Japandrew73's OEM Euro Restore

[Japandrew73]

Ahh I see. Well, I might just try to tackle this little project tomorrow. I love the one with the silver rings.

PM'd^

Ok so it stopped raining and I took my car in the garage to take out the cluster.

I took out the speedo...

i set it to the correct kilometers and put the KPH gauge face on. I love the look of it
If you look at the econogauge I had accidently marked it when I colored my needle, lucky for my I had another euro econometer gauge face so I put that on and finished coloring the needle.

I put it all back together and cleaned up the plastic screen as best I could. I wish they sold the screen new as an individual part.

I put it back in my car and this is what it looked like

So the cluster looks great, and it set correctly for the amount of kilometers. The only two things wrong with it are the tach reads slightly incorrectly, it redlines at about 4500rpm, and the econometer reads backward. I would like to get these two things fixed but at the moment I just don't see a way how.

I get a ton of money for my birthday tomorrow (or at least i hope i will) and sunday morning I will order the center chrome piece for the front bumper. After all the chrome pieces arrive, all the trim will be ordered along with the brackets. And in case some of you didn't know, I am ordering all the mtech versions of the trim in prep for the mtech 1 kit which will come someday.

[SpecRaceM5]

Is your car an eta? A chip should take care of your redline problem IIRC.

[Japandrew73]

Is your car an eta? A chip should take care of your redline problem IIRC.

it isn't an eta, and my car is an 84 and doesn't take chips. years 85 and up have chips

[SpecRaceM5]

OHHHH. You need a 318 cluster. Forgot yours was a 318i.

[Japandrew73]

OHHHH. You need a 318 cluster. Forgot yours was a 318i.

well i don't think it is a problem because of what kind of car the cluster came from as long as it was an "i" cluster instead of a carbueratted or eta. this problem with the tach happened with my previous cluster also. so it must be a wiring problem right?

[SpecRaceM5]

What is the standard redline on the 318?

[Japandrew73]

What is the standard redline on the 318?

lets take it to a PM

[Japandrew73]

Ordered more fun stuff from Griots Garage.
When i purchased my rear leather seat it was in good condition but it had minor scratches. I can't live with that. So i got this:





The blue sponges are made for the rejuvenator and other vinyl/leather/rubber dressings

So these are another few items to look forward to coming in the mail!

[Jean]

I believe I have a very similar cluster in my 318i as well, it looks like the difference I notice is your speedo/odo is not exactly the same looking at the gears and their placement (I've seen at least two different types so far).... now. There should be a coding plug at the back of your cluster though... is this cluster original to this car or did you replace it? I see that it's an early one because of the SI board style and lack of the front / lower right coding plug .... but is it original?

[Japandrew73]

I believe I have a very similar cluster in my 318i as well, it looks like the difference I notice is your speedo/odo is not exactly the same looking at the gears and their placement (I've seen at least two different types so far).... now. There should be a coding plug at the back of your cluster though... is this cluster original to this car or did you replace it? I see that it's an early one because of the SI board style and lack of the front / lower right coding plug .... but is it original?

No this new cluster is from europe and my car is from america. its a different cluster and yes its from an early model beacuse of the SI board light config.

[Jean]

Got it, read your previous page and can see it now. So you left the green connector out and your speedo/odo work? I am pretty sure it's not for cruise control/obc, that's where yellow connector in the middle of the cluster is for. My cluster has the same SI board now as well, for the longest time i had the Si board by-passed.

[Japandrew73]

Got it, read your previous page and can see it now. So you left the green connector out and your speedo/odo work? I am pretty sure it's not for cruise control/obc, that's where yellow connector in the middle of the cluster is for. My cluster has the same SI board now as well, for the longest time i had the Si board by-passed.

Ya it works fine without the green plug plugged in, but i found out i can simply take the green box off my old cluster and plug it in to my euro one. I'm not going to bother though, i'm %90 sure it has nothing to do with the tach or econometer misfunctioning

[Jean]

Wow that's odd... i guess it's because the speedo/odo in your cluster isn't the same as the one I got, and the green connector is used.

[Japandrew73]

Well with my new cluster put it, in might sound weird but I feel like it pulls a bit harder. barely, but I notice it. My mechanic said that a faulty cluster (my old one) can lead to poor gas mileage, and a worse running engine which means with my new cluster in, I should be getting better mileage and a better running engine.

The two little imperfections on my plate filler bug the shit out of me so i got some SEM and gave it 3 coats. It made them a bit less noticable, but they are still there from an angle. I hate those little circles and I can't think of anything else to do to fix it. unless... I could get a euro plate for the rear and stick my US plate over it. I never have been a fan of it but It would cover up the circles.

Before


After


On car (I took the black frame off the back)

I have tons of stuff coming in the mail and tomorrow or tuesday I will have enough money to order the chrome center piece for the front bumper

[Eric Giles]

Well with my new cluster put it, in might sound weird but I feel like it pulls a bit harder. barely, but I notice it. My mechanic said that a faulty cluster (my old one) can lead to poor gas mileage, and a worse running engine which means with my new cluster in, I should be getting better mileage and a better running engine.

Most likely due to 'placebo effect'...I would love to hear your mechanic's reasoning behind this, as I seriously doubt it.

Also, the rear plate filler I recently purchased has the same 'marks' on it-i would imagine them to be imprints from the molding process. Barely noticeable unless expressly looking for them.