Ecomatic instrument cluster

[Deylan]

The Ecomatic instrument cluster is similar to the standard instrument cluster fitted to Mk3 Golfs. It is the analoge clock version (no rev counter).
Despite not having a rev-counter, it does receive engine RPM signal. This is confirmed by the dash cluster diagnostics.
If your instrument cluster looses power when the engine is restarting in ecomatic mode, you should try replacing your auxiliary battery.
It has three additional lights:

Ecomatic Control Lamp. Light on = Engine Braking Mode enabled, Ecomatic mode off, engine does not turn off and car does not freewheel.
Gear Display Control Lamp. Light on = Uneconomical gear selected, gear too low, change up. Light flashing = Too high gear or gear not properly engaged.
Engine Running Control Lamp Light on = Engine will not turn off - This may be because engine is too cold (most likely reason), battery voltage too low, fault detected with system.

In addition, the Oil Pressure and Alternator warning lamps are suppressed by the Digiswing control unit when the engine is off in Ecomatic mode.


(my ecomatic has had an easy life!)
pictures of another ecomatic cluster which was rescued from an ecomatic which had been converted to standard drive.



(note 3 ecomatic bulbs are missing)

[Glen]

Having had a look inside my clocks, I wonder if its possable to fit a revcounter and digi clock by robbing the bits from a posher model. The PCBs apear to be the same, its just the analogue clock models don't have the contacts soldered to the track/holes where the revcounter instrement goes. I don't think I'll ever get round to trying this though as I'd have to buy a revcounter pod.

Another resion is its sort of unnesisery as you can get a tachometer desplay via the diagnostics mode!

Mk3 golfs have digital odometers, and these pods have a simple diagnostic mode built in. It doesn't apear to be accessable from VAG COM though which is what makes the inbuilt system more important.

To access:
Turn key to RUN (probubly best to let it finish preheating if it needs it, remember to select neutral too)
Press trip button
Key to OFF
Key to START
release trip button

Display should breafly go blank and enter diagnostic mode, press trip button to cycle through channels
1 - service interval 1 distance?
2 - ???, seems blank
3 - service interval 2 distance?
4 - 'trip' doesn't relate to proper trip mode though, or seem to count?
5 - display test
6 - speed signal test, may be counting road distance in metres? Will check against the km markers next time I'm on the motroway
7 - Engine tachometer (see when your engine has gone to sleep!)
8 - 'trip', like chanel 4 but seems different again

Don't know what happens if you press and hold trip in this mode, might go to normal,might reset trip. I don't want to reset the trip at the moment so don't want to risk it! If you do the access procedure quickly it doesn't reset the trip counter, if you wait ages between pressing the button and turning off the ignition I suspect it would as it wouldn't have realised your trying to access diagnostics.
If you relase the trip button after just turning the ignition off it'll enter service interval reset mode where you can rest the OEL/IN01/IN02 messages by holding the clock button.
There is a 3rd mode where you can program the serice intervals so you could program a replacement cluster to an existing interval or corectly program a service that wasn't reset at the time.