gauges flickering - BMW Forum

325guy · 03-11-2009, 11:31 PM

I have read reasons for both gauges to have these flicker problems but I am hoping that they are both being caused by the same thing. They both flicker intermittently. I can tap on the clear gauge cover and they bounce around. Do you think its the battery on the cluster or something else? Or not related to each other? Everything else works fine...........

325guy · 03-11-2009, 11:32 PM

I took the cluster out and the batteries are checking out ok. Is it possible that the board is bad or the entire cluster needs replaced? I hope its not the whole thing, I would like to keep the mileage and everything original.

Oh, while I was taking it apart, I have a single white wire hanging there and I dont know where to put it back. The end if it was stripped back, so it was shoved somewhere...............Thanks

325guy · 03-13-2009, 08:33 AM

FIXED....Looks like the previous owner had worked on it at one time. The nuts that hold the 2 gauges in the circuit board where not even there. Apparently that grounds it to the board and they were moving around when I tap on them or the engine revved up.....

marti5 · 03-13-2009, 08:38 AM

Thats great news, glad you found the problem, my 1st answer was going to be remove the cluster and investigate for loose connections etc.

325guy · 03-13-2009, 08:40 AM

I still dont know what that wire is. I didnt put the cluster back in yet till I find out. Everything seems to be working though. Maybe I'll cap it off and just see what happens in the future.....

marti5 · 03-13-2009, 10:29 AM

Yea best to cap it off, dont want to be having a fire!!!, it must be for something unless the P O added something after market and took a feed from the cluster.

Numark318i · 03-13-2009, 12:49 PM

I know the SI boards go out. Mine is doing something similar. Have taken it apart and put it back together after finding nothing wrong.

325guy · 04-26-2009, 09:59 PM

Ok, I got the car back running and the gauges back into the car. I capped off that white wire and now my speedo and odometer are not working. Everything is plugged back into the cluster but no speedo. It worked fine before. Any suggestions on that white wire???

romeomike · 04-27-2009, 12:36 AM

Check fuse 12

romeomike · 04-27-2009, 06:48 PM

Again, this is from walking around the salvage yard, and I saw a white wire soldered to the top solder point on the back side of the turn signal lever on a couple of 3-series. If you can trace the wire to connector 202, then I think I'm on target. FWIW, the white wire is part of the high beam circuit.

Adios for now.

325guy · 04-27-2009, 08:42 PM

It was the fuse, I forgot while I had the topend tore down, I was putting fuses in there rightful place and I was a few short. Speedo was one of them....I always assume the worst, forgetting about fuses.

The high beams still work without the white wire connected. As of now, I havent found anything not working right....I will try and trace it back with a tone generator that I have from work.

romeomike · 04-28-2009, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 325guy

It was the fuse, I forgot while I had the topend tore down, I was putting fuses in there rightful place and I was a few short. Speedo was one of them....I always assume the worst, forgetting about fuses.

The high beams still work without the white wire connected. As of now, I havent found anything not working right....I will try and trace it back with a tone generator that I have from work.

I like a happy ending. Checking the easier stuff first is a classic troubleshooting principle with autos and computers.

Two other places white wires come into play are with the radio. One is tied to raising/lowering the antenna as well as a power input to the amplifier (connector 233). The other white is paired up with a yellow at connector 215 and provides a "lights on" input to the radio. Both of these connectors are in the center of the dash.

I'm out of other ideas for the moment....