Trying to set the clock and current year on the MID

[carnut1947]

My 99 740 IL has had a gauge cluster swap sometime in its past. (the VIN doesn't match my car) I'm trying to set the clock with the owners manual in my lap. As I understand it, everything should display in the radio display not under the Odometer in the cluster. Nothing happens when I press the clock icon. If I cycle through the cluster displays using the button on the turn signal lever, it shows various displays, but nothing I do cause them to change. Do I need another cluster or radio head?

[Qsilver7]

The OBC features that appear in the instrument cluster are just a call up of the features you programmed to appear there. They can not be changed, set, reset, started, stopped, etc...only a secondary visual display.

All control of the OBC features are done on either the MID or the Nav screen (which ever set-up you have).

Until you post which set-up you have...it take too much typing to give both directions as how to set things. But both are pretty similar...you pull up the area (the clock/time/hour or the date...then select SET (if you have the MID). If you have the Nav screen then you select SETTINGs to start resetting stuff.

[carnut1947]

I have no Navi, never did. If I push the clock button on the MID nothing changes in the radio display. Only the radio stations set to memory as well as RDM CD and TAPE. I would then assume my MID is malfunctioning and I need another?

[Qsilver7]

I have no Navi, never did. If I push the clock button on the MID nothing changes in the radio display. Only the radio stations set to memory as well as RDM CD and TAPE. I would then assume my MID is malfunctioning and I need another?

With the MID...when you press the clock face button on the MID...the time should appear in the display...if you weren't already in the TIMER OBC functions...then you'd need to press the button twice to bring them up (but regardless, pressing the clock face button should bring up the clock). With the time displayed in the upper right of the MID's display...you should also see the word SET on the far right. (BTW, the same instructions apply to setting the DATE...press the clock button on the MID until you see DATE appear in the MID's display, then press the DATE button, then the SET button...follow the prompts to change the date/month/year...then save by pressing the SET button):

Next, press the SET button...and you should then see the prompt in the MID's display to make changes to the hour & minute:

Once you have the correct hour/minute and AM/PM...press the SET button once more to save your changes.

If the above doesn't work/apply...then yes, something is wrong and communication between the IKE (instrument cluster electronics) and MID is not working....something is blocking or not sending/receiving the data these two components need to communicate with each other. Again, the MID is the control device that allows you to set/reset/start/stop features of the OBC/CLOCK/AUDIO/PHONE (when the USA had analog phone service)...it performs no calculation of itself...the data is sent to the MID where changes are made by pressing its buttons...but the brains of what you see in the MID's display is in the control module where that particular data lies (the IKE, radio tuner & audio components, etc).

[carnut1947]

I tried another MID. still no clock display. I'm inclined to believe its the swapped IKE. By the way, I got another driver sun visor and that fixed the lights being on vanity mirror lid closed.

[psjr]

If your cluster has been swapped, it's probably not coded to have a MID.
You will need to get that coded.

[carnut1947]

So your thought is the cluster is from a Navi equipped car? And it can be coded?

[Qsilver7]

So your thought is the cluster is from a Navi equipped car? And it can be coded?

Whats the VIN coded into the cluster? You can run it through a VIN decoder and see if that VIN has onBoard navigation option.

Here's a VIN decoder...just enter the last 7 digits of VIN and answer the CAPTCHA puzzle correctly: http://bimmer.work/

[psjr]

So your thought is the cluster is from a Navi equipped car? And it can be coded?

Yes, it can be coded.