MARCE1981 Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) Hi, I'm new to this site & have just bought my first BMW in the past fortnight. I managed to snag a bargain 1997 Ac Schnitzer (replica) 323iSE for £1000 (113000 miles, FSH, 12mth MOT, 6mth tax) which is immaculate inside & out & clearly has been looked after. The only problem with the whole car is the speedo & fuel gauge work whenever they feel like it. Usually when the car is cold they would work initially, but now the fuel gauge shows either empty in the red or totally full. The rev counter always works. I've had the speedo sensor changed and the dashboard test was ok, so i'm guessing there's a loose wire somewhere? Could it be anything else? How easy is it to locate the relevant wiring to check? If anyone else has had similar problems with the E36, how much can i expect to pay for this? Any help/guidance would be hugely appreciated. Edited February 21, 2011 by MARCE1981 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Welcome to the Zone dude, just to let you know this is a forum for E46s so you might not find as much knowledge here as other places but ppl will be along to try and help you soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlpearce Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) Car pictured is a e46 loon though...and i dont think its a genuine Schnitzer Edited February 21, 2011 by simonlpearce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aly Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Si that's definitely an E36 loon... Phantom Mark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARCE1981 Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Welcome to the Zone dude, just to let you know this is a forum for E46s so you might not find as much knowledge here as other places but ppl will be along to try and help you soon Thanks. Yeah i know this is E46, but i made a point of posting in the 'non e46' section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlpearce Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Man your right - ive been looking at excel files too long today think my eyes are f**ked! Phantom Mark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARCE1981 Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Car pictured is a e46 loon though Wrong. and i dont think its a genuine Schnitzer Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlpearce Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 See above mate, im just not with it today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARCE1981 Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) See above mate, im just not with it today! Lol, no worries. Edit: The logbook says 323i, so it isn't a proper schnitzer! Just a mere replica lol. You were half right. Edited February 21, 2011 by MARCE1981 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlpearce Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 The zorst didnt look right which is why i questioned it, also the wheels look like reps although have a look on the inside and if its got AC Schnitzer printed then they are genuine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARCE1981 Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 The zorst didnt look right which is why i questioned it, also the wheels look like reps although have a look on the inside and if its got AC Schnitzer printed then they are genuine. Aye, it's just one of those clip on jobs over the original. Not my doing though, it was on when i got it. I'm whacking a full stainless on along with a remap in the not so distant future... But not till i know how fast i'm going/how much fuel i have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Car pictured is a e46 loon though...and i dont think its a genuine Schnitzer fail lol good spot on non genuine tho Si Thanks. Yeah i know this is E46, but i made a point of posting in the 'non e46' section lol nw dude just making sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob- Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) If its anything like the e46 dash I'd do the instrument cluster test procedure to see if it's actually the cluster itself or the signal it's receiving. Don't know if it works on the e36s though.. This is what I mean As I say I dont know it will work with the 36 EDIT: Yes it does but it's nowhere near as cool lol Edited February 22, 2011 by ROB1986 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARCE1981 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 I've done that & it is ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipjohnson82 Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Hello mate, the car looks tidy for £1k! Looks like you have the Type IV wheels which are too new for a car of that age to be fitted from the factory. I had a similar issue to the one you describe, but with the rev counter only. It would work when the car was cold, or when it rained, but not the rest of the time (unless it randomly woke up partway through a journey). I was told by an ex-BMW mechanic that you could fix it by removing the cluster and spraying WD40 on the connector blocks plugged in the back. However, I never got round to doing this so I can't tell you what the results were! If you want to try this, the cluster is held in by two T20 torx screws at the top of the glass on the front of the cluster. Undo these and it'll slide forward. You then need to squeeze the sides of the connector blocks to release the tabs holding them in place. When you do this, make sure the ignition is not switched on, otherwise you could cause the tamper dot to activate in the cluster. If this doesn't cure the fuel gauge issue then that could be a broken wire in the sender - this is located under the back seat through one of the metal panels that can be unscrewed - just pull the rear bench out and you'll see what I mean. I can't remember which side of the car it is on though! If you sign up to www.bmwowner.com and look in the FAQ section there are guides in there for fixing the wire in the fuel sender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARCE1981 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Hello mate, the car looks tidy for £1k! Looks like you have the Type IV wheels which are too new for a car of that age to be fitted from the factory. I had a similar issue to the one you describe, but with the rev counter only. It would work when the car was cold, or when it rained, but not the rest of the time (unless it randomly woke up partway through a journey). I was told by an ex-BMW mechanic that you could fix it by removing the cluster and spraying WD40 on the connector blocks plugged in the back. However, I never got round to doing this so I can't tell you what the results were! If you want to try this, the cluster is held in by two T20 torx screws at the top of the glass on the front of the cluster. Undo these and it'll slide forward. You then need to squeeze the sides of the connector blocks to release the tabs holding them in place. When you do this, make sure the ignition is not switched on, otherwise you could cause the tamper dot to activate in the cluster. If this doesn't cure the fuel gauge issue then that could be a broken wire in the sender - this is located under the back seat through one of the metal panels that can be unscrewed - just pull the rear bench out and you'll see what I mean. I can't remember which side of the car it is on though! If you sign up to www.bmwowner.com and look in the FAQ section there are guides in there for fixing the wire in the fuel sender. Nice. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARCE1981 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) Had a diagnostic done today & it appears i need a new instrument cluster, along with one of the fuel sensors. I've managed to source the instrument cluster & the entire fuel cluster with sensors through 1stchoice.co.uk + fitting at my local garage for about £160 BMW quoted £500+ for the cluster alone hahaha Edited February 24, 2011 by MARCE1981 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cantskid Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 I have a similar problem with my e36 as im driving all of the dials die and then come back to life almost instantly and i then show a different fuel reading! It has taken them up to 10 mins to come back to life and when they do the service/inspection countdown bar comes up and then goes away. Any ideas how to stop it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
