[540rocket]

first off I admit it s a strange one,

I replaced the intrument cluster .... with of course the M5 cluster .... not the stock 540 ....
I wanted to get a OIL TEMP guage and not have to ADD one somewhere that just looks ... well WRONG ... the vaccume guage is USELESS and not at all interesting to me .....being a enthusiast that watches stuff like temps while driving more than most I think....

My question is does anyone know how to make this guage work ....???Im sure that the car knows how hot the oil is... so the trick is how to get the car to display it by that guage
does any of the gurus knwo ANYthing about this ?? :dunno:
the local dealer tried and thought maybe they COULD do it but they were unable to get the cluster to respond .......

I would not be opposed to putting in an aditional sensor to drive that guage if needed ... any one knwo how to do that ???

thanks

 

[wentouch]

i think you need to install the measurement/sending unit found on the motor as well and perhaps even an additional wiring harness.

 

[540rocket]

okay ... that sounds kind of what I was expecting .... and not REAL hard .... the hard parts is getting wiring pluged into the right part of the harness/ ECU or waht ever need to "KNOW" the info to then display ("drive") it on the cluster

any others know more about this .... maybe a sending unit to start with and location on the motor to look for it .......

thanks so far .......

 

[louv]

I don't know the answer, but you might see if you can find the electrical diagrams for the M5. Spend the $25 for a day's access to www.BMWTIS.com. The answer might be hidden there. (or might not!)

 

[wentouch]

apparently, your car may already have the sending unit and just requires some sort of software update, or re-coding.

here is a past thread for cluster retrofit:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=256795

 

[Tyrone D.]

Oil temp is sent over CAN bus by the MSS52 engine management system in the M5. The 540 has the hardware (oil level sensor is also the temp sensor, at least from 9/97 up), but the engine management system does not make a signal available to the instrument cluster as in the M5.

 

[540rocket]

okay ..could a person that "understands" the comunication author some "special" instructions to send that info to the instument cluster ... and I GUESS while you were there make the warm up lights work as well as Im guessing that the two are some what inter-related ??..... i JUST yesterday took the car to the local stealer and had the car coded to make the NAV work ..........radio now stys ON for more than 40sec at a time ..but now I have that pesky "acknowledgement" screen.... didnt have it before ..

after reading the post on bimmerfest sounds like I just need to take it to the right dealer .. my local one doesnt seem to have the "right " tech to figure it out ... sounds liek the tools are there on my car as it is a POST 97 car and has CAN comiumication ...

the coolant temp does seem to read HIGH as well and the DSC and ABS light are lit but only the DSC is lit ALL the the time ... the ABS and brake are not consistantly lit all the time..... when they are all lit the cruise control deos not work......BUT if the ABS and Brake lights go out the cruise comes back and works fine .....

any ideas about this ...... sounds like I need a smarter tech than I got at the local dealer .......I may know "this" guy if I can get him to work on it .... next door neighbour of an old GF... is the GURU at a not so local dealer .......Hummm

 

[E55AMG2]

You need to recode all of the modules. The X5 4.6is uses a similar cluster to the M5 and the warmup lights/oil temp work perfectly....it just needs to be coded to work. This is pretty common knowledge when it comes to swapping new parts into Ibus equipped BMWs, and Im surprised your dealership doesnt know how to code clusters.

 

[Tyrone D.]

In my experience, even with proper coding (and a new cluster) the tach lights will remain fully lit, and the oil temperature guage will not function properly. However, everything else will be fine. That has been my personal experience and what I've heard from others, but I'd like to see a fully operational conversion if you know of one.

Did you get a new or used cluster? Those warning lights are likely due to improper coding, but if you have a used cluster, you may be out of luck. I know of someone a couple hours away from you who might be able to help with that (dealer equipment won't be able to do anything if you're dealing with a used cluster), along with the navigation and any other electronic work you may need.

To answer your question about the CAN protocol, I'm not familiar enough with it (or the engine management system) to know what would be involved in getting the oil temperature guage to work properly. It is probably possible somehow, but I just haven't seen anyone take the time to research it.

 

[E55AMG2]

In my experience, even with proper coding (and a new cluster) the tach lights will remain fully lit, and the oil temperature guage will not function properly. However, everything else will be fine. That has been my personal experience and what I've heard from others, but I'd like to see a fully operational conversion if you know of one.

Did you get a new or used cluster? Those warning lights are likely due to improper coding, but if you have a used cluster, you may be out of luck. I know of someone a couple hours away from you who might be able to help with that (dealer equipment won't be able to do anything if you're dealing with a used cluster), along with the navigation and any other electronic work you may need.

