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Speedo Needle light not working

18K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  SnowGood 
#1 ·
The wife came in from night shift and says she couldn't see the speedo needle on our 2010 2L diesel Yeti. Turns out the dashboard cluster light is faulty. All the others are ok just the speedo needle. "No probs" I say thinking it's an easy bulb replacement(showing my age now).

I found a firm in Portsmouth who do this type of repair. LED diodes that need to be soldered on. £150 plus £40 if they do the removing and refitting of the cluster.That's a lot of dosh for an illuminated needle!!

So my questions to you....Is there a cheaper option and are there any instructions online for removal of the dash cluster?

Thanks in anticipation....
 
#2 ·
First thought is that there is probably nothing wrong with it.

The Yeti is clever.
When you start the car the speedo is lit up, but then if the sensor in the dash senses it is dark the needle lights go out, so reminding you that you need to turn the lights on.

I suggest you first go out and test it yourself.

If in fact the LED has failed then there does not appear to be a cheap way of dealing with it. The dash pod needs to be removed and a new LED soldered in. That price seems quite reasonable.
 
#3 ·
Are you saying that inside the instrument pod the numbers are illuminated and the needle is not so it appeaars to be not there? when you switch the vehicle lights 'on' from daylight running mode,
So if you start the car in the dark in daylight running mode you should see the needles lit but not the numbers? to make you turn the vehicle lights 'on'
 
#4 ·
With mine when the light level is low the speedo numbers dim but not the needle, the light sensor is in the face of the rev counter.. If turning the lights on does not correct the "problem" the price you have been given for the LED replacement is not excessive.
If you use that company to repair the instrument cluster it could help others if you could give an account of what you think of their work, and the name of the company you use.
 
#5 ·
If the moderators wish to move this posting to' Idle chit chat' thats okay with me.

Hi Paulleo When you say in your posting you thought it was an easy replacement of a bulb, you've actually pointed out to us all' how it should be' 'A BULB' not a £200 job to replace a Led, simple light for the speedo thats what it should be ie a bulb that an owner can replace.

I assume that you will know that it is a garage job to replace the front indicator bulb aswell, it involves removal of the front of the car , cost , about £150 plus vat check on the YOC site for further blogs on this matter under 'front indicator bulb' ( the rear bulbs are a simple matter its easy to remove the light unit )

So how much did your Skoda garage want for fixing this or did you not check with them ?

The problem is we as consumers are 'stuck' with this sort of OTT car electronics it almost makes you think that all car manufacturers will only put more electronic items into vehicles so, the time will arrive that an owner can do zero, to look after their car, apart from topping up the windscreen wash bottle, we are very near that point now.

Its good for them ( manufacturers ) but not good for us, because it makes us as consumers think, or even worry, that I must change the car for a new one. 'Its 3 years old' and if it goes faulty it will cost me 'an arm and a leg'to keep it on the road, a crazy staement ? well if you are on a pension, retired, on a modest income a bill of £200 to replace a speedo bulb, or a front indicator bulb is the last thing you want.

I am totally in favour of the safety aspects of modern car electronics but this 'bulb scenario' on the Yeti is just plain stupid. ( but its the same thing on all cars now I think ?)

Anyway I've finished my morning 'rant' and not a coffee in site, I only drink tea.

'All of this could be the end of the Arther Daley used car sales as we know it Captain'
'you need a coffee Spok'!! 'before you decide to buy that 5 year old car'
 
#6 ·
EVOTRIANGLE said:
Are you saying that inside the instrument pod the numbers are illuminated and the needle is not so it appeaars to be not there? when you switch the vehicle lights 'on' from daylight running mode,
So if you start the car in the dark in daylight running mode you should see the needles lit but not the numbers? to make you turn the vehicle lights 'on'

Sorry, no I meant the numbers were dark, and the needle lit.
 
#7 ·
EVOTRIANGLE said:
I assume that you will know that it is a garage job to replace the front indicator bulb aswell, it involves removal of the front of the car , cost , about £150 plus vat check on the YOC site for further blogs on this matter under 'front indicator bulb' ( the rear bulbs are a simple matter its easy to remove the light unit )
Not on a pre-facelift model it doesn't!
There is a section behind the inner wing liner that needs to be removed and that can be done just by removing the wheel on that side and working from inside the wheel arch.
The kit includes a new small panel to refit into the hole made.
 
