First off, I know I am a few years late to the party! Secondly, I actually just purchased a 2015 2500 Big Horn diesel which now allows me to join the Diesel Ram family (coming from a Tundra) so I am trying to learn and discover as much as I can. I have been reading quite a few different forums and posts around upgrading the instrument cluster from the default 3.5" to the 7" premium one, but I had a few questions that I haven't been able to find the answers too.
Finding a used diesel one is not easy, but I found one for $1,200 from Infotainment (
2013-2018 Ram 1500 Speedometer EVIC Instrument Panel Cluster), but I really don't want to spend that much if I don't have to. I have seen on some other forums and posts that you can get ones from junk yards for cheaper, like $300 to $500 (assuming you can find them), but the cluster would need to be programmed to match current information (i.e., odometer, hours, etc.).
I also found on one of the sites that you can download an app (alphaobd) and pair with an obdlink mx+ Bluetooth obd2 reader and make the changes yourself. The app and OBD reader together cost about $180 so even if I found a premium cluster for $500, I would still be saving almost 50% from say going through infotainment.
For those that have gone the route of junk yard searching, have you had any issues with it once it has been re-programmed and secondly, has anyone tried programming it themselves and how successful was it? For those that didn't go with a junk yard or someone selling on the forums, any good resources to pick one up?
Thanks in advance!