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Thread: Odometer still not working after new gears

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    CR, Florida
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    4
    My Cars
    91 325is

    Odometer still not working after new gears

    I have a 1991 325is with the Motometer gauge cluster. The odometer hasn't worked since I bought the car so I decided to finally fix it. I ordered the entire replacement gear set (4 gears) and installed it after removing the broken factory ones. The odometer STILL doesn't work. All the other gauges do. Speedo, Tach, etc are all fine.

    What else could it be? Theres a little 1 wire green plug that goes into the back of the gauge cluster. Theres are 3 possible places where it could plug in, which one is it supposed to be plugged into? I plugged it back into the one I removed it from, but if the previous owner had removed it, its possible HE put it back into the wrong one.

    Does anyone have a picture of where theirs plugged into? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2004
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    Honolulu, HI
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    02 X5 MT, 96 Vert,

    odometer

    e-mail sent
    Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Madison, WI
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    121
    My Cars
    89 325is, 07 328xiT 6spd man, 04 X3 & 01 Z3(sold)
    Were you able to advance the odometer by hand before you put it back in?

    It sounds like it didn't work from the get go. I did the gear replacement (89 325is) over the winter and was thrilled to see it ticking off the miles until it stopped working within 50 miles. I've disassembled again, but can't find the problem.

    I believe that single wire goes to the end of the green connector with the round end facing one way or another (the plug is polar). Let me know if you still need a picture.

    Jeff

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    CR, Florida
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    4
    My Cars
    91 325is
    Yes, I am able to advance the odometer by hand, all the gears appear to be meshing correctly. Put it back together and go for a drive and it still doesn't work. The green connector has 3 different slots, all the same shape, and the plug appears to be able to go into any of the 3. Pictures might help me.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Madison, WI
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    121
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    89 325is, 07 328xiT 6spd man, 04 X3 & 01 Z3(sold)
    I"ll post tonight.

    With the cluster in the dash, I believe it goes in the side closest to the driver's door.

    Jeff

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Milford, OH
    Posts
    19
    My Cars
    '87 325i
    Any resolution on this ? I replaced 4 gears (from odometers.com) on the motometer odometer in my '87 325i. And the odometer is still not functioning. I am able to advance the odometer manually - rotating the smallest gear changes the numbers. Anything else I could check ?

    Thanks,
    Bala
    87 325i - Delphin Grey Metallic

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    NoVA
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    13,224
    My Cars
    135i
    Is it just the odometer that isn't functioning? I believe the odometer may have something to do with the SI board. Have you replaced the batteries?
    E82 135i: Alpine white on black leather; ZSP; ZCW; iPod/USB
    Previous Bimmers owned (from last to first): E46 M3, E34 540i/6, E30 325iS, E34 525i, E30 318i

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Milford, OH
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    '87 325i
    Yep, just the odometer not working. Speedometer is working fine.

    I didn't touch the the SI board at all - didn't change the SI board batteries. I thought, those affect the gas and temp. gauge and not the odometer.

    Thanks,
    Bala
    87 325i - Delphin Grey Metallic

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    westboro mass
    Posts
    53
    My Cars
    1986 325es
    my odometer just died,and of course the trip counter.i dont think ill mess with it yet,but murphys law says i will have more problems soon,

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Cedar Falls, Iowa
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    10,070
    My Cars
    S52 M Roadster, WRX,
    Quote Originally Posted by BaliLover
    I have a 1991 325is with the Motometer gauge cluster. The odometer hasn't worked since I bought the car so I decided to finally fix it. I ordered the entire replacement gear set (4 gears) and installed it after removing the broken factory ones. The odometer STILL doesn't work. All the other gauges do. Speedo, Tach, etc are all fine.

    What else could it be? Theres a little 1 wire green plug that goes into the back of the gauge cluster. Theres are 3 possible places where it could plug in, which one is it supposed to be plugged into? I plugged it back into the one I removed it from, but if the previous owner had removed it, its possible HE put it back into the wrong one.

    Does anyone have a picture of where theirs plugged into? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    I'm having the exact same problem with the VDO odometer. Replaced all the gears tonight. They mesh correctly, and will advance and back-off by turning by hand, but after I plugged it back into the car it stil didn't work. All the other gauges work but the odometer. I was wondering the same thing about the little single wire plug and which slot it went into.

    I guess I will try the other slots 1 by one and see if it helps, but not tonight.

    If people can post pics and schemtcs of pinouts and connections, it would be helpful.
    -Jason

    Weekend Car

    '99 Boston Green M Roadster - intake, M50 manifold, schrick cams, magnaflow exhaust, TCK D/A Coilovers 500/600, RD front bar, ltw flywheel & clutch, harddog rollbar, schroth harnesses, zionsville radiator, S54 oil cooler, stewart pump, etc ..... ~245rwhp

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    Milford, OH
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    '87 325i
    I didn't see any single wire. There were four big connectors and two small bulbs.
    87 325i - Delphin Grey Metallic

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
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    sacramento
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    Quote Originally Posted by bala_eos
    Yep, just the odometer not working. Speedometer is working fine.

    I didn't touch the the SI board at all - didn't change the SI board batteries. I thought, those affect the gas and temp. gauge and not the odometer.

