E30 Zone

Hello,

I have an issue with my Dashboard lights flickering, they will flicker sometimes and then turn totaly off and then flicker agian.

Do you know how i would sort this?

Thanks

Which lights? There are a dozen or so in the instrument cluster, powered from different sources.

Headlight switch. It can be turned to dim the lights.

You may be turning it slightly each time you switch the lights on.

Try turning it all the way clockwise.

Ben

Brianmoooore wrote:Which lights? There are a dozen or so in the instrument cluster, powered from different sources.

It is the Orange lights that illumnatie the Rev, Spedo, Temp and Fuel Guage they are all flickering

The Lights along the Bottom, Service Lights, Front and Rear fog lights are solid.

BenHar wrote:Headlight switch. It can be turned to dim the lights.

You may be turning it slightly each time you switch the lights on.

Try turning it all the way clockwise.

Ben

Thanks Ben i never knew this ajusted the dashboard lights i will give this a shot thanks mate!

Clock, heater controls, etc. illumination is also controlled through the rotary dimmer, so any problem here that affects the cluster illumination, will also affect these.
There are two bulbs that illuminate the instrument cluster dials. If just one is flickering, it could be that the bulb has failed. Low voltage, high current bulbs like these have a relatively thick filament, and it's quite common for it to have broken and for the two ends to still make poor contact with each other.
It's also not unknown for rough handling at some time in the past to have cracked the solder joints where the socket on the back of the cluster is soldered to the circuit board. The relevant pins are 22 nd 23 on the white socket.

thanks for the updates. I thought I’d check the bulbs, found out the previous owner has put in led bulbs where the bigger bulbs should go.

Took the front cover off the cluster, sanded down very lightly the metal contacts as slight corrosion. Replaced with standard halogen bulbs works fine.

I am going to change all the other bulbs, ordered the bulbs off eBay (osram part no 62111368299). Costing £15 delivered for 10 bulbs from Germany rather than £4.50 per bulb BMW was trying to charge me!

Next step replace the OBC lights and Heater control lights!

They're easy.

Less of a faff than the cluster bulbs.

Useful mod for the OBC main display is an LED replacement as that part fails and is silly money from BMW. You can get them all done ready to slide in off the 'Bay.