Hello, I'm looking for advice in troubleshooting my '82 528e, manual 5speed. Recently the speedometer, odometer, cruise control, and MPG gauge stopped working. I first checked the wires on the back of the instrument cluster. BTW, the tachometer works fine as does the service indicator light. I then checked the fuses and even replaced fuse #6, not the solution. I read the speed sensor may be the culprit. Purchased and replaced that as well with no response from the gauges. My next guess is the circuit board inside the instrument cluster??? If anyone has suggested solutions they would be appreciated. Thank you.
Might be an instrument cluster issue - I think your si board may have batteries, if that's the case and those have puked due to age, who knows what may have happened. Solder cracks are not unusual, although a bunch of things all at once might preclude that. I think most of what you mention may be wired out of the ecu - perhaps check your ecu, make sure it's tightly connected, and isn't getting wet from a leak someplace. Search mye28.com and if you don't find anything, pose your question to the gurus over there, maybe you'll get some luck that way.
Sounds like you need to replace the circuit board in the instrument cluster. This is a common failure in these early vehicles. Like Garrison was saying above you can do the self repair and replace the two red OEM batteries on the circuit board, personally because of the age of the circuit board I would replace the whole thing. Heres a link on replacing those batteries. Hope this helps. http://www.bmwe34.net/E28/Repairs/Dashboard.htm
