use a tft lcd on vw polo2003 gauge cluster brands

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I sourced the cluster from Vagtune, Cochin (link) for $583.16 (Rs. 41210) + Rs. 1890 (customs duties) + Rs. 826 (DTDC shipping charges). Sugesh Chandran, the owner was extremely helpful during the entire process and answered all my queries patiently. Since I was located at Surat and Sugesh at Cochin, I knew that I had to take the car to his shop to get it swapped. But Sugesh suggested a workaround - the cluster can be removed by the owner himself (or a garage technician at home) and can be shipped to him along with one of the keys so he can extract the PIN from the key and program the new cluster accordingly. I was a bit reluctant initially since shipping the cluster is a huge risk (damage/loss during transit) and if the programmed cluster wouldn’t work as desired (throwing up random errors), I would not be satisfied after having spent so much. However, Sugesh convinced me that this has been done before several times and the owners were satisfied.

He went on record suggesting that since I have a diesel car, the GTI cluster (meant for the TSI engine) would not come with the glow plug warning symbol and thus, will not flash this light during startup/ignition or in the event of a failure. It was a risk I was willing to take but in the event of a problem, the diagnostic trouble code (DTC) transmitted by the OBD II port to the smartphone application can be used to find this error. I went ahead, ordered the cluster and since the cluster was a part of a huge consignment originating from Hong Kong, I had no choice but to wait until it reached Sugesh at Cochin. I could also use my car until then. Few days later, Sugesh informed me that the shipment has landed and I could send my cluster anytime now. He had given me some pointers on how to get the cluster dismantled and even uploaded a video on YouTube upon request.

Packed the spare key in an envelope and kept it alongside the cluster inside a box which was a snug fit. Loaded the box with Styrofoam peanuts (thanks to the tail lights shipment!), sealed the box with cellophane tape all around, stuck the packing labels and the address, kept the declaration letter inside a reusable polythene envelope and stuck it to the box. We headed to our friendly DTDC branch. The DTDC branch charged Rs. 826 for sending the box using DTDC Blue.

The wait began! And it was going to be a rather painful one knowing I cannot use the car without the cluster. I dropped a message to our car-pooling group on WhatsApp:

DTDC delivered the consignment 3 days later (probable delay by a day due to monsoons) and Sugesh dropped me a message that he has received it and is working on it. The customs duty amount was credited to his account the same day and I sent him a mail intimating him of the credit. Few hours later, a lady calls me and promptly reconfirms my address. The consignment was shipped the same day via DTDC, true to his word. Thanks to the weekend, the consignment got delayed and 4 days later, it was finally delivered.

The packaging was neat. The two clusters were packed in ample bubble wrap and placed inside two separate OEM boxes. These boxes were then placed inside a bigger box with some additional bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts, with the packaging labels were stuck on top of it.

The cluster is also capable of displaying HU information such as radio channels, track currently being played etc. and phone contacts, call information, range, battery life of the device connected etc via Bluetooth. However these features need to be activated via VCDS. Once I get them up and running (hopefully in a few days" time), I shall post it here.

Pretty good I"d say. It always feels good to dismantle things and assembling it yourself, getting stuck at some point, scratching the head over it, referring to the owner"s manual, online VW workshop manuals or YouTube videos (just like how you"d refer to a game"s walkthrough if you would get stuck somewhere). Of course, one can always get it done by a qualified aftermarket garage, be a bystander and pay them a fee. As far as possible, I"d love to get things done by myself. It"s super fun and can teach us a thing or two.

For the petrol variants, this is an acceptable swap. In any case, no stock cables or connectors were cut/spliced. An additional cable was inserted into the connector which can always be removed if the need arises. The cluster is swapped retaining the stock one so this mod is perfectly reversible if the need arises (the odo reading on the stock cluster has to be corrected however). It is only when the cluster is used in the diesel engine variants, the lack of the glow plug warning can be bothersome. This light flashes for a second when the key is turned before cranking the engine but the light can flash for a longer period during cold weathers (indicating that the glow plug is heating). So please keep this in mind before attempting the swap.