I will say I would have been tempted to run the original EL matrix through a laminator to see if that expunged the shadows since the problem seems to be caused by delamination.
Thanks for the videos, I really enjoy them. I belong to an online Sebring Convertible club. The 2nd gen Sebrings (2001-2006) had EL clusters and they all seem to eventually go dark. It almost always ends up being the inverter. Chrysler used EL clusters again in the 3rd Gen (2007 Sedan, 2008-2009 convertible) and people are starting to run into a similar problem with bad inverters. People are buying random inverters and having mixed results. Unfortunately the 3rd Gen clusters are also the BCM so replacement is expensive (because VIN, options and mileage are stored in cluster you can't put in a used one). Chrysler stopped using EL clusters and went with LED backlighting on the 2010 Sebring and 2011+ 200. There is a market, maybe small, for finding the correct replacement inverter for both 2Gs and 3Gs. We haven't really seen any issues with the EL film itself.
Since you have a spare inverter you can get a sheet of EL panel from Adafruit (ladyada) or elsewhere for pretty cheap. cut it with some shears to any shape then with a little scraping to expose the substrate you can solder your leads and play with it.
My car had this issue went i bought it... I was thinking that buzzing I heard was the dimmer switch but i never thought to tinker with the gauge overlays cause it seemed to complicated... Might give this a try though....
just watched the video again. I never tried anything with mine (police 160mph cluster). I'm tempted to pull it again and maybe try running a heat gun over it to see if that re-adheres it. If that doesn't work, do you know what adhesive they use?
My cluster has been a nightmare for 2 years now. Loud whining noise, 1 gage with no lighting the other 3 with massive "shadows" and intermittently blacking completely out at night. The fuse for the instrument panel is so hot you can't touch it. Last night it finally completely failed.
Wondering if you measured voltage, current and inverter waveform of the old and new displays. How careful do you have to be with these things. Good job on saving the cluster.
Nope. I took the gamble. I just let it run for the afternoon. No angry call back from the customer yet so I assume it's still going. This was filmed 3 months ago.
This cluster isn't with me anymore, I can get more detailed on the next video I make on this. I just soldered the new EL panel to where the old EL panel hooked up. I ran the new split panels in series.
That's awesome! I've got mine out now and I'm trying to just figure out which pins I put power and ground to just to light it up like you did. I have the service manual but it is a damn chore to search through... Any chance you'd know which pins on the grey and white connector need power to light it up?
Looks like: Gray connector: Pins 2, 14 and 15 are ground. White connector: Pin 14 is B+(IOD) and 15 is the run start signal... I had it right, just needed to wait long enough for it to boot.
@@10100rsn Yes this looks to be correct when the back of the cluster is facing you, the power pins will be in the far bottom right hand corner of the larger section of the white connector. And ground is in the top right corner of the gray connector (large half).
What do you have hooked up to check the cluster? I swapped mine out only to have an issue with it and I’d like to test my next one before I put it in. It looks like you just have one wire running to that back to produce the electricity needed to run it. Any info would be helpful and greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I don't have the PIN numbers, but the bottom right hand side of the large white connector you need to connect positive to the two bottom right hand pins, one is battery constant and the other is ignition. Ground is on the dark colored connector top right hand corner of the large connector is ground.
about to do my cluster just like this, gonna wire the faces together like you did and hook it up to my converter lol, i was looking through the comments to see if any issues had happened by using the factory converter cause the seller said not to do that due to low voltage but ill take the gamble as well lol
There are three different versions depending on the MPH range, x2. 3 being red and 3 being blue. Just do a search for "dodge challenger el face" and they will come up.
Dakota doing the same thing. Are you saying this condition cannot be "repaired"? Wanted to keep the stock look and didn't want to take a chance with salvage yard replacement.
@@dc-wp8oc if that cluster uses electroluminescence and not leds, I do not see any aftermarket third party faces available. You might have to go with a used unit.
When wiring to the stock board is there a polarity to take note of? It’s hard to tell in the video red or black and how to connect it to the stock location. Thanks for any help.
I'm interested in getting into dash repair, I'm really good with soldering and desoldering. I've done a couple GM clusters but had to continually run out to the vehicle to get them calibrated. Any recommendations on equipment that I should purchase to make it easier and advice on wiring? I know that with some GM clusters the needle sits below 0.
@@jamesworth8001 the new body style don't have defective stepper motors like the classic/06 and older. You have actual oil pressure issues with that 07 engine.
@@jeffescortlx the oil pressure went from normal, then pinged 80 psi for a second, then dropped to zero and hasn't moved. I changed the sending unit/pressure sensor and it still doesn't move at all. I would think if I had actual oil pressure issues, it wouldn't have went up to 80 before quitting. Thoughts?
