DIY. Repair Broken "Buzzer Chime" in RB4/RB8 Cluster

[f1torrents]

This is a DYI on how to replace the Buzzer Chime speaker that is no longer working in your RB4/RB8 Cluster.
I have read of this problem on other forums but this is the first time I have had to fix one myself.
I'm not sure how common these fail but if you have no sound in the following situations then yours is probably broken.

-No sound when seat belt is not clicked in while driving (Unless you coded it that way)
-No sound when you leave the lights on and remove the key from ignition
-No sound when washer fluid is low
-Any other warning that normally gives a warning sound

This is a moderate level DIY. I'd give it a 5/10 only because it involves taking your cluster apart and some light soldering.

*I take no responsibility if you brick your cluster. PLEASE be aware that if you are not skilled with electronics and soldering you should not attempt this!
If you make a mistake and break something you will NOT BE ABLE TO START YOUR CAR! Please take extreme care when working inside your cluster.

Now if you are brave enough to continue. Here we go.

STEP 1
-Remove the cluster form the car. There are 2 T20 screws holding it in place. on the bottom on the cluster behind a plastic shied you remove by hand.
Place a towel on the steering column to protect it from scratches while removing. Screws are located where the REDdots are behind the cover.


STEP 2
-Remove the 4 T10 Screws from the back of the cluster


STEP 3
-Carefully un-clip the 4 tab's to separate the two half's of the cluster. You want to leave the circuit board in the from half and just remove the back half.
This is what the tabs look like.


STEP 4
-Find the speaker on the top of the circuit board. There are 4 solder joints you have to remove. Doing this from the back side allows you to avoid removing the needles and screens. Repositioning the needles can be a bit of a pin so this is a much better way to go about it.
Thanks to "K0mpresd" I now use hot-air for almost everything.
You can use a iron but hot-air makes life real easy.
2 solder points on one side


And 2 on the other


STEP 5
-Install your replacement speaker in reverse order and reassemble the cluster.

And that's it folks. About 30-45 minutes depending on your skill level and you have a functioning buzzer chime again.

[MikTip]

I have a question?

Can a replacement OE speaker even be sourced? Or some aftermarket speaker is used?

[f1torrents]

I used one out if a old cluster.
I have a small collection if them.

However only the 2 connections that are close together actually do anything. + and -
The other 2 just hold it in place. So I believe you can use any Small speaker as long as you can fasten it in place.

[MikTip]

So one has to use an old/spare speaker....

The small speakers have specific ratings/volts/ohms...?

Any specs from the old speaker?

[f1torrents]

The only spec on it are as follows.

DIGISOUND
FE36100PC/W
19.06.03



Found this on google.
https://www.buerklin.com/en/catalog/...T-M647300.html

[SlickFix]

I think we've finally found a speaker setup that should be a perfect fit for the sound characteristics of the Bose Corporation!

[jursch2211]

I have a question?

Can a replacement OE speaker even be sourced? Or some aftermarket speaker is used?

Mpower had a write on this before and he replaced my speaker in my cluster when he did my swap. He had a whole box of OEM speakers from Germany that he picked up. I'm sure he still has some lying around he wouldn't mind selling. Try shooting him a pm.

[john_gonzo]

Can a replacement OE speaker even be sourced? Or some aftermarket speaker...

This is installed with two dabs of RTV schmizen on the wires to prevent stress on the solder joints. Note this speaker has just two wires. The two unused mount holes from the OEM speaker are visible to the right. Speaker diameter fits within round speaker hole molded into back cover of instrument cluster.

Manufacturer: PUI Audio, Inc.
Manf P/N: AST-030C0MR-R
Vendor: Digi-Key
Digi-Key P/N: 668-1138-ND
Digi-Key price: $3.53 each

Frequency Range 1.2kHz ~ 10kHz
Impedance 100 Ohm
Sound Pressure Level 80dB
Power - Rated 0.15W
Power - Max 0.3W
Height 12.70mm
Size / Dimension 29.70mm Dia
Material - Cone PET
Material - Magnet Nd-Fe-B

[Reflex Tuning]

I have a few extra laying around. If anyone needs some direct replacement speakers. Or if you want to mail me your cluster I can repair it for $120 total.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281525450671...84.m1555.l2649

[diuvic]

This is installed with two dabs of RTV schmizen on the wires to prevent stress on the solder joints. Note this speaker has just two wires. The two unused mount holes from the OEM speaker are visible to the right. Speaker diameter fits within round speaker hole molded into back cover of instrument cluster.

