E36 instrument probs, help

[mrLEE30]

not mine fellas so all second hand info. what happens is the instruments occasiionally all stop working and the needles drop to 0, or all go to full scale, the odometer also displays nonsense.

do any of these symptoms sound familiar to anyone, would like to have some idea before i look at it. its a 325 about 93-94 model.

cheers

mrlee

[bmpaul]

sound like instrument panel giving up the ghost. try breakers yard to replace it

[mrLEE30]

thats kind of where i thought to head, i am assuming the unit is sealed so unlikely to be a connection problem, oh well lets get the big hammers out for this job!

[stuartgallafant]

the instrument cluster in an E36 is different to that of the E30. the E36 one is a control unit, KOMBI as its called. the control unit stores data such as mileage, service level, fault causes and other. it also acts as a gateway control unit for many other lines throughout the vehicle, so simply going to the breakers is not an option. these KOMBI units have to be coded to the vehicle, therefore, a second hand unit wont even be any good, as you cannot re-code the unit for another car. you have to buy a brand new one, which i know in England, is about £400!!!

however, dont start panicking yet. there is a simple test that can be carried out to check functionality and i think even 'reset' the unit. i'll just go and look it over quickly, and i'll get back to you in a short while, so i can tell you how to do it

hope this helps...

[stuartgallafant]

back again mr lee!

right, the test your friend needs to carry out is as follows...

-place key in ignition barrel, DO NOT TURN!
-press and hold button on left side of the cluster and trun the key to Terminal R (one click)
-keep holding the button until there is a numerical countdown (10-9-8, etc)
-the instrument cluster will then self test. all the needles will start moving up and down, every warning/signal light should come on, and the digital display will display things to check pixilation
-when the test has finished, turn off the ignition. if the above has not happened, the cluster is faulty, although i recommend you tell me what happened.

also, i just found out that apparently, you can pick up an instrument cluster over here for about £150. how accurate that is im not sure, but the work must be done at a BMW dealers, as they have to code the cluster to the car.

hope this helps fella...

may i just say, i've fallen in love with your convertible, its such an amazing looking car!!

[bmpaul]

there you go mate best info you can get. i did not realise you had to code it as i never had problem like this. great tips on the self test. stu?, were you or are you a bm mechanic cos you seem to know your s@%t mate!

[stuartgallafant]

well officially im an apprentice technician for a BMW main dealers, but i like to think of myself as slightly more intelligent than the average apprentice!!! due to being older than most of them and already having 5+ experience. and also i just find all this kinda stuff interesting (call me a nerd!!)

anything you wanna know mate, just give me a shout and i'll help ya

[bmpaul]

i would not say you were a nerd geez. i got some knowlege of bms due to my mechanical backround but not as much as i would like to have as i never been lucky enough to work on bms, land rover and jaguar experience, so you lucky dude! i may pick your brains in the future!

[stuartgallafant]

no worries fella, like i said, anything you need mate

[mrLEE30]

Cheers stu, will give it a go!!and let you kow the results.

and i also love my cab, but its stored in the garage till end of september as its too hot to go out in it, and a cab with the roof up is no fun looks like i will have to persevere with the Z3 although i may get it out next week to see if my new BBS splitties look better then my Schnitzers. will post for a poll on that one!

ta again

mrlee

[stuartgallafant]

i also love my cab, but its stored in the garage till end of september as its too hot to go out in it

now that is f*ck*d up!!!

[mrLEE30]

no mate this is f#%&ed up, and i saw 52 in the wifes Durango the other day!!

just going outside to try your test thingy!!



mrlee

[mrLEE30]

ok stu, back now and cooled off.

did the check as you described and got a count down then all the dials went up and down and the chime sounded. so i assume that is what should happen.

then when i start the car the tacho seems to run correct fpor about a second then it drops down to about 500rpm and does not respond to the throttle, the economy guage also is erratic.

thge owner says that if he puts the key in the ignition and starts sonetimes the chime sounds, when that happens the dials dont work! when i tested it the chime sounded and the dials didn't work, but as said sometimes they do. could it be related to the aftermarket alarm system he has installed???

cheers for any advise. i am off for a weeks hols in cyprus on sat so if you reply and dont get any response thats why, i will refresh the post when i am back if you dont reply today

cheers matey

mrlee

[mazit]

I will try this as it hapens on my one also only when I start up and it is only sometimes.
The other thing is if you have a mobile near the dash or even on it, this will effect the dispaly and controls

[stuartgallafant]

could it be related to the aftermarket alarm system he has installed???

quite possibly. the trouble is, some auto-electricians dont realise the complexity of the E36 wiring loom, as like i said, its control units, etc. it is a real pain in the arse if you havnt got schematics and such like to look at.

however, the test part does sound like it functioned ok. i'll write down what you've told me and go and ask a few of the other techs on there opinions...

hope your holiday is good! take care mate. stu...

[stuartgallafant]

the clusters have to be brand new, and have to be coded to the car, for such information as mileage, service data, etc and it acts as a gateway for the EWS (immobiliser and alarm) and the (ZKE) general module

you cannot code a control unit to a car that has already been in another car. it doesnt work! yes, the rev counter speedo will work, but the information stored in the KOMBI (instrument cluster c/u name) will not match up to the data stored elsewhere in the car

i would not tell you this for the fun of it, this is the correct information! after all, this is my job...

[stuartgallafant]

good for you...

[BMW_YARD]

Yes you can swap clusters between cars.

You may get a manipulation dot illuminated in the the cluster to show that it's not backing redundant data to the rest of the car.

But as a display instrument it'll work fine.

Safest way to test is by not coding them so you don't get any data transfer and spurious mileages on giving the car to the customer.

Stuart, you can read theVIN on a cluster in the test steps.

Plod used to bring a box of clusters into the dealer so we would power them up and check which cars they were nicked from.

Should be about 21 test steps in their, adding up the VIN, unlocking etc.

Go and have a play

[stuartgallafant]

BMW_YARD, we've had stuff like that happen a few times. thing is with that cluster, theres loadsa little trick tests and things you can do with them if you know your way around it. thats why it is important to code it to your car, if its going on your car, imo...

argos, we still get an erray of cars coming in here. obviously the brand new cars, but we've got a D reg E30 that comes in once a year for MOT and service every so often (@ £110 per hour, plus parts, plus VAT!!!). I remember the last time it came in was about 4 months ago for an inspection 2, and when we drained the oil, it still looked brand new!!! you could still through it! its only done 26000 miles. theres also a fella that keeps bringing some 230'000+ miles dog of an M535i E28, and he just keeps spending loadsa money on it. i think hes planning to run it into the ground!!

the other day, i went outside to get a car in, and there was a 1502 AND an E9 3.0 CSL!!! i nearly came...

its great seeing the older stuff come in, especially when its such good condition

someone was gonna part-ex a 635 CSi Highline, fully loaded with every extra, and was gonna buy it off the company for £1000, but they backed out of the deal in the end! b*ll*cks!!!

[mrLEE30]

cheers for the replies and discussion baout swapping clusters (even though it seems the one on this car works so not really relevant to me!!)

off for a week to drtink smoke and sit on the beach, happy days!

stu,

if you hear anything labout what else could be wrong et us know mate.

enjoy the summer!

mrlee

[stuartgallafant]

will do fella! have a good holiday mate! although why you need to go on holiday when you live in bahrain is beyond me!!!