E30 Zone

After 4 attempts of getting the right batteries, i managed to get the right ones and fit them in before but its not made not difference. the rev counter and eco bar still doesnt work and there are no service lights come on.

I did solder the batteries in right and they are not loose, any ideas? Or do i need to wait for them to charge?

If they are NiCd or NiMH batteries, they should have been charged before fitting.
Have you used the correct type of battery? NiCd and lithium batteries are not interchangeable.
Have the SI lights ever worked while the car has been yours? It's not unusual to find that the daughter board with the bulbs and LEDs on has been removed and binned.
Any sign of leakage from the old batteries? If they have been left in place too long after they have failed, the board will have been destroyed.

I bought these ones from CPC:

http://cpc.farnell.com/varta/cr1-2aaslf ... dp/BT00119

No, the SI lights have never worked. I've checked the fuses and there ok, all the lights are there and theres no leakage from the old batteries.

i changed the batteries in my dash last year and the original batteries were CR14250SE, and i managed to get replacements from

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/sear ... &R=2409465

once i had replace the batteries all the lights work but the speedo was still not, i found the connection to the pulse sensor was corroded, no fixed all working fine

just one thing i found with the batteries is that some come with 2 pin positive and 1 pin negative or 1 pin positive and 2 pin negative..... the batteries that came out of my dash were 2 pin pos/1 pin neg....

ill check it tomorrow, might have got the batteries wrong way round.

Lithium batteries are not rechargeable, and the version of the SI board that uses them does not have a charging circuit.
Also, lithium batteries do not cause problems when they fail. They are only there to supply current to the board when the main car battery is disconnected. At all other times, they do absolutely nothing.
I doubt if your batteries were flat in the first place. Have you tested the old ones?

After looking at the photo after what phunt said and it does look like i have got the batteries the wrong way round so it does look like i need to take them off and solder the old tabs on the the new batteries.