Dials problem

[Jenny]

I have been quoted around £700 for new dials fitted direct from Volvo. Can anyone please suggest a cheaper option?

[Vikingxl]

What car and year and whats the problem with the ones you have?

[M-R-P]

Firstly, welcome to the forum.
Looking at the price you've been quoted, I can tell you have a V70 or S60 from 1999 to 2003 (53).
There are alternatives to paying the ridiculous price quoted by Volvo.
Cheapest way is to unplug your battery for 2 hours, take the dials out and dismantle them. Take the circuit board to a tv/mobile phone repair shop and get them to resolder the Motorolla chip (one of 3 big chips on the board) then put it back together (carefully - the dials use springs as contactors and can be tricky) put the speedo unit back in and re-connect the battery. this will cost you about £35-45. Companies like BBreman and Dashclusters uk will do it but charge £200 to do the same thing.
Or there are companies that will supply and fit a second hand unit (requires reprogramming) for about £350 - HLM in bromsgrove do this.

Hope this helps ;)

[adam b]

This a D5 s60 in swansea perchance?

[Garett]

My odometer disappeared today on my way to my local independent Volvo garage to have some other bits of work sorted!

They said its a common problem and recommended a company called BBA Reman. They will recondition your dash unit for around £99+vat but the car will be inoperable during the time the unit is out (typically 3-4 days I was told).

I will probably take this route and leave the car at the garage and get them to remove, refit and deal with any issues that might crop up, I believe the airbag light might need resetting.

[M-R-P]

Good luck with it :)

[d2k]

common issue with models between 2000-03, dry joints..... mine done the same & i too was left with a daunting £730 dealer repair....

but dont panic... i tracked down a guy who repairs them, he done mine & all is now perfect!!

www.volvodiagnostic.com

the guy's name is Lukaz top bloke fixes hundreds of these units & also repairs failing ETM's, give him a ring he'll send you his address you send him your DIM he sends it back ..problem solved, (£60 which includes return delivery) super price!!!

he also gives a 2 year warranty on his work.


buying a new DIM is not acceptable, but Volvo dont give a s^^t.

HLH

[M-R-P]

Mine hare been repaired over and over again and constantly failed. I paid the 735 quid :(

[Wobbly Dave]

Martin - time for more DIM death video action?

[Garett]

Mine hare been repaired over and over again and constantly failed. I paid the 735 quid :(

Wow! BBA Reman offer a lifetime warranty on their reconditioned units!

Does anyone know if your odometer disappears whether it is still counting or will it revert back to zero when its repaired?

[M-R-P]

Mileage is held in the dim and ecm. So if you. put a new dim in, get it working, the ecm will update the dim. Mine froze for about 200 miles but the new one was spot on.

I did the repairs on mine to start with and as a result, no tech or spark would touch it in case I'd weakened it :(

[M-R-P]

Martin - time for more DIM death video action?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_7ZrfqB3zs

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39033&page=5

Here ya go ;)

And many thanks to wobbly for the winning suggestion for how to do it ;)

[M-R-P]

Just updated the youtube link ;)

[Wobbly Dave]

Now thats what you call taking a DIM view of it all.

Youtube - view, DIM eh eh... see what I dun? LOL