Pulled my cluster out to try and repair
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 11
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2004 e55 2001 e320
Pulled my cluster out to try and repair
I bought the pull tools from MB for 25 (FYI) to to try and fix my defective pixels. I have the cluster out. How do I pull the connectors out from the back of the cluster? They won't budge and I can't see the complete picture due to the wire constraints.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
2004 e55 2001 e320
I found my answer from another site...for others FYI
just pulled my instrument cluster and thought I'd share what I found.
The Mercedes pulling hooks are nearly essential. Sure you can make your own but to me, it's safer since you know the tool is made specifically for this purpose. And messing up the cluster frame isn't worth saving a few dollars.
You need to pull with a great deal of force and it seemed to help by doing it slowly, then let it sit for a few minutes, then pull again. Go figure!
Most have said it's friction fit but not what I thought. There are actually four small "springs" that push against the cluster keeping it in place nice and tight.
One bit of advice that I don't recall seeing is that the two electrical connectors are secured by a grey clip. If you look at the top of the connector just forward of the clip you'll see a small "nub" that when pressed down will allow the clip to move forward unlocking the connector. You need to push it down all the way till it kind of snaps into place.
Everything else was fairly straight forward and covered by previous posts. However, I'd also suggest taking the opportunity to clean everything of dust and polish the plastic. I also cleaned the vinyl where the cluster slips into.
Previously, my temp. and time readouts were dead.
After the fix, the temp. is working fine but couldn't get the time readout to work. Even tried spraying electrical cleaning fluid to no avail.
just pulled my instrument cluster and thought I'd share what I found.
The Mercedes pulling hooks are nearly essential. Sure you can make your own but to me, it's safer since you know the tool is made specifically for this purpose. And messing up the cluster frame isn't worth saving a few dollars.
You need to pull with a great deal of force and it seemed to help by doing it slowly, then let it sit for a few minutes, then pull again. Go figure!
Most have said it's friction fit but not what I thought. There are actually four small "springs" that push against the cluster keeping it in place nice and tight.
One bit of advice that I don't recall seeing is that the two electrical connectors are secured by a grey clip. If you look at the top of the connector just forward of the clip you'll see a small "nub" that when pressed down will allow the clip to move forward unlocking the connector. You need to push it down all the way till it kind of snaps into place.
Everything else was fairly straight forward and covered by previous posts. However, I'd also suggest taking the opportunity to clean everything of dust and polish the plastic. I also cleaned the vinyl where the cluster slips into.
Previously, my temp. and time readouts were dead.
After the fix, the temp. is working fine but couldn't get the time readout to work. Even tried spraying electrical cleaning fluid to no avail.
