OEM Oil/Coolant temperature gauge - Euro Cluster

[ParadigmGuy]

I got tired of seeing a non-working MPG gauge or a non-working temperature gauge on my Euro cluster. So I decided to figure out how to hook up the temperature gauge.

Right now I just have it for Coolant, I haven't found a place to put the temp sender for oil yet. For coolant I used an OE sender from a E34 M5 and it screws right into the head.

http://texasbimmers.com/tempgauge/Senders.jpg

I wired in an SPDT (single pole dual throw)toggle switch so I can switch between oil temperature and coolant temperature, I put it next to the switches I used for my keyless ignition. Any SPDT throw will work, I used this one (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062511&cp=&parentPage=search).

http://texasbimmers.com/tempgauge/Switches1.jpg

Here's a shot from further back.

http://texasbimmers.com/tempgauge/Switches2.jpg

And here's the cluster reading coolant temperature. Even though it looks like the dummy gauge is reading high, it isn't. The Euro cluster temp gauge has a tick mark in the middle, and the US cluster does not. Unless you're looking at it straight on, it looks like it's reading a bit high.

http://texasbimmers.com/tempgauge/Cluster.jpg

For those interested in doing it, on the back of the cluster are three connectors, black, blue, and white. Pin #13 on the white connector is open, and that is where the wire from the temperature gauge goes. I can take additional pictures if asked, but I think that this covers everything.

And for those of you wondering, yes I use the additional redline. My rev limiter is set at 7800. And yes, I can max out the 170 MPH speedometer. :)

[nickdrivesm3]

nice

[ParadigmGuy]

nice
Thanks, I should have done this a long time ago. :)

[NeonStatus]

Nice, its makes me want a euro cluster even more. I have been looking for almost a year now for one, but can't find it for a decent price.

[llegos]

so the oil part is not hooked up yet right? why would you need to toggle between the two if you have two different gauges?

[ParadigmGuy]

so the oil part is not hooked up yet right? why would you need to toggle between the two if you have two different gauges?
I don't have two different gauges. The dummy gauge on the right doesn't read accurately, so I'm not counting that. The toggle is to switch from oil to coolant on the gauge under the tach. The wires are run for the oil temp, I just haven't found a place to put the sender.

[bimmer213]

Awesome write-up. I have a euro cluster and I want to get the oil-temp gauge working properly. There's an oil-temp sensor that they sell on realoem that goes in place of your oil plug. That's the easiest way i've found so far.

[llegos]

I don't have two different gauges. The dummy gauge on the right doesn't read accurately, so I'm not counting that. The toggle is to switch from oil to coolant on the gauge under the tach. The wires are run for the oil temp, I just haven't found a place to put the sender.

ah, thanks for clarifying. For some reason, I thought the euro cluster's coolant temp gauge wasnt a dummy.

[stanksbeamen]

Nice, very creative and useful. Thats pretty sweet!

[RRSperry]

They are not dummy gauges, they are buffered. Meaning that for a wide range of temps, the needle stays in the middle.

Just wondering, does the new coolant gauge actually move, or is it buffered also?

[ParadigmGuy]

Awesome write-up. I have a euro cluster and I want to get the oil-temp gauge working properly. There's an oil-temp sensor that they sell on realoem that goes in place of your oil plug. That's the easiest way i've found so far.
We don't have an oil plug. But those are the temperature senders that I'm using.


They are not dummy gauges, they are buffered. Meaning that for a wide range of temps, the needle stays in the middle.

Just wondering, does the new coolant gauge actually move, or is it buffered also?
You're right, the stock coolant temp gauge is just buffered. The Euro temp gauge with numbers is not, it moves with every fluctuation.

[BMWManiac]

I love buttons and things to play with....looks great!

[Garrett M]

Thats pretty sweet.

[bimmer213]

We don't have an oil plug. But those are the temperature senders that I'm using.

I meant the the oil drain plug

[entropy]

good job. i never thought to use the oil temp gauge for double duty. i wonder if just the guts of an oil pressure vdo gauge would fit where the factory water temp is? anyway, how's getting used to reading in celcius?

[ParadigmGuy]

I meant the the oil drain plug
Ahh, I use my drain plug for drainage from my turbo. :)


good job. i never thought to use the oil temp gauge for double duty. i wonder if just the guts of an oil pressure vdo gauge would fit where the factory water temp is? anyway, how's getting used to reading in celcius?
Yeah, I'm looking for that option next. :)

I'm comfortable with reading temps in C and boost in bar. I probably use metric figures much more often than not.