Looks great. For sure the failure was due to delamination of the EL panel, so I wouldn’t see any reason why you couldn’t reuse the factory HV generator. BTW I have seen EL typically run on about 90-130V AC (not thousands). Thanks for the video.
@@jeffescortlx voltage stays the same current draw increases. brightness is the frequency and that makes the high pitch noise you hear from the transformer. Some colors need more current and KHz like white and blue, red is more voltage, less current and freq iirc. It's been a few years. I should probably freshen up and shut up lol.
The mind of man (engineers in this case) just seems determined to out-complicate the complicated that soon it'll be so complicated it'll be useless. Seriously, we went from light globes, to leds, to surface mount leds and now to this bullshit. I remember back in the day, one could drive into a service station, buy a new rubber for the wiper and be gone. Now you go to the auto parts store and there are walls and walls of wiper blades. I mean, how many different ways do we need to squeegee water off glass ? Ever since humans invented the wheel, engineers haven't stopped trying to find ways to make the wheel rounder. Just my fourteen cents.
someone said instead of doing all that work you should replace it with a 2015 or 2017 cluster they don't have that problem. is that true, I have a 2013 R/T doing that something yours is doing.
If that year range is compatible (I haven't confirmed) a replacement will require programming. If the programming is done at the dealership, you can probably buy 3-4 faces for the cost of dealership programming, and that doesn't include the purchase price of the replacement cluster.
Hmm not the best idea for illumination, EL panels do fade. They could of used a laptop lcd lighting assembly without the lcd layer. Low voltage and variable led brightness control Laptop led backlights seem quite reliable.
EL can be reliable with a properly designed system. If dodge would have a setup with the EL panel of the Sebring but the inverter of a Charger they would have a solid system. I'm starting to see LED failure in early LED back lit clusters starting around 2007.
I’m dealing with this issue! It’s spreading slowly into my speedometer. You still do these fixes? I’ve seen a place that does it for $200. I definitely need mine fixed. I have 2009 RT with the Road and Track performance group, and it has all the special info in the cluster.
@@jeffescortlx Honestly considering it. Not really anyone in NY who does it. At least in my area, and I really don’t want to buy a whole new cluster. Only other thing I can think of is if Dodge does it themselves which I’m unsure of.
@@Titanic19127 yes for this style of cluster they don't use lights, LED's or light bulbs, to light it. Just an electroluminescence panel with the face printed on it.
@@jeffescortlx there used to be but I don't know now. I don't have a radio that needs fixing at the moment. I was just thinking about the noise issue. On the CB radio s When the light went bad I really overload the driver and made the reception on the radio unless with 10db of noise
Go to eBay and in the search bar put in your car model/year and "Glow Gauge Overlay". You'll need to make sure you select the correct mph for your cluster.
@@jeffescortlx About to install onto a 2010 SE, could you please verify how you used the extra material to construct an adapter enabling plug & play into the factory inverter? This video has been like a light at the end of a dark tunnel and it would mean a lot to know that I've done this properly. Thanks!
@@InvictaWatchGuyI just connected it directly to the original inverter. You can also just follow the original instructions that come with the replacement face if you're more comfortable that way.
@@jeffescortlx3 days later and *this* is the reply I've been waiting for... what a joke. We know you connected it to the factory inverter, me and a dozen other people asked HOW. Why even post such an unhelpful reply?
Hi there! You are definitely a inspiration! So I found where you got the panel cover, however all he has is up to 2010(I’ve got a 2012 Challenger). Do you think the 2010 would work? They look exactly the same however yours came in 2 pieces and the sellers pics appear to be one long piece. I tried emailing him before you, but still no response. Either way, thank you so much!!!
First off, Im very sorry for the delay… i tried emailing the seller again asking very simple questions thinking maybe there was language issues on his part, but still no reply. Yes, there are two lines of wires coming off the bottom of his overlay.
Can I ship you my cluster mine has not failed but I want those gauges without the extra wiring under the dash I need to get my cluster fixed first I have a p0462 if you can do both I’ll send it your way
@@The-Tactical-Plumber Yes I can fix that. But I'll need to know what version of the face you have to make sure I have the right one in stock. But I'm also booked out until February.
@@jeffescortlx so my charger is the 160mph dash I bought the same backlight overlay from this video I haven’t driven the car in a while it’s a summer car I just recalibrated the gages by holding the trip button and key on power and the cel for the po462 is gone but if you have availability to swap the gauge faces
@@The-Tactical-Plumber for current turn around time and price quote my contact information can be found here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T_2WnJMsZaU.html
@@Dioimai quite honestly I'm usually backed up with work 95% of the time. But if you want to get the process started you can email me at 1mr.repairman@gmail.com
@@jeffescortlx I am happy to wait for service , but I have tried your email recently with no word. We understand your busy , however what kind of time is your line before someone can expect to have a response to an email to get in line please sir?
