DODGY DASH LIGHTS???

[DUBNATOR]

Hi guys, hope i can find help and go straight to the problem?
I bought a 1988 325i touring back in october, the car had been stood since 1999.
After changing fuel tank, fuel lines, brake pipes, timing belt, water pump and oil and filter i have finally got it running today .
The engine sounds great having only done 64,000 miles but i have a problem with yellow light on dash when switched off, rev counter tries to move but wont? temp gauge on full but no overheating problems, fuel gauge sometimes on full, then not then ok?
It got dark before i could investigate any further, as i have the car on my drive and don't have a garage, i carn't wait to get my hands on it when i finish work today, but i wont have much time before the sun goes down again
Am i right in thinking this is an earth problem? could anyone point me in the right direction to solve this problem, and would all issues mentioned be linked?????
Any replies would be great help

[Grrrmachine]

Let's stick this in the Tech Help forum...

There's no clear solution to those problems as each dash instrument works almost individually from the others, so there's varely rarely one thing (like an earth issue) that would stop them all from working, unless the entire dash circuit board is destroyed.

Unfortunately for you, that probably is what's happened. The dash cluster contains a set of batteries, called SI Batteries, that really don't like being disconnected for long. If this car has sat for 15 years, there's a very high chance that these batteries have leaked and killed your dash cluster.

Get used to using the Wiki for issues like this - it has guides for most problems. Here's how to remove your dash cluster:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... eplacement

If your cluster is ruined, you can easily get replacements. Then you'll want to swap your speedo clock to maintain the mileage, possibly the fuel guage to make sure you have one for the larger tank, and the coding plug to ensure your rev counter works for a 6-cylinder engine. More info on this on the Instruments page:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... nstruments

[Brianmoooore]

Grr's comments above are a little on the pessimistic side. The SI board batteries will almost certainly have failed, but there were two different versions of the board used by BMW, using different types of battery. One version used NiCd rechargeable batteries, which do leak and destroy the circuit board, but the other uses non rechargeable Lithium batteries, which will have gone flat, but shouldn't have leaked, so can simply be replaced.
Even if your board has the NICd batteries, the corrosion damage should be confined to the main electronics board, mounted in the front half of the cluster case, and not spread to the main board in the back half, that carries all the instruments.
Whatever replacement you get, I'd recommend obtaining and fitting new batteries to it before fitting it.
The one thing in your list that isn't usually caused by duff batteries is the fuel gauge problem, so expect there to be a second fault here.

[DUBNATOR]

Cheers guys, I got finished at work early today and nipped into a scrappers where i knew there was a set of clocks but were in KM's so i knew i would get them cheap .
I took out my set of clocks from the dash and i could see the corrosion on the screws before i even opened it up!!
Well when i got it open there was corrosion everywhere, over the circuit board and the panel, mine was the one without the lithium batteries but the new one was from a 1990 and had the lithium batteries and all was nice and clean after swapping and using my clocks apart from the fuel gauge, i quite like the look of litres on the gauge instead of half & full, everything is working fine.
Guys you have saved me whole lot of time and money.
Spot on with your info guys, the batteries did distroy the circuit, and i recon the moisture over 16yrs destroyed the instrument panel.
Once again cheers, i dont think its the last you have heard from me

[Brianmoooore]

Build date of the car doesn't have much relevance to what version of the board you will find. ALL NiCd batteries will have failed years ago, and the boards will have been replaced.
BMW supplied replacement new Lithium type battery boards, but also took back and rebuilt the NiCd type boards. Which board you got as a replacement was random.
Later cars were fitted with the Lithium boards from the factory, and these can be distinguished from replacement boards by the fact that the replacements have a jumper link on them (indicated by a large orange sticker) which is an on/off switch, which wasn't fitted to the OE boards.
You can only use the fuel gauge that came with your replacement cluster, if the donor has the same size fuel tank as your car, otherwise it will read incorrectly, except at full.

[DUBNATOR]

Cheers Brianmoooore, the clocks came from a 320i and it states the litres on the gauge which is 63ltrs, and mine is a 325i which uses the same size tank.
After fitting my gauges and dials and all lights working on the dash i went to move the car back and forth on the small space on my drive, but when i went to select gear it wouldnt go in?? the clutch pedal felt ok but im not sure if its just me that thinks there feels like pressure on the pedal, as the pedal on my Honda is very light
With the car been stood for so long am i right in thinking the clutch master or slave cylinder has gone?
I carnt investigate this weekend due to misses birthday and my son playing rugby miles away so it looks like next weekend weather permitting.
One step forward Two steps back at the moment
Heads pu in the right direction appreciated guys.

[Grrrmachine]

It's probably best to start a new thread on your clutch issues, as different people will chip in with their expertise depending on the type of problem you state in the title.

But a failed clutch cylinder would normally mean the pedal sinks to the floor rather than going stiff. Remember that E30 clutchs are VERY heavy compared to modern Japanese turds.

[Brianmoooore]

Sounds like the clutch driven plate may have rusted to the fly. Not uncommon with laid up cars.
Start and drive it in gear, then accelerate hard in first with the clutch pedal down, and/or get up a bit of speed and stand on the clutch and brakes at the same time.
On the normal weight of the clutch pedal, E30s were designed by MEN for MEN, and is much heavier than the unisex stuff being sold today.