The stock LCD in Caudill’s Winnebago was beginning to pixelate, making it tough to read — especially while driving. Brazel’s replacement screen kit, on the other hand, illuminates against a blue background (which can be adjusted for brightness), making it easy to glance down to see what’s going on.

Brazel, parts manager for Brazel’s RV Performance and its Ultra RV Products parts distribution division, looked into the problem along with company technicians and discovered that the liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens used would eventually delaminate — and the pixels would begin disappearing. That left owners in the lurch, without the ability to monitor everything from the odometer and oil pressure to battery voltage, gear shift position, engine warnings and diagnostic features.

“Once delamination started, those screens would become illegible after two or three years,” he said. “We thought there has to be a better screen we can provide that doesn’t have that issue.”

Eventually, the crew at Brazel’s RV Performance did find a suitable screen and had it custom-made to fit the Workhorse Actia instrument cluster. The company now markets the upgrade — along with a host of products for Workhorse and other chassis — at ultrarvproducts.com.

Since the dash in his Winnebago was hinged to allow access to the electronics behind it, Caudill used a short length of PVC pipe (notched at the top) to hold it up and out of the way. When you raise the dash, check all the wiring harnesses to ensure they aren’t being pulled too tightly — you don’t want to create unnecessary work for yourself by unplugging anything.

As Brazel stressed, this is not a replacement cluster — it’s a replacement for the errant LCD screen that’s swapped into an owner’s original instrument cluster. The replacement industrial-grade LCD screen utilizes an easily readable dark blue back-lit display for high contrast and easy daytime/nighttime reading and does not alter the vehicle mileage, which is stored on a separate memory chip on the circuit board.

The relatively inexpensive “fix” ($149.95) is available for Workhorse motorhome and commercial vehicle chassis model years 2003-2006, when the Actia-brand instrument cluster with this issue was utilized. Coincidentally, those years also were when the greatest number of Workhorse chassis were produced. If you’re unsure of fitment, RV owners can input their vehicle identification number (VIN) on the website when ordering the part and company technicians will verify parts selection by the VIN to ensure you are getting the correct component for your vehicle. It’s a great service offered by Brazel’s, which also operates workhorseparts.com and is considered the “go to” place for Workhorse parts and technical information.

The replacement screen kit, which carries a lifetime warranty, can be replaced either by owners shipping their instrument cluster to Brazel’s or by doing it themselves — the company provides a fully illustrated installation guide with color photos detailing every step of the process. To give you an idea of the process, which only takes about 90 minutes, RV Enthusiast followed along as one owner, Kevin Caudill, swapped out the screen on his 2005 Winnebago 38J on a W-24 chassis.

Since you are working on the motor- home’s electrical system, be sure to disconnect the engine battery before beginning to guard against inadvertently causing a short should certain connections bump against the metal frame behind the dash that’s holding everything in place.

The first goal is to remove the nuts and screws holding the instrument cluster against the plastic fascia. Caudill ended up removing a few components in the way, including the dash controls for the motorhome’s HWH leveling jacks because, like most of the dash components, it screwed into the metal frame that everything else was attached to.

Once unscrewed, the instrument cluster will drop out of the dash housing. Unplug the rear wiring harness connection. Getting the cluster out took Caudill about 30 minutes “and that’s with me not really knowing what I’m doing.”

Remove the gauge surround plate from the face by grabbing the surround at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions and lift straight off.

The gauge needles now need to be removed, but before you go any further, it’s recommended that you take a photo of the gauges with your smartphone to check afterward that the needles returned to the same position. There are different removal techniques: the engine tachometer and speedometer are removed by turning the needles counter-clockwise, while the temperature and fuel gauge needles are turned clockwise. Turn until each bottoms out and can be pulled off — you may find some are on pretty snug.

The circuit board for the instruments is held against the face by yet more plastic tabs. Release them by pushing on the tab as you gently lift on the board.

The screen housing also is held in place by four plastic tabs, which will have to be released. The screen housing is further attached to the circuit board by a “zero insertion force” wiring ribbon socket on one side. Carefully push the tabs out to release the ribbon from the connection, then remove the bezel.

To release the old LCD screen from the plastic bezel, bend the corners of the bezel slightly to separate it. Carefully remove the protective plastic from the new screen — being careful to not touch the screen — and snap in the new screen by aligning the white ribbon with the corresponding opening in the bezel, then press it into place. You will feel (and hear) it snap into place.

Line up the ribbon with the socket and carefully slide it into place; when installed correctly, you will no longer see the contact points on the ribbon. Lock the plastic tabs into place (you’ll need to carefully press them in at the same time). When reattaching the bezel to the circuit board, be careful not to damage other components on the circuit board, particularly those directly under the bezel.

Reinstall the gauge needles — which, Caudill noted, “go in a lot easier than they came out.” Make sure you don’t feel any drag on them when turning; Brazel’s recommends keeping a fingernail’s width of space between the cap and the face so it won’t drag on it.

Before reinstalling the completed instrument cluster into the dash, it needs to be checked to ensure the gauges are working correctly. Reattach the battery connections, then turn on the ignition without starting the engine. Press and hold the “mode” button for 20 second, then release. The LCD display will yield a number of options, from adjusting the screen contrast and restoring default settings to engine hours and max vehicle and engine speeds. Scroll to “cluster diagnostics,” then “gauge test” and it will automatically test each gauge for correct operation at 0%, 50% and 100%. If everything lines up correctly, disconnect the battery again and reinstall the instrument cluster, taking pains to ensure you don’t accidentally pinch any wires when you lower the dash back into place.