I couldn't find anything in older threads so here it is:

Background: 2002 C32 AMG with 72K miles bought in San Diego October 05, now in Houston, perfect everything except:

1. The lights on my instrument cluster (in the orange-yellow screen to be specific) are not working properly. The problem is when the car sits in hot weather. At night, the cluster shows everything without a problem. During the day, when I park somewhere outside, the cluster is like blurred... it has to be a malfunction related the heat b/c it only happens when the car is outside... anybody had the same issues? And yes, I already turn the knob to adjust the dimming and it's not that.

2. I have an extra set of OEM Bi-Xenon but I would like to check if everything works properly. Is there a place that I can take this in to make sure the next user will have no problems? They have been sitting in my garage for a while now.

I'll appreciate any feedback from you guys.

Regards - Carlos

I have the exact same problem.. When it's hot, over like 85 degrees, my display on the corners is the worst. The the outside temp is and the shift indicator S/W is almost impossible to read. I was going to bring this up my next trip to the dealer..

Anyone had this fixed??

Same symptons... it's like the upper and lower "lines"... If you look careful, play with the menus and see that it's the whole thing from left to right. I decided to post this b/c I have gone thru the same common problems we all had and I figure I wasn't alone on this one either... will appreciate any comments.

mine does the same thing, it is just because of the heat, i live in houston as well...as soon as the A/C starts cooling, the display returns to normal...

Yup same here (on an 02 C230 and an 02 C32) we Caught the C230 inside of warranty and it got its intrument panel replaced (not cheap). But the AMG is out of warranty so I am still deciding if it is worth the ~$600 to replace..

Anyone know if you can slap in an 04 or 05 instrument panel and it will just "work" or does the diffrent display require a diffrent computer or firmware upgrades..

One thing I noticed when I did get the panel replaced on the C230 is that it started doing some things diffrently..

1) it counted MPG by counting down from 27mpg on a cold start (before the panel replacement it started at 17 and counted up).

2) It would actually give me a "malfunction"/warning when the Sunroof was open and I turned off the car..

3) Window quick roll down worked but roll up didn't

4) Auto window roll up when pressing on recirulate air (instead of default get air from the outside) stopped working..

I don't know if those are all Star Diagnostic settings or if they were caused by a software change from the new panel.. But something to look for when you get your panels replaced.

Josh
Austin TX,

This was a common problem on the older E-class & S-class dash and is not related to the LCD, but to the control unit that handles LCD output.

You can fix it by getting a new cluster. On the E-class it was an $1100 part. I'm sure its not cheap for the C32.

Part # is 203-540-0547 (according to this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=8041295318 ebay ad).

I found it online at one shop.
http://www.mbeugene.com INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, C240, C320, C32 $477.60

I still haven't decided if its worth the $500 for the part to be repaired/replaced.

When I was doing my research on this I found a guy that replaced his IC with a newer one (CLK or E class don't remember)... it looks badass... as of right now, that is the only thing I envy from the newer models, the car looks much fresher and a lighter cabin... The way I see it... if I replace the IC, it had to be for a 05-06 one, but there are too many variables though... you gotta have the right tools, knowledge and cojones to mess with it.

What about a front sunshade as a future option? I'm sure it can be done...

Carlos

Where did you read about the guy swapping out his cluster? I would love to investigate it further. If the plugs are the same then the IC swap could work.

Would love to have the C55 IC.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w203/137017-lowered-car-new-cluster.html

If that doesn't work, do a search for "sunman" in the W203 C Class forum. The conversion was done to a 03 C320. The IC is from a W209. Very nice mod...

So this is covered under the Starmark warranty? Sweet, I am taking my car in for a new control unit!!

If your warranty coverage is comprehensive and not just powertrain, then you will get a whole new instrument cluster reprogrammed with your current mileage. MB sends the mileage-corrected IC to your dealer.

I had the same problem with the intrument panel and the dealer put in a new one under warranty a few months ago...

Clearly this is a standard issue. Mine is at the shop as we speak. Covered under warranty!

Ok.. I just got off the phone with my SA. Didn't sound like they wanted to replace my cluster. He was saying it will do the same thing with a new cluster and its just from the heat. He mentioned two common problems. One from the heat which they probably wouldnt pay for and one where there is digits missing and like a black line across the top.

Question: Did your SA's just say ok and install the new cluster? or was there a little coaxing involved?

I just called my SA (who is great BTW!!) and he said bring it in. I got there and they took a look and said they were going to replace it, nothing more to it. Mine was pretty bad where the top and bottom few lines were almost completely gone during the day during the heat (in phoenix none the less!)...

Well.. just got a new cluster under warranty.. They only had the car 5 days..

My instrument cluster has gotten better since I detected my current draw. It's not fading anymore (maybe one line on the top in the heat). Turned out to be the comand unit not going to sleep. After a lot of hours spent around the car, my navigation CD was spinning when the car was off drawing around 400 milliamps. I didn't use the car in 2 days and is fine now. I bought the nav CD for TX separately and maybe that was not compatible with my comand unit who knows... in conclusion, my instrument cluster works fine and my car is only drawing around 60 milli-amps which I believe is normal. Car is back to perfect...