tach and temp gauge stopped working!!!

[micahbertoli]

so because of r3v's bad influence, i decided to take off my instrument cluster and paint the needles red.
looks good, thanks!
but then i put my painted cluster back in my car, and the tach and temp gauge don't work!
speedo and gas gauge still work. i didn't remove the needles, just painted them with them still on, so i don't think i screwed them up.
already checked the fuses (10, 12 and 21 were the ones that seemed to apply as per manual).
any ideas about what would cause this?
anyone else experience a similar problem?
thanks
-micah

[micahbertoli]

another thought:
are the temperature and tach gauges somehow linked?
maybe same wiring harness?
i found this wiring diagram (http://shark.armchair.mb.ca/~dave/BMW/e30/e30_91.pdf)
but didn't have much detail on the instrument cluster. anyone have any better wiring diagrams?

[AndrewBird]

Well, did you make sure to plug everything back in? Did the battery maybe fall out (or is it soldered in? can't remember).

I'm pretty sure the wiring for them is separate, but they might use the same plug in the back. I would check those first.

Do the lights in the gauges work?

[88e30is]

My first guess would be making sure the plug is properly installed.

[micahbertoli]

thanks for the suggestions.
checked the 2 lithium batteries and both register at 3V, so they seem ok.
and i'm sure everything's plugged in properly.
also, now my temp guage worked. it appears that for the temp gauge to work, the cluster has to be screwed completely together.
so now we're (as a forum, hehe) just stuck with my non-functioning tach.
ps. the lights in the cluster are working.