Rudeney

Gotta love the 'kaos!

fernmc

This is about the same problem with the instrument cluster; no backlight since our last contact. A few days ago, it was a cold night, the cluster backlight came back to life. It occurred in the exact situation it went off. I was parked in front of another car and there was someone inside that car. For courtesy, I turned the lamp switch off, when I turned it on again the cluster backlight went on. I drive a couple of miles after that and all seemed normal in regard the cluster. Next day, the backlight didn't come on. Then, I suspected on the lamp switch module. I bought an used on at eBay to test. It didn't work as well. Maybe a bad contact inside the cluster or could be also something else?

Rudeney

I doubt is the light switch module. Most likely it's a nearly broken Mylar ribbon cable inside the cluster They get brittle and crack.

eteller

FWIW I posted in another thread the back light on my fuel gauge is starting to blink on and off. While changing out my steering wheel I pulled the cluster and sprayed out the brightness potentiometer with contact cleaner. Mine looked different from the one in Rudney's FAQ and cleaning it didn't help the issue.

fernmc

I followed what I learned at other post on the subject and it did work. My cluster back light is on again. I opened the cluster and saw that one side of the ribbon cable was lightly lifted. I just pressed it down with the tip of my finger and reinstalled the cluster. To my surprise the back lights are now on. Here's a photo. The photo doesn't show exactly my point but I drew a red arrow showing. My only other issue is that after reinstalling the cluster the SRS warning light turned on together with a warning sign of defective restrain system. It sucks.

Rudeney

Let us know if this fix holds. It may not. Those Mylar ribbon cables are often glued to the physical contacts and they come loose fro heat/vibration. An electronics repair shop might be able to permanently fix it.

As for the SRS light, you probably switched on the ignition with the cluster removed. You'll need to pull the codes and reset them. If you don;t have one, look into the iCarsoft i980 or MBII, or the Autel MD802 Elite/

fernmc

So far, so good. The IC back light is on. About erasing the SRS warning light, I don't have a scanner. If I disconnect the battery, does it erase that code? I found a scanner iCarsoft i980 for $60, but it seems that it works based on car model. Does it erase SRS code for CLK 320 2004?

Rudeney

No, disconnecting the battery won't clear and SRS fault. I have experience with the iCarsoft i980, but for what I have read about it, it should do the job.