New car - some issues

[dnguyen1963]

If your SI board and batteries are fine then you might have some air bubbles trapped in the t-stat housing (right where the sensor is) causing the flickering in the gauge. Try bleeding the system again.

[DarkLordFreeman]

If your SI board and batteries are fine then you might have some air bubbles trapped in the t-stat housing (right where the sensor is) causing the flickering in the gauge. Try bleeding the system again.

it really is very nice the cluster. I forgot to mention the other owner had a second cluster left in the trunk, and for sh*ts and gigs i connected it while I had the original cluster out of the dash. The second cluster (which was also very clean looked new) had the exact same symptoms as the original. Blinking CHECK and a non-working temperature gauge. So I tested it again on a second cluster....

Would just a bad sensor cause the gauge to not register at all? I might just replace it because I still have to drain the coolant and put new coolant in.

Is the sensor a brown topped piece?
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E30-325e-M20_2.7l/ES34354/
this one is blue^

i did not find one on Turner Motorsports, but I think I would buy just that sensor somewhere local in the area. The thing is, I read that the sensor should be brown, and I think on my car itself, the sensor is brown topped....

really, the whole car all over is very nice. It has just been sitting for a year at a time in the past....


Oh hey and thanks guys for helping this far, I have kinda narrowed down the possibilities a bit.

[MrNatural]

make sure the harness is grounded to the body and not too corroded...just a suggestion

[hendrixvodu]

Search "Stomp Test" and you can pull the error code.

I don't think 87 had a stomp test. my 88 didn't have a stomp test till I put in 173 dme

[DarkLordFreeman]

make sure the harness is grounded to the body and not too corroded...just a suggestion

Yes sir thank you. All the wires are really so clean. I did look for some other ground (dont know which wires, but wires undernearth the driver side dash. The ground were brand new mayne.

Is there a specific location for the wiring harness ground that you can tell me?

I don't think 87 had a stomp test. my 88 didn't have a stomp test till I put in 173 dme

I did read that 87's do not have the stomp test feature - it was some of the later years that do...

[SmokeE30]

main ground is from the oil pan to driver side front frame rail. 6 in from the oil level sensor in the pan