[bimmer213]

Ahh, I use my drain plug for drainage from my turbo. :)

Oh alright, the only thing is I don't know if will only work with aftermarket VDO gauges because it's a VDO part, here's the link, http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/ksearch/PEL_search.cgi?command=see_more&please_wait=N&db_record_number=3224&PART_SEARCH=Y . Do you know if the euro clusters only read from oem spec oil-temp senders?

[ParadigmGuy]

Oh alright, the only thing is I don't know if will only work with aftermarket VDO gauges because it's a VDO part, here's the link, http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/ksearch/PEL_search.cgi?command=see_more&please_wait=N&db_record_number=3224&PART_SEARCH=Y . Do you know if the euro clusters only read from oem spec oil-temp senders?
It will read from any electric temp sender, but I don't know if they'll all be accurate. And FWIW, our gauges are made by VDO.

[bmwpowere36m3]

P/N of said M5 sender?

[M III Pilot]

Hopefully someone can give me a hand with the problem I'm having.

I took the oil temp guage out of a UK cluster I bought and retrofitted it into my US cluster, connected the wire to pin 13 of the white connector and then ran it directly to the oil temp sender, which is sitting in an oil distribution block located where the stock oil pressure sender was.

However, the oil temp guage is behaving like a MPG guage and I'm wondering what I've done wrong.:help

[bmwpowere36m3]

Hopefully someone can give me a hand with the problem I'm having.

I took the oil temp guage out of a UK cluster I bought and retrofitted it into my US cluster, connected the wire to pin 13 of the white connector and then ran it directly to the oil temp sender, which is sitting in an oil distribution block located where the stock oil pressure sender was.

However, the oil temp guage is behaving like a MPG guage and I'm wondering what I've done wrong.:help

Because the cluster doesn't recognize the oil temp gauge. Its coded for a US cluster, thus thinking the the oil temp gauge is a MPG gauge. You need to have the dealer recode the cluster (GT1) or use the UK cluster and just swap the coding plugs for mileage (that's what I did).

[M III Pilot]

Because the cluster doesn't recognize the oil temp gauge. Its coded for a US cluster, thus thinking the the oil temp gauge is a MPG gauge. You need to have the dealer recode the cluster (GT1) or use the UK cluster and just swap the coding plugs for mileage (that's what I did).
Ah, so everything I've done so far is fine...whew.:alright
Would they need the cluster out of the car to that, or is that something that can be done through the round diagnostic connector plug under the hood?

Thanks for the info!

[ParadigmGuy]

Yep, use the Euro cluster with your coding plug.


Ah, so everything I've done so far is fine...whew.:alright
Would they need the cluster out of the car to that, or is that something that can be done through the round diagnostic connector plug under the hood?

Thanks for the info!
The dealer will put a tamper sticker on your car (from what I've been told) if you have them do it which will make it look like the correct mileage isn't displayed.

[M III Pilot]

Yep, use the Euro cluster with your coding plug.
Been doing some reading, so it's possible to swap the gauge faces from one cluster to the other.
So I could put the euro gauges in my front piece with the intact mounting tabs, put my coding plug in the back half of the euro cluster, run some cluster tests to get it synched, then install it.

After all this, will the speedo and tach read as correctly as they have in the past correct?


Edit: Two other thread I found usefull:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=313549
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=347429

[M III Pilot]

Alrighty, finally got everything installed, but when revving the car in idle the tach starts to rise, hesitates/sometimes drops, and then continues to rise. The fuel level gauge decreases when revving, and the spedo when it's not mimicking the reaction of the tach reads 10 mph low.

Also, sometimes while driving at constant speed both the speedo and tach drop to zero before recovering after a small bit of time.

Doesn't matter if I use the front half of the UK or US clusters, the reactions are the same.

On the upside the oil temp is working perfectly.

Anybody have any ideas or suggestions?

[ParadigmGuy]

Alrighty, finally got everything installed, but when revving the car in idle the tach starts to rise, hesitates/sometimes drops, and then continues to rise. The fuel level gauge decreases when revving, and the spedo when it's not mimicking the reaction of the tach reads 10 mph low.

Also, sometimes while driving at constant speed both the speedo and tach drop to zero before recovering after a small bit of time.

