LCD Display on E39 Gauge cluster

[SnakeyesTx]

I went and drove the E39 540M/6 earlier.... my left leg is still a little shaky.

That thing is a monster compared to my humble 525. It *sounds* like it wants to eat small children!

Anyway I noticed the digital readout under the gauges was flaky, but the owner was telling me that BMW dealerships are replacing those for free as part of some recall program. Is this true?

Aside from that, the "idiot proof clutch valve" which will be coming out, and the windshield rubber seal that could use a replacing... the car is a steal. I'll put it to you this way, I haggled almost 20% off his asking price when I told him I'd be waving cash in full to pick it up tomorrow :D

[Ferret]

The E39 display thing is *very* common in the UK - there's even specialist companies set up to repair the effing things!

I'll see if I can dig you up a link on how to repair it yourself.

[SnakeyesTx]

The E39 display thing is *very* common in the UK - there's even specialist companies set up to repair the effing things!

I'll see if I can dig you up a link on how to repair it yourself.


Yes.. that would be most appreciated as I haven't heard anywhere of the dealer recall repair from any board so far. :D

[winfred]

what year? and get a warranty!

[Sixdown]

I rarely if ever trust aftermarket non-manufacturer and manufacturer alike warranties. They're a ripoff and usually cover very little unless the car still has substantially low mileage. You will be paying more for the premiums and such than the cost of parts.

[winfred]

i have a few customers that have been ungodfully lucky to have that aftermarket warranty, we love to milk those warranty's too :D i am generally the first to say ******** but i have seen it first hand


I rarely if ever trust aftermarket non-manufacturer and manufacturer alike warranties. They're a ripoff and usually cover very little unless the car still has substantially low mileage. You will be paying more for the premiums and such than the cost of parts.

[Ross]

" Anyway I noticed the digital readout under the gauges was flaky, but the owner was telling me that BMW dealerships are replacing those for free as part of some recall program. Is this true?"
Ahem, "E39 electronics ARE are troublesome"
If BMW was willing to do it for zip he would already have had it done.
I've repaired the LCD displays in e34s by simply squeezing the glass display tighter against the rubber connection that powers it. Could be that easy on the 39er.

[SnakeyesTx]

" Anyway I noticed the digital readout under the gauges was flaky, but the owner was telling me that BMW dealerships are replacing those for free as part of some recall program. Is this true?"
Ahem, "E39 electronics ARE are troublesome"
If BMW was willing to do it for zip he would already have had it done.
I've repaired the LCD displays in e34s by simply squeezing the glass display tighter against the rubber connection that powers it. Could be that easy on the 39er.


Aside from the display, is there a known list of issues to look out for or a "this is prone to fail" list somewhere I can look over? As far as I could tell, everything else worked without any issues aside from that display.

[Ross]

The ASC and ABS(intermittantly), LKM, the trans electronics, aux fan controller, dash pixels. This from the two E39s I'm familiar with.
I used to watch an E39 forum and saw lots of gripes about the electronics, nothing else specific comes to mind right now.

[Qube]

It's covered with one hour labor if you are in the USA. Elsewhere, you can just take it apart, spray some contact cleaner on the ribbon, and be good for a longer while.

[SnakeyesTx]

Well.... I bought it.... the car is a freakin' rocket. On the way home I played with all the bells and whistles. ASC button works and while on, I saw the light kick on indicating it was doing its job when I decided to take a corner turn a little ... liberatingly.

The only electrical issues I can see so far is that pixel display and the door lock on the passenger side front door doesn't move when I lock/unlock with the key on the lock in the door. All in all... I'm really happy with it, but I do miss the tightness of the E34's steering. I'm assuming its a little lighter since they figured you'll do most of the steering with the left hand since your right is on the shifter.

Oh.. and the phone in the armrest/console... REALLY annoying hitting buttons with your elbow! :D

[Qube]

Congrats! Replace that phone console with something more useful like the flip open storage.

[SnakeyesTx]

Well, I got the cluster out... it was incredibly easy. I really like how the molex's have that hinge that helps the plug come out of its socket for you.

Anyway, I got it out and looked at the contacts for the 3 plugs, they look good as new so I figured this isn't the contact in question. So I take the cluster inside and there's this box on the back of the cluster that slides into place. It appears to be a computer of some sort. The BMW part number on the back didn't match anything from realoem.com but I did a search by year and model and found the exact same box has about 8 different numbers, none that matched mine.

I couldn't figure out how to get that box open so until I knew for sure that's where the contacts in question are, I didn't want to risk breaking any tabs. The cluster itself looks like a real pain to get open as well. It has several + shaped pins that you have to twist into matching grooves, plus there's 4 tabs, 2 on top, 2 on the bottom. The tabs aren't the problem those darn pins are. They look like they're casted fixed, and you twist them (stress them) into the slots. Problem is, you almost have to do all 6 or 8 of them all at the same time to get it to give for you while someone else is working the 4 tabs >.< !!! The lcd display is on the bottom of the cluster and that's where I suspected the ribbon that Qube mentioned is.

Anyone have any tips on how to get that cluster apart? Also, am I on the right track for the lcd ribbon? I'm assuming its alot like my pioneer radio with those plastic'd over ribbon wires that wear after about 7-10 years that I'll be looking for with a little dirty black/grey smudgy dust around the contacts.


Edit : Oh yeah.. I can't get the third brake light out either! There's this little trap door in the trunk ceiling, and I can see the plug, but it doesn't seem to want to twist free of the housing in either direction... Just pull down?