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Topic: instrument cluster (Read 284 times) previous topic - next topic

instrument cluster

hi chaps, i have recently bought  a E plate gti, the instrument cluster is toast, someone's been in there and tried to solder bits!
VOD part number 091 191 035 DH, I cant find a replacement anywhere! would a motometer 191 919 035 dh be compatible, they look the same apart from the vacuum on the back looks different.
appreciate your help!

Re: instrument cluster

Reply #1 –
The main thing with instrument clusters is the year.

There are two electrical systems in a mk2 golf. Central Electrics 1 and 2 (ce1 & ce2)

Being an E reg yours will be CE1, they changed later 1989 I belive. The easy way to tell is the position of the harazrd warning switch. On ce1 it's a rocker switch on the dash panel (like yours). Later cars with ce2 have a push button on top of the steering coloum.

The instrument clusters for CE1 have 2 large sockets, CE2 only has a single socket on the right hand side.

So if what you're looking at has 2 sockets then it's all good. The shape of the vac input varies. On early cars if was metal, later cost-saving plastic (which can result in the nipple snapping off).


As long as you get a CE1 cluster it'll be fine. VDO and Motometer makes no difference. And sometimes you see a mixture within a cluster. This would never have happened from factory, but the parts are interchangeable so someone might have replaced a faulty dial. rather than swap out the whole cluster.


There are a few other differences to consider:

Very early (1984/5) cars have an economy gauge instead of MFA. These are r.a.r.e and expensive so it's unlikely you'll find one but if you do avoid.

Diesel cars have extra light for glow plugs, you obviously don't need this.

Low spec models have a clock instead of the Rev counter, mid-spec cars have a rev counter and digital clock, but no MFA.
All parts are interchangeable and the blue PCB is the same for all so all the plugs and connections you need should be available from any cluster.

16v GTIs have a 160mph speedos and different red line on the rev counter
8v GTIs have a mixture of 120 or 140mph speedos, there's no known reason for this, it spans all years, it's the luck of the draw. But I've seen 140 more common in earlier cars.



Re: instrument cluster

Reply #2 –
Quote from: Eddypeck on
The main thing with instrument clusters is the year.

There are two electrical systems in a mk2 golf. Central Electrics 1 and 2 (ce1 & ce2)

Being an E reg yours will be CE1, they changed later 1989 I belive. The easy way to tell is the position of the harazrd warning switch. On ce1 it's a rocker switch on the dash panel (like yours). Later cars with ce2 have a push button on top of the steering coloum.

The instrument clusters for CE1 have 2 large sockets, CE2 only has a single socket on the right hand side.

So if what you're looking at has 2 sockets then it's all good. The shape of the vac input varies. On early cars if was metal, later cost-saving plastic (which can result in the nipple snapping off).


As long as you get a CE1 cluster it'll be fine. VDO and Motometer makes no difference. And sometimes you see a mixture within a cluster. This would never have happened from factory, but the parts are interchangeable so someone might have replaced a faulty dial. rather than swap out the whole cluster.


There are a few other differences to consider:

Very early (1984/5) cars have an economy gauge instead of MFA. These are r.a.r.e and expensive so it's unlikely you'll find one but if you do avoid.

Diesel cars have extra light for glow plugs, you obviously don't need this.

Low spec models have a clock instead of the Rev counter, mid-spec cars have a rev counter and digital clock, but no MFA.
All parts are interchangeable and the blue PCB is the same for all so all the plugs and connections you need should be available from any cluster.

16v GTIs have a 160mph speedos and different red line on the rev counter
8v GTIs have a mixture of 120 or 140mph speedos, there's no known reason for this, it spans all years, it's the luck of the draw. But I've seen 140 more common in earlier cars.


Cheers thank you very much ,struggled to find a decent used but did find a company that repairs them.so going to give that a go, thanks again