1996 jetta instrument panel failure

[wadem]

 Hi guys!
  Great site, have been reading for awhile but was finally able to sign up
I have a 96 Jetta AAZ and have been tinkering for about 8 months with it. kind of a hobby car!!
Its been running great and the motor still is purring at 330.000 km's.
  Here's the issue. Driving down the road and heard what sounded like a fuse pop, looked down and the entire panel is dead. Tach, temp, speedo, fuel gauge. Got to work shut down and 6 hours later came out and everything works!! Fine for a few more days then it starts all over again. Sometimes just the speedo goes, and sometimes its everything.
  Anyway, I was lucky enough to track the problem to the t28 plug on the back of the panel. If you squeezed it and pushed on it hard enough it would make contact and work. I thought maybe it was connectors sliding out so i checked all of those and they are fine. when i had it all apart i was able to just lightly touch the front of the circuit board where the connector plugs in and again it would all come to life.
  What are the chances that its the circuit board/cluster? are these prone to failure on the jettas?
Does anyone have a good wiring diagram of a 1996 AAZ instrument panel. Mine are useless.
Also, gonna check out the bone yard tomorrow as they have several 1993 to about 1999's in their yard. will a gasser cluster work in the diesel car? I realize there are tach and other differences but just wondering if this is possible. I think the odds of finding a diesel car will be slim.
  Any help here would be greatly appreciated......again GREAT site!!!

Wade

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Welcome to the forum Wadem.

A gas cluster should work fine - as far as just giving you basic functions.
Glowplug indicator will be lost and Tach won't read.

Where are you from ?
In Canada they have lots of 93-97 AAZ parts cars.
You could source a diesel cluster from one of our Canadian members.

[wadem]

Thanks for the reply......i guess i will see today what i can find from the wreckers.
Is it possible to modify the tach to work somehow? The old one worked fine, or is it a function of the circuit board?

Wade

[Baron VonZeppelin]

A diesel tach gets its signal from the alternator rpm's.
Gas tach gets signal from ignition coil.

If you get any reading, it will be mixed up at best.

Depending what you have to pay at a wrecking yard for a gasser,
money might be better spent getting the correct cluster by other sources.

[wadem]

OK struck out at all the junk yards So does anyone out there have a instrument cluster they want to sell or perhaps no of where I can fine one that will fit a 1996 AAZ?

Wade