cluster can i remove the speedometer LCD and replace my defective one?

Tool Pants

I had considered this myself. I thought about taking the good middle/speedometer LCD display from my Boxster cluster and putting it in the 996 circuit board to replace it's bad display.

But it is connected to the circuit board via ribbon wire with a lot of little solder joints. And if I screwed up with the soldering iron I would end up with 2 bad clusters, so I gave up on that idea. Someone who is use to working with circuit boards could do it. That way you do not even have to deal with the mileage. Just swap the speedometer/obc display.

Gator911

Ok cool, It might wind up being the cheapest option. If i cant find a place that feels confident in doing it then I will just use the one I buy...

Does this option still limit me to 99-01 clusters do you know?