That was an awesome DIY.I was scared to do it, kind of hard to understand until your inside the OBC. Thank you so much. Ive got 90% i'm so happy. And thank you guys for the light bulb part number, i needed that. I used the 3m double sided tape, i got at home depot in the paint section. I just put it over the cushion that was already there. One thing i would point out. Don't take off the backing to the double sided tape after you put it on the old cushion. If you do it could stick to the plastic circuit and pull it off next time you take it apart. Thanks for the great post. l8r
Pulled the OBC out of 98 323ic to try to get all of display to work
after taking it apart and then assembling it twice I now have a clock !
The rest of the display does not seem to want to cooperate though
tried a thin piece of clear plastic approx 8-10mil thick, then two for the second attempt. No Luck Still pixel impaired - Any Ideas ??
Has anyone had their radio display not work ?
Is there a bulb in the radio ? Any help would be appreciated
Thanks
I had mixed results with 2 layers of the 3m tape strips. I cut them a little big so it would cover more surface area on the screen and had good results in certain parts of the whole display. When I started with one strip I had good results with the parts that were now not working with 2 strips. Over all I'm just assuming different parts of the screen need more or less pressure over the ribbon cable depending on how worn those partss are. In the end I just wound up leaving the obc disconnected. It lied to me more than my ex anyway :/
E36 NON Vanos and Misc Parts for Sale
http://s1126.photobucket.com/user/To...25i%2092/story
http://s1126.photobucket.com/user/Tomfordny/library/
Just did the fix on my OBC and all the pixels work now.
Thanks!
"Buy the ticket, take the ride." ~ Hunter S. Thompson
Hello all,
Like a lot of you, I've read this fix with great interest and enthousiasm .
However like maybe some of you, I was numbnuts enough to yank the connectorstrip away from the PCB and hence the fix didn't work anymore.
Being a devoted DIYer, I just needed to come up with a fix.
Guess what? I DID!
The bad part is, I didn't make any pictures because I wasn't sure if it would work initially, however people that have done the DIY guide in this thread know what I'm talking about.
Enough with the BS, this is how it works:
This fix fits into the DIY fix in this thread between the point where you disassembled the OBC and the point where you begin re-assembling.
You will need:
-Ducktape
-Conducting silverglue (check with your local hardwarestore, will set you back around 10 dollars)
-fine grain sanding paper (800)
-scissors/sharp hobby knife
-precision pointy tool like you can find in a microscrewdriver set
-steady hands
If you, like me ripped the strip away from the PCB, take the LCD with the strip attached to it against the light and you will realize your problem. You can look straight through the strip in the place where normally the conductive lines should be.
If you look at the PCB part where the strip normally connects, you can see the stuff that is missing on the connector strip actually sticking to the connectors on the PCB.
Step 1:
Sand the pcb connectors with a very fine piece of sanding paper. (800 should do fine).
note: MAKE SURE YOU DONT SAND AWAY THE CONNECTORS ON THE PCB COMPLETELY, JUST REMOVE THE STUFF THAT CAME OFF THE STRIP!! Than you will see the gold/yellowish connectorpoints.
Step 2:
Like described before, the reason of pixel loss is because the deterioration of the connectorstrip, however, some of it is still intact if you look closely at the strip on the end that connects to the PCB.
now it is time to take your vail of silverglue and the small brush that comes with it.
Carefully brush the silverglue on the entire PCB end of the connectorstrip, dont be greedy with the glue but don't use to much either.
The glue should be applied on the surface between PCB end of the strip and about half a centimeter from the part where the strip bends upwards. It is absolutely VITAL that you leave enough space uncovered of glue to be able to see the location of the connectorlines within the strip hence it's critical for the next step, however, be sure that the glue touches the still intact conductive parts of the strip!!!
Now let the glue dry overnight.
Step 3:
This is where the teadious work comes in. You were probably wondering why you covered the entire width of the strip in glue, well, that's because the lines are so slim that it's virtually impossible to repaint the separate lines one by one, instead, you will now use the very fine pointy tool to scratch away the glue that you don't want to be there, take a dark and hard undersurface (hard is critical, otherwise you will wrinkle the connectorstrip to much!)
The dark is because it will be easier to see the difference between the lines in the strip that conduct and the 'empty space' .
When your done doing this you're almost there.
Step 4:
Cut a few strips of ducktape, small pieces, just to keep the strip in place on the PCB so that all the connective lines line up.
Step 5:
Resume the rest of the DIY fix as discribed in this thread.
I just tried this to see if I could save about 50 bucks for buying a second hand unit that would work for an unknown amount of time and because I'm a DIYer.
I went from about 90 % pixel loss to about 1% pixel loss (1 dead pixel in the corner, probably because I didn't use enough of the 3M stuff used to push down the stip on the PCB)
If you have any questions on this, don't hesitate to contact me!
Hi Guys,
I hope I am not high jacking the forum, however my bulbs will not lit up at all. I have tested the bulbs and they are fine. Could it be a capacitor or something like that ?
hi ,
I hope some one can help me. I have a e36 328i and the cluster does not have any lights. i have checked the bulb and they are ok so i was wondring to know if there could be a capacitor or something like that which may need replacing
thanks
great write up, took me about 45 mins because i was extra carful. i was confused as to where to put the replacement tape for about 15 of those minutes lol. i took the old strip out and pilled on 3 layers of exterior double sided tape. problem fixed, money saved!
I tried this on my 18 button OBC. The insides are different. There is a separate board attached to the display board that has two clips in the middle of the board that allows you to separate it. Once that is off and bent back the display board is exposed.