    Thanks,
    Bala

    My Odometer also doesn't work, it does need gears as they look broken. Now, just for the record the SI board does not affect GAS and Temp Gauge it's only for Oil Service and Inspection LEDS correct ?

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    NoVA
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    135i
    Quote Originally Posted by 84318i
    My Odometer also doesn't work, it does need gears as they look broken. Now, just for the record the SI board does not affect GAS and Temp Gauge it's only for Oil Service and Inspection LEDS correct ?
    I believe the SI board also affects speedo, tach, and one other thing.
    E82 135i: Alpine white on black leather; ZSP; ZCW; iPod/USB
    Previous Bimmers owned (from last to first): E46 M3, E34 540i/6, E30 325iS, E34 525i, E30 318i

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    e30 & e34
    Quote Originally Posted by ohnoes
    I believe the SI board also affects speedo, tach, and one other thing.
    I removed the SI board completely as it had leaked batteries and Speedometer, Tach, Temp and Fuel gauges still do work though ?

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    Ojai, Ca
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    m20b27 powered 1984 318i
    Quote Originally Posted by ohnoes
    I believe the SI board also affects speedo, tach, and one other thing.
    When I removed my SI board the speedo, gas, and temp gauges started to work. Before that, they did nothing.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Quote Originally Posted by bala_eos
    I didn't see any single wire. There were four big connectors and two small bulbs.
    The back of my gauge cluster has 3 large connectors, 2 independant wires with spade connection (for ABS I think) and a very small connector with a single wire attached that goes into a large connector which is clipped into the bottom of the speedo/odo gauge.

    The small connector with single wire can go in 3 different slots (of the about7 slots total, all but one remains unused) of the larger connector.

    Thats how it is on my car anyway.
    -Jason

    Weekend Car

    '99 Boston Green M Roadster - intake, M50 manifold, schrick cams, magnaflow exhaust, TCK D/A Coilovers 500/600, RD front bar, ltw flywheel & clutch, harddog rollbar, schroth harnesses, zionsville radiator, S54 oil cooler, stewart pump, etc ..... ~245rwhp

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Milford, OH
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    19
    My Cars
    '87 325i
    I need to recheck my cluster to see if I am missing that single wire. Are the ones with the single wire all "VDO" units ?

    Does the VDO/Motometer distinction apply to the clusters too or just the gauges themselves ?

    From my understanding, the power/ground for the temp and gas gauges are routed through or shared with the SI board. When, the SI batt. die, they tend to get shortciruited and affect the performance of those two gauges. - I am not very sure of this explanation. I read about it some where and cannot find the reference now.
    87 325i - Delphin Grey Metallic

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Milford, OH
    Posts
    19
    My Cars
    '87 325i
    Okay, finally got the odometer to work. The problem turned out to be that I didn't fix the smallest gear, the 12 tooth one, on the drive shaft ( with the stepper motor/magnet on the other side) properly. It was loose. The shaft was spinning, but, the gear wasn't turning. The fix was simply to push the gear further on the shaft till the gear was press fit. Jeff Caplan ( odometergear.com ) was very helpful in diagnosing/fixing the problem. I had to remove the plastic cover over the motor/magnet side, hold the magnet while I pressed the 12 tooth gear firmly onto the shaft.


    Thanks,
    Bala
    87 325i - Delphin Grey Metallic

  19. #19
    Join Date
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    Congrats! Did he answer your questions about the function or "relationship" of the SI board and the Speed/Odometer/Tach and Fuel/Temp gauges ?

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    Milford, OH
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    '87 325i
    Quote Originally Posted by 84318i
    Congrats! Did he answer your questions about the function or "relationship" of the SI board and the Speed/Odometer/Tach and Fuel/Temp gauges ?
    But, I didn't have any questions on the function/relationship of SI board and the various gauges. So, no, I didn't ask him about it.
    87 325i - Delphin Grey Metallic

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
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    Thousand Oaks, CA
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    2003 530i, 1991 318i
    So where did the wires go finally?

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    Chambersburg, PA
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    My Cars
    1989 325iX
    that wire apparently goes anywhere.... it is just for the cruise control.
    1987 Porsche 944T, 2012 BMW 328xi e92, 2015 BMW 228i f22


  23. #23
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by sicktim View Post
    it is just for the cruise control.
    Correct.
    Tenured Automotive Service Professional - Avid BMW Enthusiast

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
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    Keller, TX
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    1989 325i S52 swap
    Quote Originally Posted by Oahu320iS View Post
    e-mail sent

    PM'd you, I'm having same issues.. have the odometer out for the 4th time after "repair"...

    '90 325i coupe 5 spd - Love
    '94 325i- 190k DD - S52 Head - S50 cams - Turner chip software (cam) - M52 headers M3 catback - SOLD
    '94 530i 182k - dead awaiting fuel pump TRADED
    2008 Mazdaspeed 3. Zoom Zoom for $25k, 260hp, 280 ft lbs tq @ 3,000 rpm FWD wagon. SOLD
    2008 Volkswagen R32- SOLD



  25. #25
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Des Moines, IA
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    90 ix, 91 i & ic, 02 325
    Quote Originally Posted by Nacanowhere View Post
    PM'd you, I'm having same issues.. have the odometer out for the 4th time after "repair"...
    Oahu320iS - looking at his profile - his last post was Oct 2015... Doubtful you'll get a response.

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