Manufacturer: PUI Audio, Inc.
Manf P/N: AST-030C0MR-R
Vendor: Digi-Key
Digi-Key P/N: 668-1138-ND
Digi-Key price: $3.53 each

Frequency Range1.2kHz ~ 10kHz
Impedance100 Ohm
Sound Pressure Level80dB
Power - Rated0.15W
Power - Max0.3W
Height12.70mm
Size / Dimension29.70mm Dia
Material - ConePET
Material - MagnetNd-Fe-B

Wait a minute John_Gonzo! Are you gonna be the hero that Audizine deserves? So you have this aftermarket speaker installed in your cluster? I just bought an S4 cluster for my A4 and the buzzer chime isn't working. If I can source this part and fix it myself, well, that would be amazing.


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[john_gonzo]

Wait a minute John_Gonzo! Are you gonna be the hero that Audizine deserves? So you have this aftermarket speaker installed in your cluster? I just bought an S4 cluster for my A4 and the buzzer chime isn't working. If I can source this part and fix it myself, well, that would be amazing.

Ha! I installed mine ~4 months, 4000 miles ago. Works great!

Still plenty in stock: Digi-Key_Part_Number_668-1138-ND

[diuvic]

Ha! I installed mine ~4 months, 4000 miles ago. Works great!

Still plenty in stock: Digi-Key_Part_Number_668-1138-ND

You're my hero john_gonzo. I'm going to buy this and fix my buzzer chime. I'll post pictures when I'm done. Thanks for a super cheap fix!

[SlickFix]

john_gonzo, sir! Always good to see you on the forum. Could you please explain the RTV schmizen under the speaker? Is the speaker resting on the schmizen, or is the speak suspended in midair above the circuit board by the two black wires?

[john_gonzo]

john_gonzo, sir! Always good to see you on the forum. Could you please explain the RTV schmizen under the speaker? Is the speaker resting on the schmizen, or is the speak suspended in midair above the circuit board by the two black wires?

Thanks SlickFix - I try to give back where I can! The wealth of info on this forum has saved me a lot of time and $ over the years.

The speaker is suspended in midair by the two pins. I soldered the wires onto the speaker pins then bent the wires into the curves seen above. The wire insulation (not bare pins or wire) is against the circuit board. The two globs of RTV cover the wire/pin joints and also secure the speaker to the circuit board.

Did that answer your questions?

[SlickFix]

Yessir, thanks very much. This is on my list of things for the Avant. Wifey has left the lights on too many times since the speaker died.

[diuvic]

This came in the mail! Fixing it this weekend.

[SlickFix]

Nice, I just ordered a couple of these myself. That will be next weekend's project.

[Charles.waite]

Wait.... you guys WANT your cluster beeper to work?! I love that my car doesn't give me a heart attack every time the gas tank gets low... I'm perfectly capable of noticing a bright orange warning on my DIS without being annoyed by a stupid beep.

However I do sometimes wish the chime worked when I leave my lights on...

[diuvic]

Wait.... you guys WANT your cluster beeper to work?! I love that my car doesn't give me a heart attack every time the gas tank gets low... I'm perfectly capable of noticing a bright orange warning on my DIS without being annoyed by a stupid beep.

However I do sometimes wish the chime worked when I leave my lights on...

Listen man, I don't want to end up in a Breaking Bad situation where I'm stranded in the desert after failing to notice I left my lights on. Haha.


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[Charles.waite]

Listen man, I don't want to end up in a Breaking Bad situation where I'm stranded in the desert after failing to notice I left my lights on. Haha.


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Hah!

[diagnosticator]

New OEM speakers here:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audi-Instrum...-/281525450671

[Haoz]

john_gonzo that's perfect! Thanx for sharing this information man :)

[SJorge3442]

Ugh....reviving this since I need to complete this task now. Left the lights on and ended up with a dead battery 1 too many times. Not going through this again.

So I can legit just remove the old speaker, attach wires to this new speaker and solder them to the appropriate points and then use a smiggen of RTV for support? This is looking like it will be a one hour job max. What keeps the speaker from bouncing around? The upper housing?

[john_gonzo]

Ugh....reviving this since I need to complete this task now. Left the lights on and ended up with a dead battery 1 too many times. Not going through this again.

So I can legit just remove the old speaker, attach wires to this new speaker and solder them to the appropriate points and then use a smiggen of RTV for support? This is looking like it will be a one hour job max. What keeps the speaker from bouncing around? The upper housing?