The display board is attached to the led display in a completely different way but if you look at it you can see the strip we are trying to get to. Reference pics 2-6 in post #2 at beginning, those tabs and screw posts are not there. Instead the board is attached with 5 white plastic posts, three along the bottom and two at top by the display strip. The tops of these posts looked like they were melted down and the only way I could get them off was with gentle prying with a small screw driver. This is destructive to the top of the posts, but enough remains for them to either be glued or melted to reattach the board. It needs to be reattached because this applies pressure to the strip we are trying to thicken. I tried super glue, but it didn't hold. Maybe it got too hot or too old, or both. So I used a soldering iron with a needle tip to melt the top of the plastic posts and mushroom them out. This worked fine, but you probably only get one shot.
The original pressure strip just falls out. It seems to be a type of foam and likely just gets too compressed. I cut a strip of 3m double sided tape and also reused the orig foam. Put is back together and viola! From no pixels working to 98% functioning.
Sorry I didn't take pics of the process, but if you look at the pics and eliminate the extra boards in the 18 button obc it is similar enough to the OP to see what you are trying to do. Just wanted to let people know you can make this repair with an 18 button OBC.
David M.
'96 328 Sedan
Mine was in bad shape and putting pressure on the flex cable didn't fix it completely.
I propped up the display and shielded surrounding components and plastic with a couple pieces of aluminum along where the flex cable mates to the PCB. I only had as little of the flex cable and PCB exposed. I ran a heat gun on low setting along a section of the flex cable, followed by a pencil eraser to press it down, then moved onto the next section. Careful not to melt all the adhesive at once or it will probably fall off. Apply as little heat as possible so you don't warp the plastic of the cable. I had mine warp a bit, but was able to fix it by applying heat again and working the "wave" outwards with the eraser. Fixed every row and column on the display.
I believe that I took my unit apart and reassembled 6 times to get the right amount of padding. Too much too little. In the end I used the spongy double sided tape that is used for wall hanging. I cut the piece in half longways and it fits nicely in the grooove. I was careful not to damage the little white rubber piece that is causing the problem. After placing the double sided tape I replaced the original rubber piece right on top of the tape. This combination worked great. I hope this little tidbit has been useful to someone.
18 button OBC screen problems are super rare compared to the 11's, out of the many 18 button's I've tested and sold, I've only run across 2 ever with pixel issues. However unlike the 11, the 18's bad pixels were only in entire lines both horizontal, and vertical (like an entire row missing), not scattered pixels like the 11's do.
95 Hellrot/Modena 332is, 287k chassis 143k S52, 6 speed 420g, DS2's, 3.23 LSD, 97+ facelift, 96+ climate control conversion.
98 Alpine white/Black and Tan, 328i Sedan 226k chassis 163k M52, Auto to 5 speed ZF manual swapped, E46 sport seats, 2.93 open diff, style 30 wheels, OEM M3 catback, nothing special here
Great posts to all! I have an 18 button and the display works great until I start the car and leave the display active for 10-15 min. Then it starts to become unreadable.
I have checked my voltage to ensure it wasn't too high but that seemed to be fine. Any other ideas?
I dont know if anyone was answered this yet, I didn't wanna read through the entire post< nut the Driver you need is a 10 Torx driver.
Great write up!
All these repairs with pads etc do not hold very long in my opinion. Best solution is to replace the old ribbon against a new one.
I have read on a German 7 series forum that they buy DIY LCD Pixel repair ribbon cable kits for example from the U.K. from AKSpeedo http://www.akspeedo.com/ (no affiliation), here some pics of the repair
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...55628451_o.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...63045700_o.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...39442068_o.jpg
quote-AK speedo has Very high Quality low resistant Graphite track ribbon cable to replace the failing silver track BMW VDO Ribbon. Bond-less Graphite Ribbon cables are made in house at AKSpeedo using high quality plastic sheeting with high quality low resistant graphite print and are all cut and checked by hand.This ribbon gives you a perfect connection between the PCB and LCD Display and can be fitted more than once if you make a mistake during fitting.Graphite ribbons give a much better and more reliable join for the ribbon cable connection pads.- unquote
Here are some youtubes how to http://www.youtube.com/user/akspeedo
Shogun tricks and tips for the E32 series are HERE!
Maybe you send them an email and ask in detail, as they state that the bond-less graphite ribbon cables are made in house. So I guess they can do it tailor-made.
As usual, if there is demand, they will probably make it.
I do not have the problem now, but would be good to know for the future.
Is there no company in the U.S. which makes similar products?
Shogun tricks and tips for the E32 series are HERE!
Thanks for the writeup! The ribbon connecting the lcd to the board had pulled up on the 2 side but when I put it back together it seems to work perfectly! Also got to swap out the clock bulb while I was at it. Super easy fix and it was free best of all! Cheers.
Thank you so much, you have saved a college student lots of money!! Took me quite a bit longer because I had some difficulties removing and putting the circuit board and the white plastic together. The tabs were a big nuisance.
This helped a good bit, thanks
Can you buy an 18 button OBC and just plug it in? I don't care about all the other features, I just want the display/clock to work and can't seem to find any 11 button ones for sale.
It is sad to see BMW still has the problem with other models. (plus a few other European cars)
But this video shows what you are attempting to perform. A new ribbon cable may be needed $25 UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i65nCbeAZk&feature=c4-overview&list=UUeUbYlOzm5EeZWW3HARKSuw
http://www.diyspareparts.net/bmw.html
Last edited by gc325is; 05-21-2016 at 05:39 PM. Reason: wrong link
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