Multi Function Display whiteout

[CeeDeeNZ]

Hi from down under ! (NZ) I have a 2004 CLK320 Cabriolet. When I first put the key in the MFD is normal. However over the next few minutes or so the background gets brighter and whiter until the whole MFD LCD is basically white and illegible from then on until the car is turned off and left for 15 mins or so. Then key in it is fine again, and repeats. Any idea what's causing this ? Thanx... Chris

 

[Botus]

common issue with older clusters - dry joints and old capacitors - lots of places refurbish your unit for not much money

or if brave have a play yourself - check youtube - I expect you'll find where to look and what to do

not much use as the wrong side of the world but this will give a clue as to what u need over there... https://www.clusterrepairsuk.co.uk/repair/make/mercedes

 

[CeeDeeNZ]

I'm an electronics tech so quite comfortable with circuit board level repairs, just looking for pointers to most likely/common culprits if possible

 

[CeeDeeNZ]

Haven't managed to find anything covering this particular fault, if anyone is able to assist would be greatly appreciated

 

[Botus]

when I typed this in youtube CLK cluster repairs I get 12 videos

you don't show which exact issue or indeed cluster you have -

 

[CeeDeeNZ]

Yep I got all those, and more, but none of them relate to the specific issue in my original post - the LCD changing to completely white like the backlight is out of control. The key thing I am endeavouring to determine is whether the LCD itself is the problem, or something in the backlight circuitry/control. I'll take some pix and post them here

 

[CeeDeeNZ]

Here you go... from first starting car to 5 minutes later

 

[Botus]

in all the ones I saw (video's) no one said what was wrong - they all just put in a new display - so I guess common it just plays up - and they must be all over ebay to buy for nothing - just like the OEM ones (cheap and nasty)

£15 https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...kw=CLK+instument+cluster+LCD+display&_sacat=0

at that price might as have one beside you when you pull apart to investigate....

 

[CeeDeeNZ]

Yeah that's my problem. As far as I have been able to find out so far the backlight is seperate from the LCD. See this one here for example, where seller specifically says replacing LCD only fixes pixel issues, not backlight. I'm pretty sure my issue is a backlight issue ? Oh and I believe I am a W209 by the way. Learning this stuff from afresh !

LCD DISPLAY FOR MERCEDES W209 / W211 / W219 / E CLASS / E200 / E500 | eBay

By repairing your original dash cluster, you will retain your current mileage and factory programming features. Installation instructions are not included.

www.ebay.com