damomonster

Yeah I think that its the needle/spindle/cluster thats acutally faulty.. im wondering if the cluster has been repaired at some stage (pixel refresh) and someones damaged the needle/spindle... Does anyone know where the best place in NZ is to send my cluster for repair? After reading all the tamper dot/coding type stuff I dont think replacing the cluster outright is really for me.. Cheers, Damo

Hey there! Thanks for the replies - No I havent check the sender - I thought since the cluster test failed that it must be the cluster itself - when the cluster does a self test does it actually get its reading from the sender even in self test? Cheers

Hey everyone.. Moving onto the next fault in my '99 540i - the Fuel Needle in the cluster won't go to Full - even when using Test 2 to test the cluster - it only goes to 3/4's - is there any ideas on this or recommends as to who I could send the cluster to for repair? Cheers, Damo

Oh.. and yes, I've checked all the fuses, they're fine too

Hey everyone.. Thanks SO much for the replies.. I didn't get notified that anyone had replied so sorry for the delay.. OK, so here's where things are up to.. The two mystery wires are actually for a pump on a headlight washer tank that is missing from my car.. My car has the jets built into the front bumper but the cleaner tank and the attached pump are both missing... I figured this out by looking under the hood of another E39 540i which had all that gear still in it.. Of course that doesn't help with the DSC mystery... So... The ABS light does come on when the car is started and then goes out after a few seconds, basically like it should. I think the ABS or something is actually working because on wet grass or similar you feel the car braking or cutting power to the wheels (sorry not quite sure how to describe it but I'm sure you'll know what I mean).. But, pressing the DSC button does nothing on the instrument cluster.. And I don't really know how else to test it.. BUT I'm starting to think it might actually be the cluster that's got some funnys instead.. When doing Test 2, the ABS light works fine, but that DSC Light and Traction Lights still don't come on.. On top of that, i've now noticed the Fuel Gauge doesn't reach full, even in Test 2 - it stops at about 3/4's.. And test 9 is coming up with Phase 1 some I'm thinking all the fuel gear is fine, just the gauge.. And finally when I put the car on the local auto electricians scanner, the Instrument Panel had some BDF4 error.. which I have no idea what it means but he said it translated to an internal error of some description. So, if you're still reading.. Am I best to take the instrument cluster to a BMW dealer at this point or is there anyone else you guys would think would be better (and probably more affordable?) And thanks again for the help so far, I honestly do appreciate it Cheers, Damo

Hi everyone.. New to the forum but really needing some help.. I've very recently picked up a '99 540i.. I've got all the receipts etc for the car but as with anything you get at a good price theres usually some things to fix.. I've been hammering google and I can't get to the bottom of this though.. The DSC button in the console seems to do absolutely nothing.. I just can't get the light to come on with any combination of pressing or holding.. The ABS seems to be working fine but I can't control the DSC.. And then I noticed that there are two wires leading to the ABS computer that have been disconnected.. I don't know if they're related or not and have attached a pic if anyone can shed any light on what on earth they were supposed to go to? I had a local auto electrician run a scan on the car and the computer reported something along the lines of Code 58 - Can open circuit to AGS.. So if anyone can help it would really be appreciated as the local mechanics don't normally have a lot to do with BMWs.. Cheers, Damo