Take your VIN to a dealer and order a new one if they are even still available, it may be possible that GAP could write a patch file to fit a used cluster so worth sending them an email.

 

Thanks for the idea. This question came about when i saw a LR on facebook, not starting do to the PO changing cluster. Old cluster no where to be found.
After reading up on some of this, thinking it is a good idea to pass on it.
Tho some interesting reading on the LRs.

 

A friend of mine bought 2 x disco's cheap because the workshop couldn't get one of the cars going after replacing head gaskets on the TDV6, they bought the 2nd car as a wreck to use for parts so they starting swapping ECU's and the cluster around.
Of course this didn't help at all so they sold them off as a group deal, after he got them home i went over with my GAP tool and checked for errors of which there were many so he swapped back in all the matching modules and a little more fault finding and it now a nice car.

 

I'm still struggling with understanding what was supposed to be a relatively straight forward (I know, I know...) instrument cluster replacement and haven't done so because I'm getting conflicting information from dealers and the internet for how this all works, particularly point #1.

Is the mileage stored in an on board ECU or the cluster itself? Because I'm seeing and hearing conflicting info. It does seem like consensus here on all the forums that the odometer with "write" itself to the higher of the two numbers, and that you can't reprogram the odometer on a used rig. So if your car has 100k miles and your used cluster has 200k miles that you just put those miles on your rig - but is that actually somehow backwards writing information stored on the instrument cluster to the vehicle computer system? Or is it just going to display the wrong number while storing the proper number on the vehicle computer?

In other words, what if you accidentally "added" those 100k miles installing a used cluster then used an OBD reader to read mileage? Would that reader show the actual mileage or the falsely inflated mileage forever and ever?

 

That info is stored in the cluster, from what i've read you can choose to sync the odo but there are some mileage restrictions where you cant copy lower mileage than what the new cluster has or words to that effect.

 

Thanks for the insight. Yeah that's part of what I'm having a hard time discerning.

Essentially what it sounds like is the the ECU has a rule where it sort of "checks in" with the cluster to confirm what odometer number it has stored, and when that number is different than what the ECU has stored, then the ECU has a rule that says "hey wait, okay the number is different but you can't be rolling miles back so I can't accept a number from this cluster that is a lower mileage than what I have stored." Ok, that would be very logical and make sense to adhere to odometer laws.

But wha I can't pin down is: if the new instrument cluster is a HIGHER number than the ECU, does the ECU simply "choose" the highest number available as a response to the rule above(i.e. "adding" miles to your car), or does the ECU actually say "I'm in charge, I have the real number, and as long as my number is lower than this other ancillary piece of equipment, we're going with my number" ?

Real life example of why I care about that nuance is: My cluster is going out, so I bought a used one for $300, but the seller was not totally genuine about their knowledge of the mileage on that cluster (I don't currently have any way to tell what the mileage of that cluster actually is without installing it) and I'm trying find out if installing it will totally rewrite my odometer history and it's a bit of a rabbit hole. I'm a little surprised there's not a clearer picture painted from folks that have done this before.

My rig has 106k miles on it so, I'm feeling like a high likelihood this cluster has a higher number on it. I don't mind if it displays the wrong number for a year or two, but, I definitely don't want it to actually rewrite my vehicle odometer memory in the ECU. And that's the point I can't seem to pin down.

 

Yeah i looked thru the disco3 UK forum but still couldn't find anything concise about it but someone mentioned not to sync the ODO and it should be good.

Had another search and found this - https://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/instr...er+replacement

 

Well thanks for all that, in all my digging I did not come across that Disco 3 UK post.

Hmmmm... very curious what to do here. Wonder if I can install it and not synch the odometer for now? Wonder what that'd do? Maybe keep the correct number on the ECU but display the wrong number with the instrument panel? Dammit I sure wish I just knew the freaking odometer reading on this instrument cluster.

 

Hmmmm... so can you replace the cluster but then choose NOT to sync the Odo?

 

My understanding is that its an option but not having done it i cant confirm what the repercussions may be if any.