Dead Cluster display

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Trying help out a friend.

95 525

The LCD display in the gauge cluster is dead, back lights work, ran the diagnostics and the gauges all work, but no text, no Odometer, no trip meter, oil/service lights are dead too...even the shift letters.

Checked the OBC, and it working.

Any ideas?

[athflying79]

I know these gauges have problems with lights and capacitors after some time, no idea if that is the problem.

I was wondering if there is someone that will rebuild your gauges for you....or at least the lights and capacitors. I just don't have the time right now and don't want to cost myself a couple hundred bucks if I screw my current ones up.

Everything is operational on mine except some backlighting and both stalks don't function.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Try to shine a flashlidgt at an angle to see if the text and numbers show up. it so, it's just the lights. an easy fix.

it's the funky stuff, like the caps, or guage replacement that gets tricky.

[athflying79]

It's definitely just the lights. I can see the odometer turning when the light hits it right, just isn't backlit anymore.

I think I have some capacitor problems as well because I can't reset anything using the push-stalks.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

for another cluster.

will the coding plug transfer his old mileage data to another cluster?

[shogun]

all data are in the coding plug, including the chassis number and the mileage.
So the mileage is in the coding plug and that one has to go in the replacement cluster.
On early E32 models the coding plug was outside the cluster in the wire loom, later models had it inside the cluster. Not surehow that is on E34.

[athflying79]

If you look on Bruno's site there is an explanation of years that had the plug in the loom and when they switched to in the cluster. I think ultimately the best way to find out is to pull the cluster because you also need to know the color of the backside.