Re: <E30> Instruments

["Brian Franchuk" <Brian.Franchuk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Neil,

I had a similar problem where my gas guage quit working.  The fix 
applies to the temp guage only.  I'm not sure about the odometer.
Basically what happened to me was that my gas guage stayed on full 
all the time.  After replacing the connector to the panel and 
resoldering all the connections on the circuit board inside the 
instrument panel, I still had the problem.  As it turned out, both 
the gas guage and the temp gauge are connected to the instrument 
panel circuit board not only with the two outside pins on the guage, 
but also with the threaded lug in the middle:

         -------
         |      |
 Front   |      |==== Pin 1
  of     |      |
 Guage   |      |//////// Threaded lug
         |      |
         |      |==== Pin 2
         |      |
         -------


When I took the instrument panel apart to replace my batteries, the 
connection between the threaded lug and the circuit board was 
loosened.  Since this connector was tarnished, it never made 
connection again when I put the instrument panel back together.  It 
turns out that the threaded lug is the signal that tells the guage to 
deflect backwards, towards empty or cool.  Power is applied to pins 1 and 2 
to cause the meter to deflect to the full or hot position.

The solution was to solder a wire from the casing on the meter (which 
is connected to the thread lug) to the appropriate trace on the instrument 
panel circuit board.  For the less daring, the tarnished washer on the 
threaded lug could be sanded lightly.

Hope this helps.

Brian Franchuk
'87 325
'86 Chevy Celebrity
?? 325iX - still searching

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