E39 replacement dials and needles

[jeffbebe 1559]

Anyone had any experience of replacing the dials and needles in an E39 instrument cluster? I can get the cluster in and out no problem and open it up but I've heard it's notoriously difficult to get the needles off without damaging the whole unit and equally difficult to replace them so they are correctly configured.

Saw this bespoke tool on Youtube but they're expensive to buy:

Any help would be appreciated? (this is a cosmetic job, nothing's broken so if it's too much of a mission I'll flag it).

[Jo Blogs 11]

Anyone had any experience of replacing the dials and needles in an E39 instrument cluster? I can get the cluster in and out no problem and open it up but I've heard it's notoriously difficult to get the needles off without damaging the whole unit and equally difficult to replace them so they are correctly configured.

Saw this bespoke tool on Youtube but they're expensive to buy:

Any help would be appreciated? (this is a cosmetic job, nothing's broken so if it's too much of a mission I'll flag it).

I tried to pull needles of an E36 some years ago to fit a white dial kit. Buggered it, Had to get a new cluster and had a sh*t time finding one with similar KM's.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Winckel

[tmase 19]

There are a few DIY guides out there on changing the ribbon cables in the cluster to fix the dead pixel problem that is quite common. The ribbon cable change requires complete disassembly of the cluster including needle removal.

http://www.m5board.com/e39m5/Pixel-repair-v05.pdf

Not sure if this is of help to you. There are some other guides out there too if you Google it.

I have a few dead pixels in my cluster but the though of ruining the gauges trying to replace the ribbon cable put me off doing it myself.

[jeffbebe 1559]

There are a few DIY guides out there on changing the ribbon cables in the cluster to fix the dead pixel problem that is quite common. The ribbon cable change requires complete disassembly of the cluster including needle removal.

http://www.m5board.com/e39m5/Pixel-repair-v05.pdf

Not sure if this is of help to you. There are some other guides out there too if you Google it.

I have a few dead pixels in my cluster but the though of ruining the gauges trying to replace the ribbon cable put me off doing it myself.

Thanks. It doesn't look overly difficult but there are a lot (I mean A LOT) of posts from people who've f****d up the gauges when removing the needles so I'm not overly confident I should do it.

Anyone know a pro in Auckland that might do this? I imagine it's a 30 min job for someone with the right tools who knows what they're doing.

[jeffbebe 1559]

Robinson instruments. Akl.

Good buggers.

Ta!

[Michael. 2313]

Yeah its a nasty job, I had to remove my temperature needle when I upgraded the temperature gauge unit.

Trick is to put even pressure when you pull the needles off on two sides, I used some thin flat screw drivers for the job while being careful to not mark the dial face.

Putting the needle back on accurately was easy enough using some resistors simulating different temperatures etc, but I'd imagine it would be a lot more difficult getting it right with the other gauges back to their true positions.

[jeffbebe 1559]

Putting the needle back on accurately was easy enough using some resistors simulating different temperatures etc, but I'd imagine it would be a lot more difficult getting it right with the other gauges back to their true positions.

Using resistors??? If that's the easy one then I'm definitely out of my league. The tool in the Youtube vid I posted looks pretty effective for removing the needles. Safer than screw drivers maybe!

[jeffbebe 1559]

Robinson instruments. Akl.

Good buggers.

Popped in and saw them. They'll do it super cheaply (and properly) - in return I'll cough up my contact for replacement needles and dials!! Thanks for the recommendation. I'll post a pic when it's done.

[jeffbebe 1559]

Popped in and saw them. They'll do it super cheaply (and properly) - in return I'll cough up my contact for replacement needles and dials!! Thanks for the recommendation. I'll post a pic when it's done.

Happy with the replacement, much easier to read I find as well.

[NZ BMW 368]

How much would someone charge fir this? I've got some silver gauge rings like you have that I imported but I don't have the guts to put them in...

[jeffbebe 1559]

How much would someone charge fir this? I've got some silver gauge rings like you have that I imported but I don't have the guts to put them in...

The rings are easy to put in yourself as you don't need to touch the needles. I got the cluster out and the perspex cover off in about 20mins but didn't dare touch the needles. Would have been no problem replacing the bezel rings though.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showt...d.php?t=1838410

Probably cost $50 for a pro to do it.

[Allanw 1071]

The rings are easy to put in yourself as you don't need to touch the needles.

+1 Agreed!

[Tristan 338]

So $50 for labour + the cluster? Seems fair. Might have to do this!

[jeffbebe 1559]

So $50 for labour + the cluster? Seems fair. Might have to do this!

Yep, not the whole cluster. Got dials and needles here: http://onlineshop.wunschtacho.de/ but there are cheaper places around.