Odometer Intermittent ... ?

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ahager57
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Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by ahager57 »

I noticed that my odometer sometimes stops. It seems to work and stop working randomly. The speedometer works consistently, but the odo does not. Am I in for an instrument cluster removal in order to repair? I thought it might be the speedo cable but with he speedo working while the odo stops, I am confused. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!
Andy
2004 530i - Sarabi
1989 635CSI - Shaw
1997 Burb C1500 - Lady Catherine "The Burb"
1990 535i (sold) - Gabriel
1986 535i (totaled) - Jonathan
1984 733i (deceased) - Mog
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86_6series
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Re: Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by 86_6series »

86-635CSi
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ahager57
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Re: Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by ahager57 »

Thanks for the reply .. this is excellent stuff! Sorry to be thick ... where do I order the gars from? Also, is it recommended to order all of them? Thanks!
Andy
2004 530i - Sarabi
1989 635CSI - Shaw
1997 Burb C1500 - Lady Catherine "The Burb"
1990 535i (sold) - Gabriel
1986 535i (totaled) - Jonathan
1984 733i (deceased) - Mog
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hornhospital
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Re: Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by hornhospital »

It's right there in the PDF link....

Odometergears.com

Garagistic.com also has odometer gears specific to E24s.
Ken Kanne
'84 633CSi "Sylvia"; '85 635CSi "Katja";'85 325e "Hazel Ann"; '95 M3 "Ashlyn"
ahager57
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Re: Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by ahager57 »

Oh ok thanks. I couldn't open the PDF from the IPAD.
Andy
2004 530i - Sarabi
1989 635CSI - Shaw
1997 Burb C1500 - Lady Catherine "The Burb"
1990 535i (sold) - Gabriel
1986 535i (totaled) - Jonathan
1984 733i (deceased) - Mog
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tschultz
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Re: Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by tschultz »

I had a similar issue and replaced the gears.

The issue persists... It is no operation in cold weather for the first few miles of cold (below freezing) temps.
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Ralph in Socal
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Re: Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by Ralph in Socal »

tschultz wrote:I had a similar issue and replaced the gears.

The issue persists... It is no operation in cold weather for the first few miles of cold (below freezing) temps.
Sounds more like an electrical connectivity problem Tom. I recently faced a starting problem with the 6. Turn the key and nothing happens but a click. I would have to open the hood to jump pins on the diagnostic connector to get the car to start. That indicated a problem with the ignition switch circuit and not the starter. Before I touched the ignition switch I sprayed contact cleaner on the electrical connector right next to the steering column. Fixed my problem with the electrical spray without having to touch the ignition switch. I've been on a mission to hit most electrical connections on my cars recently. I had an intermittent headlight switch and turn signal switch on separate cars and all were corrected with contact cleaner.

My suggestion is to attend to the electrical connections that provide the signal for the speedo and odo. The speedo converts the electrical signal from the diff and turns that into a mechanical signal for the needle and the odometer. There is a disconnect there within the speedo internals when temps are low and the contact spray is likely to solve your issue. Good luck.

Ralph
There is a very fine line between "Hobby" and Mental Illness.

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tschultz
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Re: Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by tschultz »

Good thought Ralph, thanks!

I'll have to try it out.
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'83 633CSi Callaway Turbo continued as 1988 535is Turbo
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Re: Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by Brucey »

ahager57 wrote:I noticed that my odometer sometimes stops. It seems to work and stop working randomly. The speedometer works consistently, but the odo does not. Am I in for an instrument cluster removal in order to repair? I thought it might be the speedo cable but with he speedo working while the odo stops, I am confused. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!
you don't have 'a speedo cable' in the normal sense, there is a pulse generator in the diff which sends an electrical signal to the cluster. That the speedo works and the odometer doesn't always indicates one of three things

1) odometer gears are bad
2) the odometer drive motor is bad
3) there is a fault in the odometer drive board (which is on the back of the speedo module)

The speedo module (or more specifically the odometer drive board within it) makes its connections via five prongs that slide in an out of receptacles on the main instrument board. It is quite likely that these connections are getting a bit flakey if they have not been moved for a long time.

cheers
~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
csabi

Re: Odometer Intermittent ... ?

Post by csabi »

Hello everyone,

I am having a comparable experience with my 1984 633. The odometer will work just as I pull away from a stop for a tenth to two on the odometer. Speedometer works fine. Odometer gears are in tact. Speedo/odometer cluster has been swapped out with another functional unit with the same result. Original odometer was sent to Palo Alto Speedometer where it was bench tested, with fully functional results.

When I last reinstalled it a few weeks ago, I did clean the four or five prongs with a little bit of sandpaper and contact cleaner. No resolution.

Does anyone know if there is a relay involved or a which pins (in the wiring plugs) provide this signal?

Also, my window switches do not work well (intermittent). Not sure if these are related.

Here's a link to my posts on mye28.
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=139939

Appreciate any advice.
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