Cluster change- Issues

[HinzM3]

I bought an 88 eta and it had a rather ricey cluster installed. Carbon fiber with the indiglo guages. Its a motometer cluster and seems to be from a different car as it is a 7k cluster (or so I think).

I bought another motometer cluster and when I connect it the speedo, fuel guage and the temp guage work. The tach, odometer, trip odometer, and the mpg guages do not work. Only thing I could think of was the coding plug? I swapped those and no go.

What am I doing wrong? I have another cluster I tried its the VDO with the white back and I can't get that one to work either. I think the only thing that worked on that was the tach when I connected it.

Pic of the ricey cluster :(

[James Crivellone]

Sounds like the S.I board is shot (long PCB inside that controls the operation of those gauges)

Take the ricer cluster apart, and install that SI Board into your new cluster.

Both clusters must use a front coding plug, and have ONE red indicator light on the service light display, otherwise the S.I boards will be incompatible.

[HinzM3]

From what i'm told the new cluster worked great in the old car. It was parked and recently purchased by a friend due to a leaky head gasket. I will swap out the board and give that a shot.

[lordofthewaters]

Looks like it came out of an M3, or a 325i with theM badge in it, hence the tach going to 7k. If switching the board doesn't work you can replace the face, and the gauge surround. I know you can get the surrounds on ebay, and I can get you a set of regular black face gauges with white needles for it cheap if your interested. Your odometer and trip meter may not work either, if not then you'll need the new gears from bavauto, or the like.

[HinzM3]

Looks like it came out of an M3, or a 325i with theM badge in it, hence the tach going to 7k. If switching the board doesn't work you can replace the face, and the gauge surround. I know you can get the surrounds on ebay, and I can get you a set of regular black face gauges with white needles for it cheap if your interested. Your odometer and trip meter may not work either, if not then you'll need the new gears from bavauto, or the like.

its just a regular cluster with some indiglo guages added on. Not an m3 cluster at all.

Its the SI board will be replacing those batteries. The car it came out of has been parked for a year and the batteries don't last that long from what i've been reading. Will swap them out, thanks.

[chuckybob]

if that doesnt work, ill trade you straight up for a guage cluster with an iffy spedometer, a broken odometer, and no guage cluster lights...

[HinzM3]

I swapped SI boards with the other cluster and that worked. The odometer did not work so I swapped that out too and now everything works except for the right side of it does not light up. Need to figure that out.

[lordofthewaters]

Those little bulbs are tricky. They can be blown and you not see it. Or at least that's happened to me. Congratulations you're one of the lucky ones! Relatively easy fix for your cluster.