tach and mpg not working help!

[jeffesaurusrex]

right on im goin to try that thanks guys!

Beware, if you have no soldering skills it is a definite bitch.

I had a hell of a time getting the solder to stick to the batteries, and now I'm terrified it will come loose... :letitout:

Also, my MPG gauge works this morning.

[deekay]

ok ill find some one with better skills then mine.haha

[E30 Cabrio]

It sounds like the SI board itself, not the batteries although I believe RatShack has the batteries you're looking for.

Usually, the SI board has a solder joint fail so when you smack the dash, it might make it work for a while.

That's also a good way to put a crack in your dash.

[E30 Cabrio]

I have this same problem on my 88 ix, and the red and yellow oil service lights stay on all the time, whether the car is off or on.

Also, not to get off track but my coolant light on the overhead stays on whenever the car is on, but I am not overheating and I have a good coolant level. Any ideas on this?

Yeah, your coolant level sensor is no good.

About $20.00 and easy to replace.

I believe there is a way to jump the wires with a paper clip to test it, but you would have to do a search.

Either way, easy, inexpensive fix.

Do you have a MultiMeter and a Bentley E30 repair manual?

If not, get both as it will save you a ton of time.

[jeffesaurusrex]

Yeah, your coolant level sensor is no good.

About $20.00 and easy to replace.

I believe there is a way to jump the wires with a paper clip to test it, but you would have to do a search.

Either way, easy, inexpensive fix.

Do you have a MultiMeter and a Bentley E30 repair manual?

If not, get both as it will save you a ton of time.

Here's how I tested it: I held the bobber up on the level sensor with it out of the coolant. It fixed it, so I glued the bobber to the top of the sensor. The "fix" worked, but now I'll obviously have to check my own coolant level.

What I believe happens is, the bobber gets old and as it soaks in the coolant, becomes more dense and loses its buoyancy.

[deekay]

i got a new cluster for 35 bucks from a part out this weekend. and it works great. :)

[TeXJ]

Problem one: si board/batteries
Problem two: replace your coolant level sensor

To the op: pull your gauge cluster and take it apart, clean all the contacts of the boards and the gauges (all the pins and the sockets they go into). Then when you reinstall, make sure the two grounding nuts on the back of the cluster are on tight. Doing that cured all of my cluster issues in my wife's '87 325.

Where at in TX are you? Im north of Dallas.

[deekay]

hahaha i like the vietnam tom pic e30 cabrio.

[bmpde30]

Motometer and vdo si-boards

Will motometer boards work on VDO boards?

[Jean]

yes

[duboy]

bah! good to hear your tach/mpg is working after an SI battery replacement. i put in a new SI battery, new board, even took a new tach and still no dice. my next step is resoldering the connection on the actual cluster board. When it's warm out, my tach/mpg works just fine so, i'll probably be lazy and forget about it until the first day it stops working.

[Jean]

I don't think he said it fixed the mpg...fixed the tach only.

[M4DE30]

check your fuse!

[TeXJ]

check your fuse!

I checked under the hood for the fuses, are the fuses somewhere else, and what number/s are they?

[M4DE30]

Is there anything else not working? try number 21 .