[commander.sri]

"An idle mind is a devil's workshop" said a few great minds. Well, mine is no different but my devil is more a DIY nut .

And so, evolved the crazy idea in my mind over the weekends of why cannot replace/upgrade the crazy & outdated looking limited feature MID in my 2018 D-MT Limited (O) Jeep compass's instrument cluster to a more advanced & exquisite 7 inch multi color MID. Pulled my fancy & trendy electronic brick we all love to carry these days - my mobile phone (literally a brick - its a FOLD 4) and started looking for any pointers online who had the similar "DIY Khujli" for feel good upgrades.

Well, the regular google search surprisingly had little to no information on some one pursuing similar thoughts. May be none wanted to fiddle around with FCA's (FIAT Chrysler Automobiles now part of Stellantis group) fancy wiring and security protocols even for auxillary equipment which keeps on trying its best to throw some or the other error when something is upgraded/replaced. After a thorough and detailed search over the web of the world with various combinations of keywords/tags, found the below video in youtube where a gentlemen (YT Channel: South Hawk Computing) from the US tried swapping an old one to a new 7" multicolor MID. However, the upgrade/replacement was a mere plug and play as he replaced the whole instrument cluster with an updated one. Interesting right? Nope - it ain't for us . More on this later to the video below.

https://www.youtu.be/Ok1VBfck88I

Although the video above gave some detailed insights on how to get the instrument cluster out from the dash and replace another, the real bummers which barged-in later could be categorised in three words - "Kmph", "Odometer" and "Proxy alignment".

First Bummer - "Kmph":
As we all are aware that Jeep is an American brand with significant numbers of the model Compass on the US roads than in any other country and definitely much more than in India. This gives a high chance of sourcing the desired instrument cluster from the salvage yards in the US and yes, I was able to find one in ebay US for 50 USD for the whole instrument cluster with a cool 7" multicolor MID. Here comes the first bummer - "kmph" - the speedo was in MPH aligned for the US market and we are with our metrics in KMPH. This is where most of the logical part of my brain got me worried and finally came out with a solution of opening both my old cluster (with kmph) and the new (with mph), swapping just the interfaces with each other did the job. By bringing both the instrument clusters together and focusing on the interfaces made it very evident that the difference is primarily on the speed level markings on the speedos and not with the movement/function of the speedometer needles. So, opened both the clusters, removed the speedo needles by rotating them anti clock-wise, swapped the interfaces and fixed them back. It might sound silly but as they say, problems which sound larger than life could really be solved by meagre common sense. More on the other bummers with detailed pictures as the saga continues.

Some pictures clicked while addressing the first bummer - "kmph"




























Second Bummer - "Odometer":
Later came-in the time for the second bummer word - "odometer". Well, the first part of the issue was with the odo reading as it had everything shown in miles than in kilometers (obviously ). Was able to address the same by quickly fiddling with the settings in the instrument cluster for changing the units from Imperial to Metric. Then comes the second part with the FCA's way of things - the number of kilometers/miles the vehicle has run is hard coded along with the VIN number into the instrument cluster's memory and cannot be flashed/altered ever, even if we connect the unit to a different vehicle! So, my actual odometer reading at the time of replacement was 58748km and after the upgrade reads 21003km. It was good to know that the replaced cluster came-out from a vehicle which was less run than mine.






Third Bummer - "Proxy Alignment":
Now comes the biggest bummer - "Proxy Alignment". Before we get into what it is, let's look at what are those plethora of issues which are engulfed into this classification.
1. Flashing Odometer Reading - A standard FCA protocol triggered by the BCM/BCU (Body Control Module/Unit) when any modification is done with the vehicle and its electrical auxiliaries even when replacing with genuine spares.
2. Air-bag System Service - An error caused due to the change in airbag positions from Left aligned ones (LHD in US) to Right aligned ones (RHD in India).
3. Mis-matched Door Ajar Warnings - An error similar to the one above caused due to the change in door positions from Left aligned ones (LHD in US) to Right aligned ones (RHD in India).
4. 4WD Service - The replaced instrument cluster came from a Compass TrailHawk with 4x4 system and since that's missing from my 4x2 one, an error gets thrown.

By looking at the exhaustive list above, it might look extremely complicated to fiddle with especially the airbag error but when we understand the logic behind why they are getting thrown and how to eliminate them, the solution is absolutely simple - that's "Proxy Alignment" in FCA language which aligns all the connected units to BCM/BCU and other related modules including the ECU. Proxy alignment is the default nomenclature used by FCA guys at their ASCs where in they connect the laptop with their proprietary diagnostic software called wiTECH v2.0 through the OBD connecter below the steering column, run a diagnosis for errors (DTCs), clear the errors, then run proxy alignment which re-aligns all the connected devices and guess what - all the above errors are gone as my instrument cluster is now re-aligned with the features and options my vehicle is manufactured with. Please be advised that there is a high chance that none of the "experts" at your nearest Jeep ASC might really know about this and would normally straight away deny saying it will not work/we know better/please don't teach us kind of responses but will absolutely exhibit a "pleasurable silence" after all gets sorted in 2 mins of their time with just a click of a button when we insist doing it .

There is a setback though for this process where the instrument cluster updates itself to the newest version of its firmware and shall now have the 80/120 speed beeps like the ones bought after July 2019 when this so-called safety measure was rubbed on to the 4-wheeler manufacturers in India.







The final video after replacing the instrument cluster but taken just before getting the "proxy alignment" done. So, you might still see the errors listed in the Bummer 3 section .

https://youtu.be/XFClApFzm3c

P.S ~ My sincere apologies for the shabby pictures. Tried my best to capture all that I could in a not so lit environment while solely working on the project. Cheers.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[bijims]

Nice attempt and I appreciate the effort, but the bummers are a real pain! Anyway hope you are happy with the result!

[commander.sri]

Originally Posted by bijims

Nice attempt and I appreciate the effort, but the bummers are a real pain! Anyway hope you are happy with the result!

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, the bummers though absolutely painful especially if it's a DIY project, to me personally, are the ones that make the DIY drives more exciting/interesting. The fantastic outcome definitely makes all the pain worthwhile .

[ramnaresh_2000]

Fantastic attempt. It is a nightmare to source any aftermarket parts for the Compass. I just gave up on many things, really encouraging to see that you were able to upgrade the boring MID. My wishlist below, to start with

• Auto dimming IRVM
• Cruise Control
• Bigger Head Unit (current one is 7")
• LED cabin lights

Any indicators where I can source any of the above mentioned parts is highly appreciated.

Once again, keep updating the thread with new updates.

[di1in]

That’s a great job you’ve done there. I have a similar model limited (o) 4x4 and sure wouldn’t mind trying this out.

My current focus is on getting a larger head unit and 360 cameras but most of the places I’ve tried in Thrissur and Kochi didn’t have experience doing this on a compass (or didn’t have pictures of the same).

[kronos596]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Fantastic attempt. It is a nightmare to source any aftermarket parts for the Compass. I just gave up on many things, really encouraging to see that you were able to upgrade the boring MID. My wishlist below, to start with

• Auto dimming IRVM
• Cruise Control
• Bigger Head Unit (current one is 7")
• LED cabin lights

Any indicators where I can source any of the above mentioned parts is highly appreciated.

Once again, keep updating the thread with new updates.

Cannot agree more for the Cruise Control. I fail to understand why they deleted it for Manual Transmission equipped cars in India, and have not provided it till now, 6.5 years after the launch in 2017. Absolutely sucks to have blank steering buttons on a car costing greater than 25L.

Below is the 2018 UK spec Compass sourced from India which has cruise control with MT.

[PaddleShifter]

I have a small query.

1 mile = 1.6 Km

Is the speed displayed perfectly in kmph after merely swapping the dials? Have you compared the speedo reading with GPS reading? How much does the reading differ considering that most cars overstate the vehicle speed by approx 10% compared to GPS speed.