To answer your question about the CAN protocol, I'm not familiar enough with it (or the engine management system) to know what would be involved in getting the oil temperature guage to work properly. It is probably possible somehow, but I just haven't seen anyone take the time to research it.

I guess the 4.6is has it written into the chassis management to make the oil lights work properly. You're right though, never seen a 540/740 swap work 100%.

 

[jimmyz2]

If you think it is just "wrong" to get a oil guage,why not just get a "real" M5?

 

[540rocket]

thanks!!
MY tach lights are NOT fully lit ... it is in the state that the car is fully "warm" only the last 2 are lit .............the cluster was "Supposed" to be NEW but was not .... read 25K miles ... BUT NO RED DOT......
the DSC and ABS and Brake are mostly lit DSC being always on ....the Oil temp deos not read anything ..... the coolant temp "mostly" reads 3/4 hot ... but SOME times reads straight up in the middle fuel and speedo work fine the cluster was not ever coded .....just pugged in .....

 

[Tyrone D.]

Actually, you're right. It is the last two that remain lit. aw/ir02smg has some pictures in his big wagon thread, and I now remember that was the case after installing his cluster.

 

[540rocket]

If you think it is just "wrong" to get a oil guage,why not just get a "real" M5?

not sure what you mean .............but .. I have been asked a BUNCH of times WHY dont you jsut GET an M5 ???????.... re read you post ... finally I get it ..... "why not just put an external guage in ....... ?"

to answer the "why dont you get an M5"...mostly budget ... A NICE car is still 35-40K (now).....this VERY nice 540 6speed I have now was 16K when found it ...... at that time 2 years ago .......M5's were all 40+K nice ones near 50K .so I can spend 15K on this 540 and still be pretty okay ....and so far Im not even near that number ... some of the mods I would have had to spend for if I had an M5 as well ... ie wheels, Hood etc .....

AND I really like the color combo ....pretty rare in an M5 and find a NICE one ... well I needed to buy a car then ....... last one was stolen and stripped ......


ANYWAY .......... and I like to tinker and figure this stuff out ....... I dont think I have EVER owned a car that stayed STOCK for more than a month LOL

 

[John 540i6]

i have wanted an oil temp gauge as well for my 540i.

When you go through the cluster tests, there is a reading for oil temperature but mine reads -48*C.

There must be a way to get this working.

I work for bmw so tomorrow in might head into work and see if i cant find some wiring diagrams for the m5 and cross reference them with the 540 and see if i cant find somthing. The oil temp gauge is the only reason i want the m5 cluster. I thought about getting a very basic semi-matching gauge and put it in place of the fog light switch...

Another technician bought a wrecked m5 and swapped EVERYTHING over to an e39 wagon so of course his oil temp sensor and lights work....

 

[540rocket]

well that would be cool if you could figure this out ... I wouldnt be opposed to some "special" wiring and (or) adding a temp sensor to the motor some place .. even if it was a wee difficult .....

what do you think of the mods you did to add the M5 rear swaybar ?? worth doing ??

also ... if the warm up lights coudl be made to work that would be AWESOME !! ........ or if not by temp maybe they could be fooled to think they were shiftlights .... you could maybe "drive" them by a signal created by what drives the tach and get them to light UP with an increased voltage of the motor RPM .. (same signal that drives the tach ....or the signal amplified some how... ???)

 

[John 540i6]

i love the rear m5 swaybar. With both 540i sway bars, the car would understeer most of the time unless i really made the car attempt to oversteer. My combo of intrax/koni struts/springs, the rear m5 sway bar and OEM m5 fitment tires really makes the car handle neutral to a little bit of oversteer. In a 90* corner, i can throw the car into a drift with only the steering wheel. I love it. I really makes the car rotate in a corner.

Im going to see what the differences between the m5 and 540 are tomorrow as far as oil temp gauges...

 

[John 540i6]

just following up on the m5 oil temp gauge vs 540i with no oil temp gauge.

Turns out that the 540i is already wired up to have the ability to have an oil temp gauge. The 540i and m5 share the same oil level sensor/temp sensor and wiring.

The issue at hand is 'simply' coding the car to make the 540i think it is an x5 or m5. This is what im looking into at the moment since i have full access to a GT1 and Progman.

 

[540rocket]

great !!!

GOOD NEWS ... thanks for staying on this !
let us know when you have a solution ... would it be too much to HOPE for if it could be coded to make the light work as well since the X5 seems to be able to make this work ???

very anxious to find a way !!!

thanks for staying on this one !! :cheers:

 

[540rocket]

any news on this mod ??

anything new on this mod to the cluster ??