#9 ·
EVOTRIANGLE said:
the time will arrive that an owner can do zero, to look after their car, apart from topping up the windscreen wash bottle, we are very near that point now.
Maybe that's your opinion but there are very few things that I would not ne competent to do with a workshop manual when the warranty has run out.

And even with probably 1000% extra technology included in today's cars compared to years ago they are much more reliable, we tend to hear about problems not reliability.
 
#10 ·
EVOTRIANGLE said:
Hi llanigraham--So the newer the car, the more stupid they get???? forget about 'preface lift' thats gone now and we are lumbered with what I said in my rant.

Anyway Paulleo let us all know how you get on with your bulb problem.

I don't know about the facelift model, so cannot comment.
 
#11 ·
Mines a facelift and the whole front needs to come off to get the headlamp unit out of the body to get at the bulb in fact you can't take the bulb out of the headlamp unit as it is moulded into it on production. I posted photos in the link 'front indicator light', to highlite the problem.

{And even with probably 1000% extra technology included in today's cars
compared to years ago they are much more reliable, we tend to hear about
problems not reliability} I totally agree

There are many jobs I would not do even with a workshop manual, the point I was making was that say you put £200 towards new brake pads and discs this is fair expenditure, but £200 to change a bulb is IN MY OPINION not good design, or really very 'fair' to an owner.
 
#12 ·
If the "bulb" is an LED , then it's life, when correctly driven with the right voltage and current, will be in excess of 20,000 hours, so that's a fair few driving hours.
In fact a couple of decades, so if it fails sooner, then either the LED was faulty from the beginning, or it was over driven, shortening it's life, ie design fault, so we can expect a lot more failures, or it's the driver circuit.
Tip:-
if you have a panel light dimmer, by just dropping the light intensity down just a little, can double the life of bulbs, and possibly LEDs depending on how they are driven.
 
#14 ·
Llanigraham said:
First thought is that there is probably nothing wrong with it.


I suggest you first go out and test it yourself.
My wife is not an idiot and finds your comments rather condescending. I am sure your comments read differently to what you actually meant to say.
 
#15 ·
EVOTRIANGLE said:
Are you saying that inside  the instrument pod the numbers are illuminated and the needle is not so it appeaars to be not there? when you switch the vehicle lights 'on' from daylight running mode,
So if you start the car in the dark in daylight running mode you should see the needles lit but not the numbers? to make you turn the vehicle lights 'on'
It is just the needle light not working. I will post a photo.
 
#16 ·
EVOTRIANGLE said:
Its good for them ( manufacturers ) but not good for us, because it makes us as consumers think, or even worry, that I must change the car for a new one. 'Its 3 years old' and if it goes faulty it will cost me 'an arm and a leg'to keep it on the road, a crazy staement ? well if you are on a pension, retired, on a modest income a bill of £200 to replace a speedo bulb, or a front indicator bulb is the last thing you want.
Here here
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
Urrell said:
Maybe that's your opinion but there are very few things that I would not ne competent to do with a workshop manual when the warranty has run out.

Ah a man after my own heart, although I think ease of access would also play a big part, what happened to all those places that were supposed to open where you could rent a hydraulic car lift by the hour? If you do ever manage to find a decent paper manual make sure you post the details. I managed to get a dealer workshop manual for my Mazda over 600 pages of sheer gold which cost £64, but I doubt if the same can be done for a Skoda.
 
#20 ·
Hi, I had the same issue with my Yeti in that the speedo needle wasn't lighting up. Obviously Skoda wanted to charge a fortune to get me a new cluster but I found a place in Portsmouth called Cartronix do the repairs on them. They whole thing in about an hour including taking it out for me. They upgraded the led lights to stop it happening again and give a warranty for as long as I own the car.
 
#23 ·
Welcome Anne.

Here is Cartronix websire if it is useful to anyone. Pity they are not more centrally located for those of us (no longer) in the South.
 
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