E30 speedometer fitment?

[1984CJ7]

Hey all. I broke the pin holding on my speedo needle off when replacing speedo gears. tried super glue/jb weld and had no luck. My research has found there is no way to fix this and I just need to get a new speedo gauge, (please inform me if there is in fact a possible fix). My question is: will any e30 140mph speedo gauge fit or do I need to disassemble it and check for part numbers or something before I go out and order one. Its a 1987 325e. Thanks!

[McGyver]

You should be able to remove the broken speedo from your cluster and swap in a different one, I've done this tons of times.

Clusters were made by both MotoMeter and VDO. You can swap the components (speedo, tach, fuel, & temp) back and forth.

Early clusters (3 red SI lights) and late clusters (1 red SI light) DO NOT have interchangeable parts.

Hope that helps!

[Originale30]

You should be able to remove the broken speedo from your cluster and swap in a different one, I've done this tons of times.

Clusters were made by both MotoMeter and VDO. You can swap the components (speedo, tach, fuel, & temp) back and forth.

Early clusters (3 red SI lights) and late clusters (1 red SI light) DO NOT have interchangeable parts.

Hope that helps!

Are the VDO and Motometer cluster gauges compatible with each other? Can you swap a speedo from an early vdo into an early motometer? Thanks


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[McGyver]

Are the VDO and Motometer cluster gauges compatible with each other? Can you swap a speedo from an early vdo into an early motometer? Thanks

Yes. You can swap early VDO into early MotoMeter and vice versa. You can swap late VDO into late MotoMeter and vice versa.

You should not swap between early and late clusters.

VDO and MotoMeter used slightly different designs (odometer gear tooth count, odometer design, electronics), so it would be difficult to scavenge parts (capacitors, resistors, motors, etc) from a VDO to fix a MotoMeter and vice versa.

[1984CJ7]

Ok. Planning on going into the cluster sometime soon and taking a look at things. One other issue: my temp gauge works but when you first start the car you have to violently tap on it to get it to bounce up. Almost like when you see people in movies tapping a gas gauge to get it to display a full tank. Anyone know a fix for this or will I also need a new temp gauge?

[nando]

the ground nut is probably just loose.

[1984CJ7]

the ground nut is probably just loose.

OK so I went ahead and bought a new cluster. Tested it in person with the guy I bought it from and everything works. Swapped it into my car. Fuel gauge still dead. I replaced all of the fuses and made sure the connections to the gauges were tight. Still nothing. I found what i believe to be the ground nut (above the clutch pedal on a little tab below the column?) and cranked it 1/2 turn tighter than it was. Still nothing.. Kind of at a loss.

[McGyver]

OK so I went ahead and bought a new cluster. Tested it in person with the guy I bought it from and everything works. Swapped it into my car. Fuel gauge still dead. I replaced all of the fuses and made sure the connections to the gauges were tight. Still nothing. I found what i believe to be the ground nut (above the clutch pedal on a little tab below the column?) and cranked it 1/2 turn tighter than it was. Still nothing.. Kind of at a loss.

Your best bet is to trouble shoot the issue instead of throwing parts at the problem.

Start with the Electrical Trouble Shooting Manual (ETM) for your year:

http://www.wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm

Look up the wiring and start testing for continuity. Check to make sure your fuel level sender(s) are outputting the correct resistance. Try grounding the level sensor wire (zero resistance) and then removing the ground (infinite resistance). Work through the system until you find the problem.

[nando]

Probably a bad sending unit then.

[1984CJ7]

Your best bet is to trouble shoot the issue instead of throwing parts at the problem.

Start with the Electrical Trouble Shooting Manual (ETM) for your year:

http://www.wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm

Look up the wiring and start testing for continuity. Check to make sure your fuel level sender(s) are outputting the correct resistance. Try grounding the level sensor wire (zero resistance) and then removing the ground (infinite resistance). Work through the system until you find the problem.

Thanks for all the help. The speedo actually jumped to life and was reading accurately during a test drive yesterday. However it worked for about 10 miles and then quit. Gas gauge still dead. Tach, econometer, and temp all still working great. I will pull the cluster again and try to do some electrical testing. Ugh, I hate this. Hoping my sending unit is good. Worked when I got the car in November. This mess all started when I pulled the gauges for the first time....

Guess I should add this too: the fuel level warning light is not on and the needle on the gas gauge remains all the way to the left as if the car wasn't on. I don't know if that makes any difference

[Gregs///M]

Speedometer circuit board failure is extremely common on the E30, especially VDO units. If your speedo is a VDO, there is a good chance you are experiencing failure of the circuit board.