Fuel and temp gauges not working

[E21meister]

I have an A-reg E30 323i built Nov '83. The temperature and fuel gauges do not work (but the low fuel light does); before I start faffing around with fuel tank senders and temp sensors, I think the binnacle is at fault. Am I right in assuming that the secondary board (the one with the batteries on it) in the binnacle controls these, so if the batteries are knackered, these won't work? Is there a specialist who can replace these?

[Grrrmachine]

Have a read of this, if it helps:

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

[E21meister]

Thanks for that, will replace the batteries and see what happens.

[Brianmoooore]

Battery failure doesn't usually affect the fuel gauge!

[E21meister]

Battery failure doesn't usually affect the fuel gauge!

Could it be if a 62 litre sender has been fitted to a 55 litre tank? Pre-facelift chromies all have the smaller tank,don't they? I've tried the spare binnacle I was given with the car (which came from a pre-facelift chromie), and the same two gauges didn't work on that, but then the batteries on that one might be fubared.

[Grrrmachine]

The sender is the same between tanks, but 62 litre tanks have a second sender. You couldn't physically connect the second sender to a 55litre tank, so that's not the issue.

When you say "fuel gauge doesn't work" what exactly does it show? Zero, middle, full or waving around all over the place?

[E21meister]

When you say "fuel gauge doesn't work" what exactly does it show? Zero, middle, full or waving around all over the place?

It's stuck on empty; it never moves. This is also true for the fule gauge in the other cluster. As a possible clue, the temp gauge needle 'jumps' to the edge of the blue mark when the ignition is turned to position 2 (as normal), but the needle never moves either, as it does on the other clocks.

[Grrrmachine]

Have you tested the temperature gauge, as described on the wiki?

Also, if you lift up the back seat to gain access to the fuel pump (it's under a panel which can be unscrewed) you should find the plug for the fuel sender. Unplug it and bridge the connections with a paperclip.

These two tests will identify whether the problem is with the sender or not, and are easier to do than removing the dash cluster.

[E21meister]

Have you tested the temperature gauge, as described on the wiki?

Also, if you lift up the back seat to gain access to the fuel pump (it's under a panel which can be unscrewed) you should find the plug for the fuel sender. Unplug it and bridge the connections with a paperclip.

These two tests will identify whether the problem is with the sender or not, and are easier to do than removing the dash cluster.

I'll try that two, although as an aside, removing the cluster is childs play when you have the right method, and when you've had it out twice already...
Also, the wiki for testing the temp gauge seems to be aimed at post-facelift cars, as earlier ones don't have the C101 or C191 plugs.