Doesn't matter if I use the front half of the UK or US clusters, the reactions are the same.

On the upside the oil temp is working perfectly.

Anybody have any ideas or suggestions?
One or more of your connectors for the gauge cluster are not connected all the way.

[M III Pilot]

One or more of your connectors for the gauge cluster are not connected all the way.
Thanks for your help.

Checked, but it ended up being a bad UK cluster...thankfully the oil temp gauge worked fine so no huge loss.

So I took both clusters to Nichols Speedometer & Instrument (http://www.nsifleet.com/home.html) here in Greensboro, NC where they were able to extract the UK programming and apply it to my cluster.
Then after getting a new memory chip, due to the old one glitching out from getting too hot sitting in a car yesterday while I was doing other stuff, and getting the speedo and tach calibrated everything is finally working.

Ended up taking much longer, and costing a bit more than planned....but isn't that always what happens.

Still it was worth it!

[ParadigmGuy]

Nice work. Glad that you got it figured out. I love having a temp gauge.

[themadrussian]

Thanks for your help.

Checked, but it ended up being a bad UK cluster...thankfully the oil temp gauge worked fine so no huge loss.

So I took both clusters to Nichols Speedometer & Instrument (http://www.nsifleet.com/home.html) here in Greensboro, NC where they were able to extract the UK programming and apply it to my cluster.
Then after getting a new memory chip, due to the old one glitching out from getting too hot sitting in a car yesterday while I was doing other stuff, and getting the speedo and tach calibrated everything is finally working.

Ended up taking much longer, and costing a bit more than planned....but isn't that always what happens.

Still it was worth it!

So you used the UK front and the US rear, and had Nichols reprogram your cluster to UK so that your speedometer and oil temperature operated properly? I may send them my cluster along with a UK cluster and have them do that. :devillook

[bmwpowere36m3]

So you used the UK front and the US rear, and had Nichols reprogram your cluster to UK so that your speedometer and oil temperature operated properly? I may send them my cluster along with a UK cluster and have them do that. :devillook

If you have a working UK cluster, I don't see the reason to do it. Swap the coding plugs, and your good to go.... at least that's what I did.

[M III Pilot]

Nice work. Glad that you got it figured out. I love having a temp gauge.
Thanks, it ended up not being as easy as it should have...but it worked out in the end.:buttrock
Definitely a nice feature...should have been included from BMW in the beginning.


So you used the UK front and the US rear, and had Nichols reprogram your cluster to UK so that your speedometer and oil temperature operated properly? I may send them my cluster along with a UK cluster and have them do that. :devillook
Not quite, I used my US front and rear, replaced the mpg with oil temp, and got the software from the UK cluster which was then programmed into mine.
All of which was only required due to my UK cluster being bad, otherwise it should just be a plug and play affair from what I understand.

Nichols did recalibrate my speedo and tach, so they're displaying correctly even with my US front...oh and they can also input the correct mileage if you want to keep it right.
Neither of my clusters had a coding plug.

Curtis was the tech that helped me out and got everything squared away, great guy!

Here's what it looks like:
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p319/M_III_Pilot/DSC00782.jpg

I still need to put the airbag back in and reset the light, otherwise everything is done...finally.:redspot

[themadrussian]

If you have a working UK cluster, I don't see the reason to do it. Swap the coding plugs, and your good to go.... at least that's what I did.

My UK cluster does not have a coding plug - it's a 3.0 cluster. I want the 7000rpm redline and the oil temperature gauge in Farenheit. I can live without the redline though.


Thanks, it ended up not being as easy as it should have...but it worked out in the end.:buttrock
Definitely a nice feature...should have been included from BMW in the beginning.


Not quite, I used my US front and rear, replaced the mpg with oil temp, and got the software from the UK cluster which was then programmed into mine.
All of which was only required due to my UK cluster being bad, otherwise it should just be a plug and play affair from what I understand.

Nichols did recalibrate my speedo and tach, so they're displaying correctly even with my US front...oh and they can also input the correct mileage if you want to keep it right.
Neither of my clusters had a coding plug.

Curtis was the tech that helped me out and got everything squared away, great guy!

Here's what it looks like:

I still need to put the airbag back in and reset the light, otherwise everything is done...finally.:redspot

Interesting. I have some research to do about my UK cluster (whether it has a Check Engine light or not). I'd like to keep the UK cluster totally intact, and just use it (and have them reprogram the mileage on it). I would wire an oil temperature sender to Pin #13 and the cluster would read the speed and everything correctly since it's programmed for the UK.

