Instrument cluster mileage

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Mick
Joined: Sat 28 Jul, 2012 20:29
Posts: 55

  Z3 roadster 2.0

Instrument cluster mileage

Post by Mick »

I have had an EEP-1 code on my dash for ages resulting in most of my dials not working. I have sent the instrument cluster to a repair Company and was told it could not be fixed so decided to buy a second hand one on the stock exchange. It is arriving shortly but does anyone know if I will retain my original mileage? Need to find out for sure as my mileage is 41k and the second hand cluster is 119k! Any comments welcome.
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Robert T
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Joined: Mon 12 Jun, 2006 10:35
Posts: 10170

  Z3 roadster 1.9
Location: Cheshire

Re: Instrument cluster mileage

Post by Robert T »

Well, therein lies the 64k mile question. As I understand it, a record of the mileage is held in to places in the car - one copy in the ECU and another in the instrument cluster. If these two figures do not agree then a tamper dot is supposed to illuminate on the odometer display. My belief was that, to get rid of the tamper dot, the higher mileage between the two was taken, so that if you put a newer cluster into an car that has done more miles, it cannot be "clocked". It would make sense that swapping the ECU from a car that has done less miles should also not allow the car to be "clocked". This belief was recently blown out of the water by pingu, who replaced his cluster and had it happily displaying a lower mileage without the tamper dot showing, so he is the man to talk to...

Be aware that there are two different instrument clusters with different electronics in them - they seemed to change some time during '98, so quite a few months before the facelift. They are characterised by having 15- and 19-test self-test modes on the odometers, with the later one having more test modes. You will need to ensure that cluster you are fitting is the right kind, as would not expect the electronics to be compatible, even if the connectors are. Also note that the cluster is coded to the car and contains a record of the VIN (I don't know as this will affect anything if it is wrong, but you can call it up in the self-test), as wells as a coding for the number of cylinders (which will matter) and a few other things. I do not know if pingu had to recode his, but I am pretty sure he got one off a car of the same model as his, so it may just have been a straight swap.

Cheers R.
Arctic Silver '99 Z3 1.9 & Black '59 Frogeye 1275cc
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Mick
Joined: Sat 28 Jul, 2012 20:29
Posts: 55

  Z3 roadster 2.0

Re: Instrument cluster mileage

Post by Mick »

Thanks for the info Rob I will give pingu a pm and see what he did. Regards Mick
gookah
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Joined: Thu 07 Aug, 2008 09:51
Posts: 2737

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Instrument cluster mileage

Post by gookah »

Robert T wrote:Well, therein lies the 64k mile question.
very clever..... :D
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Z3 2.8 Progress Journal (Mine)
Z3 1.9 Sport Progress Journal (Wifey's)

I have an element of 'M-styling' on my car, If that's a good enough reason for the manufacturers to adorn a 320 with the M badge, then its certainly a good enough reason for me..
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