OBC QUESTION....

Post Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:45 pm

hi,fitted a full obc today for the first time! it all works but when i tur it on it says something like ---- vhr? or ---- uhr? whats this mean? also,i can see it in the day but not when its dark,do i have to co nect something to the yellow wire which comes off the back of the obc? is that like an illuminating light? cheers

Tel

Post Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:49 pm

UHR is german for hour / am:pm its telling u to set the clock.
press the little button bottom right and use the number buttons along the
bottom of the OBC.

as for the backlight it may be faulty, there is a guide on here somewhere tells you how to change it.

Post Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:51 pm

cheers! i'll see if i can find it

Tel

Post Wed Jan 18, 2006 9:33 pm

i cant find the link to how to sort the backlight? also,what does the yellow wire do that comes out next to the obc? it has a square connector on it,cheers

Tel

Post Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:03 pm

There's a connector on the loom just behind the OBC, (can't remember if it's yellow, but I suspect it's this one) which is for the independant fuel burning heater, which would have been fitted to cars in colder climates, where you set the timer to warm the coolant.

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:29 pm

hi,ive took the backlight white part out of the obc and the bulbs look fine,cant see any break in the wires,could there be a fuse somewhere thats gone? (still cant find the backlight thread??)also when i put the speedo back in the dash the right side of the clocks doesnt light up,i tried a brand new bulb and it still doesnt work,could this be a fuse? cheers

Tel

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:41 pm

OBC lamps are two 5V lamps connected in series = 10V, so there's a circuit inside the OBC that loses a couple of volts, but I don't know what, as I've never heard of it going wrong, so have never investigated.
Apply 3V or so from a battery to each lamp and see if they light.
Speedo lamp - Just because a lamp is new, doesn't mean it's good. With any fault finding, recently replaced parts are the chief suspects.
Swap it over with the other one. Check that the wires on these capless lamps are lying in the correct place.
Don't fit a lamp of a higher wattage than it should be here, or the orange bits will melt.
None of your problems are fuse related.

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:45 pm

hi,ive even swapped instrument clusters over and bulbs opposite sides,and still the same! as for the obc i just checked the circuit and its showing taht one of the bulbs has blown,bummer! well at least ive found what it is,ill have to buy a new bulb tomoro and solder it in! cheers

Tel

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:47 pm

also,on the back of the obc it has an arrow which can be pointed to either ch30,30,ch60 or 60,what does this mean? this ones currently set to 30

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:53 pm

telski789 wrote:also,on the back of the obc it has an arrow which can be pointed to either ch30,30,ch60 or 60,what does this mean? this ones currently set to 30

Buy TWO new identical bulbs. Can't buy them from BMW by the way - they only sell the complete lightstrip at twenty something pounds.
This must be the six button OBC? Think the plug on the back sets the units (imperial, metric etc) that the unit displays in, but I have no experience of the 6 button unit.

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:56 pm

yeah,i will buy 2 bulbs,otherwise it might not be equally bright! its the 13 button obc,i also have a 6 button and i see the switch you mean,but that actually says am/pm etc..

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:38 pm

Tel,

i have the same OBC and mine is locked in german display as well ie UHR and Litres for fuel, i can get date and time to display in english but the fuel still stays in litres not mpg, the 3way switch on the back of mine does nothing

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:52 pm

to change the display from metric to imperial, select "consumption" then press the tiny button on the bottom right with a pen or something and the obc will cycle throught the modes metric, us and imperial. (cant remember which order). Metric (km, degrees C german time/date and l/km). the only difference I can see between the US and UK imperial mode is that they read different miles per gallon because a US gallon is different. In US mode, it will read "mpg" in UK imperial it will read "M/G". Unfortunatly, the temperature will be in farenheit and I think the date is in Month then day format.

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:58 pm

See here for the full details on how to set the OBC up
http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... hlight=obc

Cheers,

Iain T

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 11:28 pm

cheers for link, i've tried all the settings i think mine is euro obc as its won't display mpg under any setting

Post Fri Jan 20, 2006 11:31 pm

did you try it with the ignition on the first click? if that dont work on the 2nd click? gotta push that button right in,i tried a pen but it didnt go in far enough,used a needle!

Post Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:30 pm

big thanks to brianmoooooooooooooooore!!! sorted me obc today,visit to maplins,5 bulbs (3 spare! killed one!) 39p each! soldered them in and result! backlight sorted! they even have the little bulbs for the interior stuff,i.e. ashtray lights etc... all in Ãƒ”šÃ‚£2!! cheers!!!