The only thing that I have to be sure of is the Check Engine light - if the UK cluster doesn't have a CEL, I'll probably just swap the oil temperature gauge into the US cluster and have them code it for UK - will the check engine light still function in that case, though?

Hmm.

OH MAN - I just realized something. Euro 3.2 clusters often have a Check Engine light pictogram. This sounds crazy, but I could swap the gauge faces from a Euro 3.0 cluster onto a 3.2 cluster, then swap the Farenheit oil temp gauge into the 3.2 cluster, and then use the coding plug to synchronize the mileage properly. That way I'd have a working Check Engine light, and a fully-functioning Euro cluster!

Hmm. So many thoughts!

My fear is that if I swap the oil temperature gauge into the US cluster and have it programmed to UK - the cluster won't know when to illuminate the Check Engine light. Anyone with a Euro cluster have a CEL pictogram that lights up when the ignition is turned on but no engine (no clutch)?

[bmwpowere36m3]

My fear is that if I swap the oil temperature gauge into the US cluster and have it programmed to UK - the cluster won't know when to illuminate the Check Engine light. Anyone with a Euro cluster have a CEL pictogram that lights up when the ignition is turned on but no engine (no clutch)?

:wave I do, on my 3.2 Evo (UK cluster) the check engine, check control, and all the other warning lights work. There were however "extra" warning lights on the UK cluster, such as roll-over, cat overheat, oil level, and a few others. But the bulbs for those were removed. I think that as long at the warning light is there, install a bulb in its spot and it should work.

On mine, I tripped all the warnings to make sure they worked. *edit* Also the signal for the check engine light is generated by the ECU and sent to the cluster via X16 pin 16, however in the EURO ETM it lists that pin as not used....

[themadrussian]

:wave I do, on my 3.2 Evo (UK cluster) the check engine, check control, and all the other warning lights work. There were however "extra" warning lights on the UK cluster, such as roll-over, cat overheat, oil level, and a few others. But the bulbs for those were removed. I think that as long at the warning light is there, install a bulb in its spot and it should work.

On mine, I tripped all the warnings to make sure they worked. *edit* Also the signal for the check engine light is generated by the ECU and sent to the cluster via X16 pin 16, however in the EURO ETM it lists that pin as not used....

So are you saying that your cluster will not illuminate the check engine light even if the bulb is installed? At some point I plan to hook up my rear fogs, as well, so I'd like to know if the UK cluster can read the CEL input at pin 16 or not.

Alright - so basically I need to find out if my Euro 3.0 cluster has a CEL - I'll check tomorrow when I get home.

If it does, then I can send the cluster to Nichols and simply have them program the mileage to be in-sync with my current mileage (and hopefully not have a tamper dot), or if the tamper dot would be present, I would swap my US rear onto the UK front and have them reprogram it to UK.

If there's no CEL light on the 3.0 cluster, then I need to swap the oil temp gauge into my US cluster and have Nichols program the cluster for UK (should still allow the CEL to function).

Or, I could buy a Euro 3.2 cluster, swap the gauge faces from the Euro 3.0 (so my redline is still at 7000) and the oil temp gauge, swap my US coding plug in, sync the mileage, and enjoy the working cluster complete with everything working.

Sounds right?

[M III Pilot]

This is what lights up when I turn the key.
I put in the plastic from the UK cluster underneath the gauges, and both my US and UK clusters have the check engine light in the same place.

If Nichols works on it, there shouldn't be a tamper dot. Instruments is what they do.


http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p319/M_III_Pilot/DSC00783.jpg

[themadrussian]

This is what lights up when I turn the key.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p319/M_III_Pilot/DSC00783.jpg

That's helpful. You've got a US cluster but it's coded to UK and the CEL still illuminates. This means that a properly coded UK cluster will output to the CEL if the pin is connected (as it is in US cars) and if the pictogram exists (as it does on the UK 3.2 cluster).

WAIT - you swapped the row of pictograms?

[M III Pilot]

WAIT - you swapped the row of pictograms?
Yup, but the CEL is in the same place regardless.

It's just a thin strip of plastic...very easy to do.

[themadrussian]

Yup, but the CEL is in the same place regardless.

It's just a thin strip of plastic...very easy to do.

