Have I Blown My Instrument Cluster?

[BXAFTW]

last night i took out my instrument cluster to replace the fugly blue led's i had with red ones.. anyway, i have a quick release boss kit for my steering wheel which i took off to make getting the cluster in and out easier, that left the horn button exposed as well as the ring around it which completes the 'ground' (i think) cicuit for the horn.. the 3 plugs at the back of the cluster where as usual a prick to get off and in the process the back of the cluster tapped the horn button and maybe the ring at the same time, which produced a flash and immediate constant beeping from the dash.

i got worried and wanted to see if i'd rooted anything so re-plugged the 2 i'd already taken out back in to the cluster.

long story short.. my cluster lights all work, and the fuel gauge is active, but the rev's, speedo, oil pressure, kilometre counter and the triple gauge cluster are all inactive, but they do all light up, just no actual movement.

also when the cluster is plugged in there is a constant beeping from the dash, which will only stop once i remove the centre white plug..

i think ive fried some of the circuitry in the cluster itself though visually i couldnt see evidence of this. has anyone ever had something similar happen? anybody know what it could be? the only way i can think of finding the problem, is trying another cluster to see if it works, if it does than ive fryed mine, if it doesnt work, then ive just blown a fuse somewhere, or worse the computer.

dont know if im posting in the correct thread but this seems where all the electrical questions go..

im really keen to get this fixed as id had the car apart for some time doing mechanical work and an intense interior detail, and this was the final thing to do before i could drive again. so im spewing that ive got to deal with this now.

any help is as always hugely appreciated.

cheers guys.

[BXAFTW]

Edited February 2, 2010 by BXAFTW

[grandmasterb]

Unscrew the back of the cluster to get a better look mate, you will soon see if there was any damaged caused. It sounds like you have fried something but to what is hard to say without having a look at it.

[BXAFTW]

i took off the black cover that you see in the photo. but no damage was visible..

do you mean take off the black plastic cover then completely disassemble the thing? i was thinking about it, but didnt want to make it any worse.. but seeing as its not working anyway, i might do it tonight.

[grandmasterb]

i took off the black cover that you see in the photo. but no damage was visible..

do you mean take off the black plastic cover then completely disassemble the thing? i was thinking about it, but didnt want to make it any worse.. but seeing as its not working anyway, i might do it tonight.

Yeah mate remove the black cover and expose the circuit board the best you can to see if you have burnt/damaged any of it. Id say that you have and that's causing the "beeping" but whether or not it can be repaired is another thing.