si board woes

[gazza]

just plucked up the courage to do the si board batteries.did my research on the web etc. went out to get the batteries first so i could all go smoothly.took the speedo head out,stripped it ......its got lithium batteries not even half the size of the aa batteries everyone said it takes. aa batteries are 1.2 volts each ....these are 3.2 volt each and were the original fitment...batteries dated 1992 the year my car was made there was not enough room to fit aa batteries so i had to hunt for them ...got some today and i now will have to wait and see what happens when i put it all back together .....thought i would type this just to let anyone else who may be about to do there own si board dont think it will be as per all the articles .....it never is

[Ant]

take some pix dude, we're all gonna have to do these one day .

maybe you could submit a small article for the main site if time allows??, would kick ass for defo

[Brianmoooore]

This is the later type SI board, and as far as I know, does not suffer from battery problems, unless it has been left switched on (jumper on board) for a long time without being in a car with a battery connected.
These do not use rechargeable batteries, and the batteries are only there to power the board when the car battery is disconnected.

[gazza]

do you know where i can get more details on this as it was starting to play up ie oil/service light would not go out the batteries in it were 13 yrs old....i have fitted replacement batteries in it im hoping it will sort itself out but you have me wondering if the batteries i took out were rechargable or not but i have put a direct replacement in...i will fit it tomorrow and wait and see

[Moofles]

FYI...AA batteries...no long-term "thing" would have them, there's something about them that doesn't last long (compared to size)...and the flat penny shaped batteries are much better at lasting...i remember this from building a battery backup on to a PC/104 processor board (just a certin type, basically a mobo with a lod of wires coming off where you can attach com ports, battery backup, etc etc)

[gazza]

just put the board back in it all works every thing works but the oil service and inspection light still wont go out. the inspection light goes out sometimes anyone got any ideas .....took a load of photos so if get time ill post them for anyone who wants to tackle there own ...the hardest bit was the soldering and the next was remembering where the wire goes into the green socket

[Sjoerd320i]

you need a special tool to get the service lights out, they quite expensive but there's gotta be someone thas has one of those tools

good luck
cheers Sjoerd

[gazza]

i have the draper version of the re-set tool is there another type

[Sjoerd320i]

dunno mate i only know that there IS a reset tool

[Brianmoooore]

My reset tool is 400mm of wire with a crocodile clip on each end.

[Brianmoooore]

My reset tool is 400mm of wire with a crocodile clip on each end.

[Sjoerd320i]

i believe that these are used for the e30 (please correct me if i'm wrong)

[nav786]

i think you can get cheap version of reset tool. My mate has got one and he uses it to reset cars he does work on. i'll find out where he got it from and how much. under Ԛ£50 definately.

[gazza]

cheers as i said i have the draper one cost 12quid at gsf it goes through the motions but the service light (the written bit and a small clock)stays on

[BMK]

I did mine the other week....

I had the same small batteries as above and couldn't find replacements anywhere so I gave in and wento to the dealers and got a new board....Ԛ£72.45 later and all sorted!!

Oh I have the same Ԛ£12 reset tool too...works lovely!

[Brianmoooore]

www.cpc.co.uk has what appear to be suitable lithium batteries.
Order code BT00119, Ԛ£2-87 each + VAT

[gazza]

THE LITHIUM BATTERIES I GOT WERE FROM A COMPANY CALLED RS COMPONENTS I TRIED MAPLINS NO GOOD THEY COST A FIVER EACH
if anyone wants the address ill pass it on

[gazza]

just a word of advice the old aa batteries are 1.2 volt and are rechargeable
the later board has 3volt lithium batteries and are not rechargable you can buy tagged or untagged .....tagged are fitted with 2 tags at one end and one at the other which is what is required for the later board it all depends on how good you are a soldering

[Guest]

I had my nicad batteries replaced the other day too and now all works fine. Except my yellow and red service indicator lights still remained on. Buying one of those special service light reset tools is unnecessary. Go onto your favourite search engine and type in E30 service light reset. There you will find many sites showing you how to do it yourself using a piece of wire. I followed the simple instructions and found it very easy. I performed a service and inspection reset and now I have a no lights on my cluster. Give it a try...

[gazza]

my problem is the yellow red and green go out but there is a written
"oilservice" and i think it "inspection" and a small clock underneath that will not disapear one of them goeas out occasionally any one got any ideas.....

[Guest]

Same as what I had. Oilservice / Inspection and the Small Clock. You could benefit from what I mentioned in the above reply. Mine all went out. Give that a try, or else take it to BMW or an authorised service centre.