driving without the cluster

[kman_e30]

will driving the car with out the cluster damage anything? i talked to two different experienced e30 guys, one says it will cause electrical issues, the other says he has driven his car with out a cluster many times and never had any problems. im asking because i after getting my cage installed i didnt want to put the dash board back in, so im going to make a plate to house some after market gauges, and im sick of having my cluster taped down in my car.

[Gregs///M]

The charging circuit from the alternator to the battery runs through the cluster. So removing the cluster, without "jumping" the input and output charge wires will make your car die once the battery charge is depleted. Without the cluster in place, the battery will not charge and it will die within 15 minutes.

You will need to find which wire is the incoming charge and which is the output charge and jumper them together. I'm not sure which wires they are because I've never had to drive an e30 without the cluster.

You can find this information in the Electronics troubleshooting manual located on this site.

Please share your findings with the rest of the community when you are done. Thanks

[homegrone30]

The charging circuit from the alternator to the battery runs through the cluster. So removing the cluster, without "jumping" the input and output charge wires will make your car die once the battery charge is depleted. Without the cluster in place, the battery will not charge and it will die within 15 minutes Thanks

Try two weeks. I believe it was a green wire. I went through this installing new tach. If I pull my dash off anytime soon Ill snap some pics. Op pm me if you need some help. P.s. if you wire it like i did you will need a diode or your car will not turn off.

[homegrone30]

Picture of said tach for the ney sayers.

[James Crivellone]

why not just fix the factory instrumentation?

[homegrone30]

In my situation it was cheaper easier and I needed more rpms for my i swap.

[Click]

I can personally vouch that the battery will not last a half hour of drive time without the cluster in.

[homegrone30]

It will when you replace your battery and alternator with your motor before you install a tach. I dont drive far to work. But im totally cereal two weeks.

[e30Hungry]

I had my cluster out for 2 weeks and my battery didn't die.

[bastianshaw]

I had my cluster out for 2 weeks and my battery didn't die.

interesting

[FLG]

If your idling for 15 minutes and your battery dies, than either it wasnt charged to start with or its junk.

With daytime driving and minimal electrical usage, id say you can make a couple of hours of drive time.

[Ryann]

You'll have to make a jumper that goes between the all green wire and all blue wire in the cluster connector behind the temp. gauge in order to excite your regulator. If your car's an auto then you may or may not have issues with the speed sensor signal to the DME, idk.

[Gregs///M]

I have a brand new car battery and a good alternator. My car lasted just under 30 minutes without dying. But eventually it will die.

I do not believe a car battery can last 2 weeks without a single charge if your driving it everyday.

[firstRWD]

I had my cluster out for a few days while I was trying to diagnose a temp issue(turned out to be the gauge). I can't say I remember exactly how much I drove it, but it never died. Maybe it was one start away from dead, maybe 50, I don't know, but it didn't have any problems for those few days.

[kman_e30]

You'll have to make a jumper that goes between the all green wire and all blue wire in the cluster connector behind the temp. gauge in order to excite your regulator. If your car's an auto then you may or may not have issues with the speed sensor signal to the DME, idk.

awesome, ill try that. i havent been able to work on the car in like a week lol, but im trying to get it ready for bimmerfest this weekend. i might put the dash back in, but i want to build a custom cluster for it.