Hi,
I am a new owner of a 1992 940 GL non-turbo. So far, it has been nothing but problems for me- in the few months I've owned it, I've had the water pump, timing belt, and starter replaced. Then, the head gasket blew on it, so I had that replaced and new seals.

Now, I am having instrument cluster failure. I noticed the problem when my alternator failed and my car died on the road. This only happened once, but I also haven't put a lot of night time miles on it since. After having the alternator checked out, it appears to be something wrong with the circuitry in the instrument cluster.

Before, when I would turn the key to the 2nd position, only my overdrive light would illuminate, also while the engine was running. Then, sometimes if I gently slapped the dash above the cluster, the other lights would illuminate (except for 4 that didn't), and the overdrive light stopped illuminating while engine was on. I did some research online, including this forum, and replaced the ignition switch, and that didn't solve it. Then, I wiggled and secured all of the wire connections to the back of the instrument panel, thinking this might help, but at least couldn't hurt. I was wrong- Now, not only do my lights still not come on when I tap the dash, but now my speedometer, my tachometer, my fuel gauge and thermostat are all not operating And tapping the dash doesn't do anything anymore. But don't worry- my faithful overdrive light is still working like a champ

The radio seems to be working fine, my headlights seem to work, and the automatic transmission seems to be shifting ok.

So, I have seen instructions on this forum about re-soldering all of the connections on the PCB, and I might yet try it but I have no experience with electronics, and am hesitant to learn on my only vehicle. Also, I inspected the joints closely this afternoon, and also notice a copper connection strip ("lead"?) had stripped on the back. Most if the connecting strips appear to be on the inside of the PCB, but this was a thin one on the back, towards the top. I wouldn't know how to repair this either.

So I am wondering if anyone on this forum has any experience with:
Replacement instrument clusters? OEM? Aftermarket? Salvage/used?
Also, I found a service listed on Ebay, guaranteed work, that claims to be able to repair/remanufacture instrument clusters, the price is $340 including shipping. Sounds decent if it works, right? But it's in the UK, and it will be 2-3 weeks downtime. Is this a service that I can find closer to home (I live in Vermont).

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Alex

 

sounds like it was neglected.

timing belt is a 60K service item. water pumps are generally good for 2-3 timing belts. starters go with age and abuse, they last a long time if the engine is always kept in decent tune so it starts up easily.

for sure, when you turn the key to II, all the warning lights should come on. if they don't, there's a voltage regulator and a fuse on the back of the instrument panel. There's also a fusible link on the back, it can blow if certain wiring thats connected to the instrument panel is shorted.

here's someone elses sloppy repair. I would have used a single strand or two of fine copper wire no thicker than the original trace.

 

This is exactly what is happening to my 94 940. Op, did you ever figure out this issue?