Which MFA, and does anyone have one for sale?

Hi there

I have a early 91' gti cabby,

My MFA display doesn't work, it's is completely blank and I'm looking to getting it working again,

Everything else works on it lights, speedo, rev counter it's just the display that is blank.

I have do far purchased and sold on 3 mfa's as I keep buying the wrong ones lol.

The MFA I have has an extra plug behind the rev counter, which MFA do I need to replace the one I have? From which car as Im frustrated at buying ones that don't have this plug.

Does anyone have one they want to sell on?

Or is there a way to check my LCD and confirm it's defective and not the stale , as I have read this could possibly cause the MFA not to work?

Thankyou in anticipation for any help

if its blank its nothing to do with the mfa wiring itself, you have lost the permanent live feed to the clocks or the dash is faulty. even if mfa wiring was completely missing the mfa would still work as a digital clock

Cheers John

Any idea where to start looking? MFA stalk? Does the lie come off the ignition live?
Can I rewire a new permanent live?

Thanks again

Dash is faulty?

Do you mean the while unit itself?

start by checking the dash fuse, then look at the red wire to the clocks. as i say, nothing to do with the mfa wiring so ignore the stalks

The dash lights work ., admittedly they didn't when I got the car so the fuse was replaced then they worked again.
The red wire, is it the one from the fuse box or a red one off the clocks?

Sorry I'm asking

it goes from the fusebox to the clocks
try pulling the fuse for 30 seconds then refitting, this can sometimes sort it. also check the brown/white wire to the cylinder head this is the earth for the dash.

Fuse is fine, earth is connected so it must be the red live from the fuse box.

Going to check that now,
On the back of the clocks is it the main cable that goes into the bottom "big plug" connection that supplies the LCD screen?

not sure what you mean by that? theres the red wire from fusebox to dash plug, then from there power to lcd comes via the pcb on the back of the cluster

Got the clocks out now. The main plug at the bottom- pin6 to earth is 12v

Is that the supply to the LCD?

Also now tested pin 2 ( earth?) and getting a good earth there too

yep thats the one! looks like its the dash cluster which is duff

what do the pins look like, ive had poor contact problems caused by bent pins, and also worn contacts on the clock pcb. also on one of my clock sets the plastic clip surround was missing so the pcb would move around, that one was a right pain to get the pcb aligned right when plugging in

Everything looks good on the pin side of things.

Thankyou for all your help.

What MFA do I need to look out for as a replacement?

Like I said I keep buying the wrong ones.

Mine has the red/white and black/white plug next to the rev counter at the rear.

The ones I keep buying don't have that connection.

So any advice on purchasing the correct one ?

Thanks again for all your help John

if its a 91, you want the type which doesnt have the analogue mpg gauge/shift light, and doesnt have the 1/2 knob at the top right.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MK1-Golf-MFA-Dash-Speedo-Clocks-Dials-Spares-Repairs-/180692271334

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MK1-Golf-MFA-Dash-Speedo-Clocks-Dials-Spares-Repairs-/180692272878

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/mk1-VW-GOLF-GTI-CONVERTIBLE-cab-clocks-85-000-parts-/140571462350

mine was not working. take battery lead  of then put back on mine was fine then hope it works for you

Thankyou John

Just brought the 3rd item .

Checked first and he confirmed it was fully working.

Fingers crossed it will work when I get it.

As this one has 87k mine has done 107k is it easy enough to change the clocks or am I best just leaving it?

mine was not working. take battery lead  of then put back on mine was fine then hope it works for you

Daistew

Thankyou for the idea I've tried everything now for the last couple of months but to no success.

Just brought one off eBay and if this one doesn't work I'm gonna give up and accept it's just not meant to be lol.

if your old speedo is working just swap it over, only a few screws hold it in
best test the clocks before you strip them though

changing the mileage on the clocks is easy enough, but you still have to take the speedo out to do it so you may as well just swap the lot over. unless you fancy sitting there for ages with a drill poked in the back

Ok so my new clocks arrives today,

Plugged them in hey prestow a working MFA ……

Now my dash lights work , but when I turn the ignition on and start the car they go out? Totally random any ideas?

Also when I turn the lights on ( no ignition) the oil light comes on but that goes out when the engine is running!!

Totally confused now I take it the MFA I have just received is also broken?

Is it possible just to change over the LCD to my old one?

Any help is really appreciated as this is now really annoying lol

sounds like an earth problem, check the brown/white wire to the side of the head and if there isnt a braided earth from the head to one of the coil mounting bolts add one this can help with funny dash problems