Hmm. Excellent. In that case, I will probably swap the CEL picto over to the UK picto row, send the cluster to Nichols and have them reprogram the mileage (I assume there will be no tamper dot?) for me.

[M III Pilot]

Hmm. Excellent. In that case, I will probably swap the CEL picto over to the UK picto row, send the cluster to Nichols and have them reprogram the mileage (I assume there will be no tamper dot?) for me.
The way I understood it, is that the tamper dot illuminates when there's a discrepency between the coding plug and the memory in the cluster.

Call them up and talk over what it is you want to do and they'll let you know all the specifics, Curtis is the guy that took care of my cluster issues.

[themadrussian]

The way I understood it, is that the tamper dot illuminates when there's a discrepency between the coding plug and the memory in the cluster.

Call them up and talk over what it is you want to do and they'll let you know all the specifics, Curtis is the guy that took care of my cluster issues.

So what about cars with no coding plug (before 1996)? Is there no tamper dot at all?

Alright. I'll give them a call on Monday. How much did they charge you to reprogram the US cluster to UK and calibrate the speedo?

EDIT: Just found out in the ETM what pin I'll need to wire the rear fogs to - Pin #5 on the X271 (the small black connector on the back of the cluster). Oil temperature goes to Pin #13 on the X16 (white connector). :)

I've got a few different paths I can take on this one, and it all depends on the phone call I make to Nichols on Monday. I want to retain full US cluster functionality (Check Engine light) but with the added benefits of a rear fog pictogram (a must) along with an oil temperature gauge. I would prefer the 7000rpm redline of the 3.0 cluster along with the 170 mph speedo (without the red tickmark at 55), but those are not 100% necessary. It seems like the simplest solution is to just take a working 3.0 UK cluster and have them re-program my mileage - as long as there's no tamper dot (which there shouldn't be), I'm happy.

[bmwpowere36m3]

So what about cars with no coding plug (before 1996)? Is there no tamper dot at all?

Alright. I'll give them a call on Monday. How much did they charge you to reprogram the US cluster to UK and calibrate the speedo?

EDIT: Just found out in the ETM what pin I'll need to wire the rear fogs to - Pin #5 on the X271 (the small black connector on the back of the cluster). Oil temperature goes to Pin #13 on the X16 (white connector). :)

I've got a few different paths I can take on this one, and it all depends on the phone call I make to Nichols on Monday. I want to retain full US cluster functionality (Check Engine light) but with the added benefits of a rear fog pictogram (a must) along with an oil temperature gauge. I would prefer the 7000rpm redline of the 3.0 cluster along with the 170 mph speedo (without the red tickmark at 55), but those are not 100% necessary. It seems like the simplest solution is to just take a working 3.0 UK cluster and have them re-program my mileage - as long as there's no tamper dot (which there shouldn't be), I'm happy.

I would just plug in the Euro cluster, and see what happens. Do the check lights illuminate, do you see the CEL, etc...? Yes, on mine the CEL works. It lights up when in the ON position and then goes off once the engine is started. To test to see if it works, I disconnected the HFM... which should instantly trigger the CEL. Then plugging it back in should make it go away.

The Euro cluster has the same "check lights" and more, but different pictograms for some. I'm not sure if there order is exactly the same for all the check lights.

[themadrussian]

I would just plug in the Euro cluster, and see what happens. Do the check lights illuminate, do you see the CEL, etc...? Yes, on mine the CEL works. It lights up when in the ON position and then goes off once the engine is started. To test to see if it works, I disconnected the HFM... which should instantly trigger the CEL. Then plugging it back in should make it go away.

The Euro cluster has the same "check lights" and more, but different pictograms for some. I'm not sure if there order is exactly the same for all the check lights.

Just got my 3.0 cluster.

IT HAS A CHECK ENGINE PICTOGRAM!

Now all I need to do is have the mileage programmed! I'm going to give Nichols a call tomorrow and see what they can do when it comes to mileage!

I wish it had a coding plug, though. :(

[ParadigmGuy]

Just got my 3.0 cluster.

IT HAS A CHECK ENGINE PICTOGRAM!

Now all I need to do is have the mileage programmed! I'm going to give Nichols a call tomorrow and see what they can do when it comes to mileage!

I wish it had a coding plug, though. :(
Are you sure that it doesn't? Mine was a '94 UK cluster and had a coding plug just like my '97 US cluster.