Yeah SJorge, you got it. Although that speaker looks big, it is low mass. Any bouncing around is damped by the RTV mount to the circuit board.

Edit: Pro tip - When removing the old speaker, clip the four leads first then individually desolder each pin from the circuit board. This reduces the risk of damaging the board.

[SJorge3442]

Yeah SJorge, you got it. Although that speaker looks big, it is low mass. Any bouncing around is damped by the RTV mount to the circuit board.

Edit: Pro tip - When removing the old speaker, clip the four leads first then individually desolder each pin from the circuit board. This reduces the risk of damaging the board.

Since I dont have a hot air gun, could I just snip the leads and then attach the new wires to the old leads? Lets remove the risk of board damage all together, right?

[john_gonzo]

Since I dont have a hot air gun, could I just snip the leads and then attach the new wires to the old leads? Lets remove the risk of board damage all together, right?

Sure.

[SJorge3442]

Sure.

I figured this would be ok, but its always worth asking! Here's to hoping I get my speaker by the weekend so I can fix this up.

[agentsmith988]

Since I dont have a hot air gun, could I just snip the leads and then attach the new wires to the old leads? Lets remove the risk of board damage all together, right?

I did it this way just because it was less work. Worked just fine for me!

[john_gonzo]

I figured this would be ok, but its always worth asking! Here's to hoping I get my speaker by the weekend so I can fix this up.

I did it this way just because it was less work. Worked just fine for me!

Just out of curiosity, how are you guys attaching the new wires to the existing pins? Are you using something like a female spade crimp connector?

[SJorge3442]

Just out of curiosity, how are you guys attaching the new wires to the existing pins? Are you using something like a female spade crimp connector?

I was thinking of just soldering a wire to the new speaker pin and then attaching said wire to the cut pin from the old speaker.

Will this not work?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[john_gonzo]

I was thinking of just soldering a wire to the new speaker pin and then attaching said wire to the cut pin from the old speaker.

Will this not work?

Oh yeah, that'll work. I misunderstood your earlier post - thought soldering was off the table. Carry on.

[SJorge3442]

Oh yeah, that'll work. I misunderstood your earlier post - thought soldering was off the table. Carry on.

Worked great! Took about an hour to do start to finish. I wish the speaker were a touch louder, but I have bad ears so others may disagree. All in all, this was a great $10 fix.

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[agentsmith988]

Worked great! Took about an hour to do start to finish. I wish the speaker were a touch louder, but I have bad ears so others may disagree. All in all, this was a great $10 fix.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I noticed that the Digi-Key speaker is a bit quieter than the OEM one too. It's more of a subtle reminder instead of a loud blaring one.

[SJorge3442]

I noticed that the Digi-Key speaker is a bit quieter than the OEM one too. It's more of a subtle reminder instead of a loud blaring one.

Yeah exactly. Hopefully its loud enough for me to not forget to turn my lights off again

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[xrs]

Replaced my buzzer last weekend. Bought new one in local electronics store for 5eu.




Removed old speaker from that square "base". Put new speaker underneath it. It holds firmly, no need to glue anything. Solder two wires and it works like a charm :)

[SJorge3442]

another broken chime fixed!

[5ktq]

I did this a few weeks ago, now I won't forget the lights on!

[k909068]

Subscribed.

Mine is broken for a while, I should find some spare time to fix it.

[k909068]

Removed the buzzer from a donor red cluster, will find another day to replace the bad one on my color cluster.

Stupid question: Is the any difference sound between red and color cluster? A friend said they are different. I'm totally cool with that, but just out of curious. lol

[JAudi23]

I also need to do this soon, I do not get a chime/buzz/warning sound when lights are left on, keys are left in the ignition, or drivers seatbelt is unbuckled.

Oddly enough, last time I recall my fuel being low, the alert DID go off and was audible. I am pretty sure I also have an alert if I set the speedo warning and reach that speed.
Are there two different sources of sound for the various functions?

Also, what happens after the cluster is removed from the car and reattached? Do any special steps need to be completed to "re-pair" them, or is it just plug and play?
Aside from the obvious, carefully desoldering and soldering the connections to the board, what is the risk of causing damage to the cluster while completing this DIY?

Lastly, there is mention of "hot-air" for the soldering process, can anyone provide more info on that as opposed to using a soldering iron with direct heat?



Thanks,