motometer + VDO

[Tree18is]

well i got a vdo from the junkyard out of an Eta. and that one had a coding plug.. but my motometer doesnt.
The teeth on my motometer are so fragile, that you can see where it striped it self out. I dont think very many, if any of the parts are compatable with eachother, I really dont. I guess I need a MOTO meter.. or my car will be stuck at 106,000 forever.
The thing that kinda messes me up is the motometer doesnt have the coding plug infact the place where its suppose to go blocked by the factory..
anyways, any help would be apperciated.

[Jean]

Early clusters didn't use coding plugs, and you can't use a speedo/odo from a moto in your vdo and the other way around. Another thing is, some speedo/odo units had 4 pins and some had 5.. just keep that in mind ;) You can switch the whole cluster from one brand to another though. I would look for another cluster with a coding plug and install your code plug from the 318is on it.

[jlevie]

The plastic gears in the speedometer are known to fail and they can be replaced. BavAuto is one source for replacement gears.

[lordofthewaters]

Clusters pre 3/86 are different from those post. VDO and Motometer parts (such as whole speedos and whole tachs) are interchangeable within the manufacture divisions. Obviously you wouldn't want a tach from an "e" in an "i" though. If you have a good cluster and just need the trip/odometer to work, go to www.odometergears.com and get the gear/s you need. If your speedo doesn't work and you've ruled all else out, you can use either a VDO or motometer speedo to replace it, as long as it was made on the same side of this change.

[Axxe]

FYI: I swapped the speedo/odo (entire unit) from my old motometer into a VDO cluster out of my parts car. Both 87's, and it worked no problem.

[staysideways]

Can I swap a whole vdo cluster from a 88 325 into my 89 325i which came with a motometer? Because I have no gas gauge no tach and speedo sometimes works


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[jeffnhiscars]

You bumped a 9 yo thread to ask THAT ??..lol

[AndrewBird]

See post #6:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=71266&highlight=cluster

[wodcutr]

Does your service indicator work and hold a reset? If not this may be the cause of your cluster issues and getting a new or refurbished SI board would fix it.

To answer your question directly, an 88 cluster is going to be from an SETA so the tach would only go to a redline of 6.5 rather than 7, unless the car is a legitimate i motor. It would function but you really want a cluster from an i.