(Yes I have read that the two displays were compared and it was concluded that the markings are auch that needle movement is not an factor for displaying the speed in kmph vs. mph).

[commander.sri]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Fantastic attempt. It is a nightmare to source any aftermarket parts for the Compass. I just gave up on many things, really encouraging to see that you were able to upgrade the boring MID. My wishlist below, to start with

• Auto dimming IRVM
• Cruise Control
• Bigger Head Unit (current one is 7")
• LED cabin lights

Any indicators where I can source any of the above mentioned parts is highly appreciated.

Once again, keep updating the thread with new updates.

Thank you for sharing your bucket list for the compass. My list is very similar to yours.

• LED Cabin Lights - Done | OSRAM make
• MID Upgrade - Done
• Throttle Controller - Done | Pedal Box installed
• Cruise Control - Upcoming DIY project
• Audio Equipment upgrade to 8.4" Uconnect - Upcoming DIY project

Since there is no aliexpress or similar shipping to India now, have been using ebay US | UK | DE for sourcing the oem/aftermarket upgrades inline with my business travel schedules.

Originally Posted by di1in

That’s a great job you’ve done there. I have a similar model limited (o) 4x4 and sure wouldn’t mind trying this out.

My current focus is on getting a larger head unit and 360 cameras but most of the places I’ve tried in Thrissur and Kochi didn’t have experience doing this on a compass (or didn’t have pictures of the same).

Thank you for the encouraging words. OEM 8.4" head unit upgrade would probably my next DIY project along with the cruise control.

Originally Posted by kronos596

Cannot agree more for the Cruise Control. I fail to understand why they deleted it for Manual Transmission equipped cars in India, and have not provided it till now, 6.5 years after the launch in 2017. Absolutely sucks to have blank steering buttons on a car costing greater than 25L.

Below is the 2018 UK spec Compass sourced from India which has cruise control with MT.

True that! It's absolutely essential to have Cruise Control these days and I wonder what was going through FCA's top brains while concluding this to be a not-so-critical feature for a 25+ lakh car.

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

I have a small query.

1 mile = 1.6 Km

Is the speed displayed perfectly in kmph after merely swapping the dials? Have you compared the speedo reading with GPS reading? How much does the reading differ considering that most cars overstate the vehicle speed by approx 10% compared to GPS speed.

(Yes I have read that the two displays were compared and it was concluded that the markings are auch that needle movement is not an factor for displaying the speed in kmph vs. mph).

Yes, I have checked the actual speed in both the instrument clusters comparing the speed from the digital speedo vs analog speedo vs GPS speed before the change of instrument cluster (old one) and after the change of instrument cluster (new one).

The variations observed between the three correlations (digital speedo vs analog speedo vs GPS speed) were very much proportional between the old vs new clusters.

[jithin23]

Lovely updates Commander.Sri. You have unlocked the potential for Jeeps as well! Keep the mods going. You reminded me of my meter mods on my EcoSport! For the odo correction I think any major meter repair shop would be able to correct the reading.

Regarding shipping, you can try shopandship or buy andship. Suppose if you have connects in UK, you can ask them to ship it in Royal mail provided the weight is under 2kgs. That’s how some of us in our group get most of the parts to India.

[commander.sri]

Originally Posted by jithin23

Lovely updates Commander.Sri.
====That’s how some of us in our group get most of the parts to India.

Thank you for the encouraging words and sharing your experience with shipping from the UK. Will sure try it the next time

[SidTheChamp]

This is just awesome @commander.sri
What you have done is remarkable and hard to believe.
Changing the instrument panel cluster to a brand new one that too of Jeep compass. You are one enterprising guy.

[commander.sri]

Originally Posted by SidTheChamp

This is just awesome @commander.sri
What you have done is remarkable and hard to believe.
Changing the instrument panel cluster to a brand new one that too of Jeep compass. You are one enterprising guy.

Thank you so much. Was definitely a risky move to fiddle around with a 30L machine with fancy electricals but it was a calculated risk I had to indulge into considering how boring the earlier MID looked .