instrument cluster

[jagga786]

on the back of my instrument cluster i cant seem 2 find the yellow plug to plug in to the instrument cluster i dnt knw where it is its a 1986 325i

[Templ8e30]

It's only used if you have an On Board Computer iirc.

Cheers,

Iain T

[E30Mark]

Yellow plug is from the OBC loom (If fitted) as Templ8e30 said, can be seen in the pic below...

[jagga786]

yeh but my rev counter and temp and fuel dont work what else can it be thanks u pplz are great

[jcjdavis1]

Hi are your other 2 plugs in correctly,maybe your SI board is faulty(I had prob. with fuel gauge) + tighten the small nuts behind the gauges.Take the back of the clocks off(blue bit under the thumb)When you have the back off you get access to the SI board.

[jagga786]

it qwas all working untill mechanic changed heater matrix and now i bought sme mre clock and still rev bar temp gauge and fuel reader not working

[Brianmoooore]

If the batteries on the SI board were nearly dead, and the mechanic disconnected the car's battery while he did the work, that could easily have finished them off.
Open up the cluster and test them. They're on the circuit board in the front half.

[Brianmoooore]

it qwas all working untill mechanic changed heater matrix and now i bought sme mre clock and still rev bar temp gauge and fuel reader not working

ENGLISH, PLEASE!!

[jagga786]

ok i will do this tomrrw thanks again pplz

[jagga786]

i took it all apart and dnt knw what to do next to it but i touchjed the petrol needle and if u move it towards full tank the needle slowly goes back down but the teperture one if you move to how it just wobles around i dont know what to do is there anyone around bucks area that can help me i will pay plz man

[Bally]

Hi just changed the cluster on a 318 and could not reset inspection light swapped old si and fine, also changed si board on my 325 cause rev counter, economy gauge,not working and service light staying on. happy to take a look at it for you, as the knowledge I gained was free from zoners ,I will be happy to look at this no charge can not promise i can sort it out but I have spare si board and cluster that works so we can at least eliminate a couple of things , the only other thing I can think of is maybe earth or loose plug when heater matrix done but not sure some one on here may know more, I am in the slough area if you can put it back together and drive it down.
thanks Ball

[Brianmoooore]

i took it all apart and * I tried to use text speak but the text speak filter stopped me * knw what to do next to it but i touchjed the petrol needle and if u move it towards full tank the needle slowly goes back down but the teperture one if you move to how it just wobles around i dont know what to do is there anyone around bucks area that can help me i will pay plz man

You've been warned once! Slovenly writing and so called "text" speak is not tolerated on here. Make some attempt to improve it, or your time on the zone will be a short one!

[jagga786]

soorry about that people. bally i cannot drive the car down because i have taken all the parts off and working on the car but want this sorted if i bring instrument cluster wil that be any good can i have contact number plz thanks people does any one else know what may be wrong with it

[march109]

Please explain your problem in plain english and then we might be able to help. I'm sorry mate I can't understand what your problem is because I can't read what you've written. There are plenty of documented cluster problems.

[Bally]

not really, may work on my car ok, but I have not had the heater matrix out , need to find out if its an issue with loom or panels, pm my phone number ring me sat late am we will sort something out

[jagga786]

my temerture gauge does not rok and my rev bar does not work and also my petrol gauge works but when the needle goes half way the petrol light comes on i have opened up the instrument cluster and have it infront of me now

[march109]

what do the SI board batteries look like?

[jagga786]

what is the si board batteries sorry mate i dont know anything about this kind of stuff sorry

[march109]

are you looking at something like this http://stonypointlawncare.com/gallery/b ... age001.jpg ?

[jagga786]

nah i was looking at the other one with bulbs on it is that the wrong one

[march109]

In fact better yet read this:

http://www.dufferdesigns.com/E30DashBattery.pdf

[jagga786]

thanks mate

[march109]

It sounds to me very much like the SI board batteries are going, and seeing as you have it apart no harm taking a look, but just incase check fuses 10, 12, and 21

Two different SI boards have been used in E30s. The original board used NiCd batteries, and these are the ones that fail causing all sorts of instrumentation problems.
The later (generally) SI board used non rechargeable lithium batteries which don't actually do anything when the board is in a car with the main battery connected. I've never known this type of board to be faulty.

[jagga786]

im trying to get the board out but its not cming out i took the first screw off

[march109]

should be another screw to release the si board.

[jagga786]

i taken one screw off from near the check light is yeah but cant find another screw

[march109]

This link is of the procedure as it is exactly for a e30 dash :

http://e30m3performance.com/maintenance ... _Board.htm

I assume you are at step 6 or 7, but can't tell withought seeing it.

[march109]

and I was wrong there is just one screw, the board must be pulled directly backwards it will get stuck if it rocks left or right.

[jagga786]

that si board is a pain its not coming out

[jagga786]

i got it out i cant believ it it was so easy whats next now mate thanks

[march109]

leave it till your rested, I know I'd be throwing it across the room by now. Best try it again when your fresh.

Can't help you any more as thats what needs to be done. If you can see the batteries where you have it now obvious signs of them being the problem would be leaked acid over the rest of the circuitry.

[jagga786]

yeh it does look like that a bit mate where can i get these battrys from

[jagga786]

thanks mate for your help

[march109]

Best take the old ones out before buying replacements, there are two type of batteries AA type and a smaller type, and ou want to assess the damge the acid has done first. When you get them out take them along to your local maplins or equivelent electronics store who will have them in stock usually sub £5.

Though if the acid has leaked I would change the cluster as a matter of course, didn't you say you had another? Open that up and see if its in the same state, or you could try cleaining up the nasty crap, but be carefull when cleaning it as its battery acid obviously. You also may need to heat the ends of the batteries to remove them as they are soldered in. Don't mean to be rude but given you don't seem too confident I'd buy a new set of clocks from a trusted trader on the zone.

Obviously then its just a case of refitting the new working clocks and making sure that the coding plug is correct. The coloured coding plug on the rear of the cluster tells the dials if the car is 6 pot or 4 pot and adjusts the tacho accordingly.

[jagga786]

yeh i bought these clocks from andyp from this website has anyone you know got the whole insrtrument cluster a working one plz or athe board i can swap around