Instrument cluster swap
#16
Administrator
There's only one way to find out! Swapping clusters was no issue on my car.
#20
Registered Member
2013 g37 cluster into v36 sedan
after swap
So I’ve looked into this couldnt find anything because it seems like v36 sedan clusters are likely to fail prematurely, my original one had half the leds off and went off so i bought a 2008 cluster and swapped it in worked for about 3 months then the leds around the temp gauge went out. soni was sick of it. finally I was like I need a newer model cluster or rebuild the older one. checked eBay and found a 2013 cluster for 80$ good deal.. but wasn’t sure if it would be a plug and play since it’s 6 years newer than my car.. visually looked identical so I said screw it ill try it..so I did, I swapped my old one out and new one in and worked right away so now I have the updated cluster with white lighted background and white needles... now if you want your original mileage to show you will need to remove your original cluster and disassemble it, and removed the middle screen held on by some screws and a thin type connector like you would find in a phone and swap that into the new one, the only down side is it I think that may still stay red which might look cool red and white.. I kept the mileage I the 2013 cluster came with since it was a bit less than my original mileage, the easiest solution would be to look for a cluster that has similar mileage to yours and just use it..i went with the newer model cluster since its an updated newer version the leds should last a lot longer ...
Before the swap, temp leds would turn off intermittently
before swap leds started to cut off(older style cluster #2)
after swap, newer style cluster. plug and play.
So I’ve looked into this couldnt find anything because it seems like v36 sedan clusters are likely to fail prematurely, my original one had half the leds off and went off so i bought a 2008 cluster and swapped it in worked for about 3 months then the leds around the temp gauge went out. soni was sick of it. finally I was like I need a newer model cluster or rebuild the older one. checked eBay and found a 2013 cluster for 80$ good deal.. but wasn’t sure if it would be a plug and play since it’s 6 years newer than my car.. visually looked identical so I said screw it ill try it..so I did, I swapped my old one out and new one in and worked right away so now I have the updated cluster with white lighted background and white needles... now if you want your original mileage to show you will need to remove your original cluster and disassemble it, and removed the middle screen held on by some screws and a thin type connector like you would find in a phone and swap that into the new one, the only down side is it I think that may still stay red which might look cool red and white.. I kept the mileage I the 2013 cluster came with since it was a bit less than my original mileage, the easiest solution would be to look for a cluster that has similar mileage to yours and just use it..i went with the newer model cluster since its an updated newer version the leds should last a lot longer ...
Before the swap, temp leds would turn off intermittently
before swap leds started to cut off(older style cluster #2)
after swap, newer style cluster. plug and play.
Last edited by R7silver; 10-13-2019 at 09:53 PM.
The following 3 users liked this post by R7silver:
#23
Registered Member
i did open up the original one all the way up and removed the center display off of the cluster, thats what holds the mileage, getting to that point is a bit of a pain because you have to remove the gauge needles.. anyway i'm pretty sure swapping on that piece into the newer cluster will work fine but you will just have the red background display with white gauges, ive done this exact thing on a Mitsubishi galant same concept, im a Audi Technician and have played around with clusters for a while..As for the Q60 cluster now that will require a lot if work since its wired differently and has different features.
#24
Registered Member
yea using the red needles should work fine on the newer cluster, they're slightly different design when comparing the two, older model the red needle passes through the center of the base newer one doesn't pass through its base, but i dint see why it wouldn’t work
#25
Registered Member
iTrader: (3)
It seems a lot of folks here have either went to or came from Audi. Interesting...
The pinouts are entirely different but the signal values are practically the same. The only hiccup seems to be the gas gauge. It is a work in progress but I've sidelined it for now as I'm currently working on a different project. Besides, I don't drive the car enough (1-2x/mo.) for the flickering to really irritate me.
Welcome to the forum, BTW...
Originally Posted by R7silver,4258244
As for the Q60 cluster now that will require a lot if work since its wired differently and has different features.
Welcome to the forum, BTW...
Last edited by ILM-NC G37S; 10-14-2019 at 10:05 AM.
#26
after swap
So I’ve looked into this couldnt find anything because it seems like v36 sedan clusters are likely to fail prematurely, my original one had half the leds off and went off so i bought a 2008 cluster and swapped it in worked for about 3 months then the leds around the temp gauge went out. soni was sick of it. finally I was like I need a newer model cluster or rebuild the older one. checked eBay and found a 2013 cluster for 80$ good deal.. but wasn’t sure if it would be a plug and play since it’s 6 years newer than my car.. visually looked identical so I said screw it ill try it..so I did, I swapped my old one out and new one in and worked right away so now I have the updated cluster with white lighted background and white needles... now if you want your original mileage to show you will need to remove your original cluster and disassemble it, and removed the middle screen held on by some screws and a thin type connector like you would find in a phone and swap that into the new one, the only down side is it I think that may still stay red which might look cool red and white.. I kept the mileage I the 2013 cluster came with since it was a bit less than my original mileage, the easiest solution would be to look for a cluster that has similar mileage to yours and just use it..i went with the newer model cluster since its an updated newer version the leds should last a lot longer ...
Before the swap, temp leds would turn off intermittently
before swap leds started to cut off(older style cluster #2)
after swap, newer style cluster. plug and play.
So I’ve looked into this couldnt find anything because it seems like v36 sedan clusters are likely to fail prematurely, my original one had half the leds off and went off so i bought a 2008 cluster and swapped it in worked for about 3 months then the leds around the temp gauge went out. soni was sick of it. finally I was like I need a newer model cluster or rebuild the older one. checked eBay and found a 2013 cluster for 80$ good deal.. but wasn’t sure if it would be a plug and play since it’s 6 years newer than my car.. visually looked identical so I said screw it ill try it..so I did, I swapped my old one out and new one in and worked right away so now I have the updated cluster with white lighted background and white needles... now if you want your original mileage to show you will need to remove your original cluster and disassemble it, and removed the middle screen held on by some screws and a thin type connector like you would find in a phone and swap that into the new one, the only down side is it I think that may still stay red which might look cool red and white.. I kept the mileage I the 2013 cluster came with since it was a bit less than my original mileage, the easiest solution would be to look for a cluster that has similar mileage to yours and just use it..i went with the newer model cluster since its an updated newer version the leds should last a lot longer ...
Before the swap, temp leds would turn off intermittently
before swap leds started to cut off(older style cluster #2)
after swap, newer style cluster. plug and play.
#27
Registered Member
Manual mode.. dont see a difference
5th in manual mode..
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