Fix Your Cracked R34 Gtr Multifunction (Mfd) Screen

[Chris-06R]

Ok, so the R34 GTR is now getting on a bit in terms of age and one of the things that doesn't last the test of time and the elements is the LCD screen on the multi-function display (MFD).

This was the case with mine - as you can see in the pictures below it was all cracked around the edges and was really annoying me.

So I started looking into what the reason for the cracking was and what options I had to fix it. After doing some forum research I found out that the problem is the polarising film on the front of the LCD cracks (due to heat/uv whatever) and this is what ruins the screen. There are 2 options -

1) Replace the screen with a brand new one - ~$200? (if you can find the right screen)

2) Attempt to replace the polarising film ~$20

I decided I'd have a crack at replacing the polarising film and after doing it I'd highly recommend if you have the same problem as me, follow my tutorial and do it yourself. Its just as much effort to replace the whole screen and is a whole lot more expensive. Even if you do have a go at replacing the film and you ruin your screen you aren't any worse of than you were before and you can replace the whole screen.

Before you begin you're going to need a sheet of the LCD polarising film. I bought the stuff from this place - http://www.3dlens.co...cdpolarizer.php and bought a 17inch piece and just cut it to size (which was good because I stuffed it up the first time and I had heaps left over to have another go). This is the film -

The other thing you will need for this job (apart from tools) is double sided tape - not the thick mounting stuff, the stuff that is just thin film between protective paper.

Ok, so once you have your supplies, you need to remove the MFD from the car.

Start off by pulling out your ashtray and unscrewing the one screw behind it. You should then be able to unclasp your gear stick boot and pull the whole plastic surround out. You will need to unclip the cigarette lighter.

Next, pull out the center air vent. Do this by carefully wedging a thin flat head screwdriver down the left hand side of the vent, and popping it out. I found using two works best - wedge one at the top of the left side and then use a second at the bottom of the left side and it will pop out. Unclip your hazard lights switch and pull the vent out.

Once you have the center vent out the plastic surround for the MFD will lift out of the way revealing the 4 hex head screws you will need to undo. Because they are near the winscreen you will probably need a stubby screwdriver, or, if they are as tight as the ones in my car were, and ratchet, socket and short extension.

Next, undo the 2 or 3 plugs on the back of the mfd - the brown and white ones need to have the little tab in the middle of the plug pushed down to pull them out. Levering them out carefully with a flat bladed screwdriver is the way to go.

Once undone, you can pull the whole unit out and move to somewhere more comfortable.

From memory, i think there's 4 screws around the unit and 2 on the underside you now need to undo to open up the unit. See all that stuff in there - that's why your home-made mfd never worked!

Ok, so you'll need to pull the ribbon out (by lifting the plastic clasp up) and also pull out the plug the blue wires are connected to. This will seperate the screen cradle from the rest of the unit.

Next, remove the screen from the cradle. Again the screws were super tight (I managed to destroy the head of one of them and had to cut a new groove with a hacksaw to get it out) so make sure you have a good quality, appropriately sized screwdriver to get them out.

Once out, you will need to remove the rigid plastic piece that is glued/taped onto the screen. Carefully run a knife around the edge making sure not to push the blade in too far.

Once the plastic piece is off the cracked polarising film is revealed. Clean the remaining sludge off the metal frame with the knife.

Next, CAREFULLY, use the blade of a knife to lift the corner of the cracked adhesive film off the screen. It's stuck down pretty good and is quite hard to get it started so be patient. If you're not careful you will damage the actual screen itself like I did - if you only take a notch out of the corner it doesn't matter too much as you won't even be able to see it once you put it all back together.

Now I thought I'd go check I had the right film and that I hadn't damaged my screen up until this point, so I went and plugged it back into the car -

hmm.. so the polarising film is obviously important...

... and putting it the wrong way round won't help (don't worry it can only go on sticky side down)

that's it...

Ok, so with a sharp stanley knife cut your film to exactly the right size, peel off the protective film on the sticky side, and stick it down. I did this bit twice cos I ended up with a bubble the first time so I recommend sticking one edge down with the film bent and gradually laying it down onto the screen. If you screw it up you should be able to peel it back off carefully, cut a new piece of film and try again. Once on, peel the coating off the front of the film, line the metal frame with some new double sided tape and stick down the thick plastic piece: *make sure you put it back on the right way with the matt finish to the outside*

Put the whole thing back together again, unless yours is like mine and has fallen to bits as you pulled it apart. The plastic is really brittle and breaks very easily - araldite the broken plastic back together and nobody will ever know.

Install it all back in the car whilst trying to beat my time of around 6 minutes to put the screen, screws and all the trim back in. Check out your good-as-new screen and post up your before and after photos in this thread

[TriniGT]

People didn't believe me when I told them I replaced the polarized screen, good to see others doing it as well.

[fLhayabusa]

Great work.!

[xtermin8or]

Thanks heaps for this , mine was mangled , got the film off the site, now it looks new !

[walkoau]

sorry to bring up an old thread....but did you use the glossy film or the matte film? there are both types for each size on that website?

thanks

[cpark]

Hey mate, replaced the film last year and to the glossy film which is the one you will want. Personally haven't tried the matte film but the outer clear plastic will provide you with the matte finish so you would want it as clear/smooth as possible underneath with this film. The glossy one turns out excellent.

The product code on the 3dlens website is P17. Just type that product code into the search bar at the top and it should come up.

Hope this helps.

[walkoau]

Hey mate, replaced the film last year and to the glossy film which is the one you will want. Personally haven't tried the matte film but the outer clear plastic will provide you with the matte finish so you would want it as clear/smooth as possible underneath with this film. The glossy one turns out excellent.

The product code on the 3dlens website is P17. Just type that product code into the search bar at the top and it should come up.

Hope this helps.

I used the matte finish turned out perfect and exactly the same. this is well worth the restoration. mine looks brand new again.

[jrm]

Been several years since I read this thread, and bought the lens from 3dlens.

I finally got around to it today.  Went pretty smoothly, and I"m happy with the results.

I had a few issues - but nothing show-stopping.  I had some glue residue on the screen from removing the polarising layer - and some polarising bottom layer got left on the screen when I was peeling it off- requiring *very* careful removal with some 99.9% isopropyl wipes (thankgod i do electronics repair as a hobby).  I also unfortunately had some permanent damage to the LCD layer from the extremely damaged polarised layer - which left some marks on the screen which could not be removed.  However, once the new polarising layer was put on (be careful with that direction too - cos for me, it changed when you remove the protective layer) - and then the glass layer - it was barely noticable.

Overall, a pretty straight forward project - and I'd recommend it to anyone who has an MFD with still a 20 year-old screen.  Do it as soon as you see any weirdness - as the polarising layer is breaking down and may damage the LCD. I'd post some pics, but honestly, the first post covered everything required.   The only other thing of note was I used some thin sellotape double-sided material to hold the top glass/plastic layer on - as its what I had handy - and is very thin and durable (it's white on the outside with blue writing saying 'peel backing to expose adhesive').

Oh - one thing for anyone who cares - the the size of polarising film I cut out was 75mm x 130mm approximately - to give anyone in future an idea how much material you need.  I bought the matte 17" stuff - and it looks great, and had plenty of material leftover - especially handy as I did get caught with the polarising film being the wrong direction the first attempt.  It pays to double-check these things