A while back I sought advice on speedo and tach that were off and on as they saw fit, a temp. guage that did not work at all. New senders for speedo and temp. no help; new s.i.m. board no help; finally a new middle board and the whole thing works perfect. Only paid $125 thru e-bay "Car Parts Discount" for the Programa brand. Quick shipping and well packaged.
My E30 speedo and odo weren't working at all so I pulled it, sent it to North Hollywood Speedometer, paid $150 and it was returned working like new.
Not sure what you mean by s.i.m. board but the typical (and cheap) fix for these symptoms is to replace the batteries on the SI (service indicator) board. There is a how-to here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tec...placing_service_indicator_board_batteries.htm Batteries Plus, a chain of battery stores, has replacement batteries and will usually help you with battery removal and re-soldering. Not sure if Radio Shack stocks these batteries. While the instrument cluster is out and if it has not already been done, replace the odometer gears. Detailed instructions at odometergears.com .
Another alternative is to convert the SI board to using standard rechargable AA batteries as documented in May 2007 Roundel.
