Oil pressure gauge in place of fuel economy gauge.. E30 to E28 cluster compatibility

[Chicagotrader92]

Hey guys, 
So, my fuel economy gauge does not work. With no throttle, it's on one end, without throttle, it whips to the other side. There is no in-between, and it does not stay constant at any reading, ever, regardless of having a constant level of throttle. 

Instead of trying to diagnose this/fix this, I found a neat little oil pressure / oil temp gauge designed for E30's... 

Here: https://jrparts.fr/?product=cluster-upg ... model-only

* Do you think this would fit and work? I'm aware I'll have to get a better oil pressure sender. 

* My cruise control does not work and I want to get it to work again. Does the cruise control rely on the fuel economy gauge? I am wondering if my inoperative cruise control is linked to the inoperative fuel economy gauge. My OBC also only works for the timer and temp... which could also be related to the cruise control issue. 

Thanks, 

[Shawn D.]

Your cruise and economy gauge issues could be related via damage to the instrument cluster.  Have you had it out and apart to have a look?

[1st 5er]

Hey guys, 
... I found a neat little oil pressure / oil temp gauge designed for E30's... 

Here: https://jrparts.fr/?product=cluster-upg ... model-only

 

All ears here. 

[Chicagotrader92]

Your cruise and economy gauge issues could be related via damage to the instrument cluster.  Have you had it out and apart to have a look?

Would it be that easy to notice? I've only loosened the cluster to peep the backside of it. There were a couple of connections that were not connected anywhere. However, there was also nowhere on the cluster they could fit into, and the length of the wires would be nearly impossible to get connected to the cluster. 

Although the Carfax mileage is consistent throughout its life, I wouldn't be shocked if it has been taken out before. I have plans to address the batteries incase theres an issue there. 

Here are some photos of it: https://www.flickr.com/photos/202139851@N04/

[adam_poll]

It's been quite a while but I think that single blue with white stripe wire might be causing some of your issues with cruise and the OBC. I know I plugged one of those into the wrong spot or it pulled out (we're talking well over ten years ago now) and it caused problems like that. From memory those plug into the cluster towards the middle and sort of go up into it (they connect straight onto the circuit board inside the cluster rather than a pin), if you just have the cluster tipped forward but still in place it will be very hard to see where they go so pull the cluster fully out and take a look.

[adam_poll]

Just took a quick look at the ETM for an 86 535i (what I had at the time), I think in my case I had the blue with white and the brown with red swapped around. Like I said it was a long time ago but I think it is worth making sure everything is plugged in where it should be.

[Shawn D.]

Your cruise and economy gauge issues could be related via damage to the instrument cluster.  Have you had it out and apart to have a look?

Would it be that easy to notice? I've only loosened the cluster to peep the backside of it. There were a couple of connections that were not connected anywhere. However, there was also nowhere on the cluster they could fit into, and the length of the wires would be nearly impossible to get connected to the cluster.

I said "out" AND "apart."  I'm talking damage to the components inside the cluster.

[John in VA]

Just took a quick look at the ETM for an 86 535i (what I had at the time), I think in my case I had the blue with white and the brown with red swapped around. Like I said it was a long time ago but I think it is worth making sure everything is plugged in where it should be.

Here's the link to the ETMs for the original poster, if he's unaware of the site: http://www.wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm