- 0xduraki

Instrument Cluster Displays

The BMW E34 Series 5 came equiped with various different types of LCD Display module on its’ Instrument Cluster. This note provides a future reference for the types that were collected around the world-wide-web.

LCD Display Module Types

LCD Display Enclosure Disassembly

Disassembly To disassemble the LCD Display, follow the steps in the section below.

Disassembly of LCD Display Enclosure

Assembly To assemble back the LCD Display Enclosure, just to the previous steps in reverse.

Assembly of LCD Display Enclosure

Fixing Check Control Display Pixels for large VDO LCDs

After 30-something years since manufacturing, the VDO LCD Module sometimes lose pixels, or blanks out the Check Control display due to age. Lets take a couple of examples of how that usually looks like:

This quick fix works for VDO LCD Display - 18 Pins & VDO LCD Display - 11 Pins models. To fix the LCD Display Pixels:

  1. Disassemble the Instrument Cluster
  2. Disassemble the LCD Display Enclosure
  3. Disassemble the LCD Screen from the PCB and plastic backpanel
  4. Clean the LCD Screen Ribbon Pins with Isop. Alc.
  5. Clean the PCB Screen Ribbon Pins with Isop. Alc.
  6. On the inside of the Enclosure, put single or several layers of insulating/electrician black tape
    Using insulating/electrician tape
  7. Cut off the excess of the insulation/electrician black tape using a sharp Razor
  8. Reassemble the LCD Module in the metal enclosure
  9. Assemble the LCD Module inside the Instrument Panel in reverse order

Results: Click for Before/After Image

 

Important Errata

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If the above steps and solution did not fix the LCD Display Pixels, you might need to replace capacitors on the Instrument Cluster PCB.

Fixing pixels for small Non-VDO LCD

The Non-VDO LCD Module is prone to losing pixels due to its age. Lets see an example of how that might look like:

This quick fix works for Non-VDO LCD Display models. To fix the LCD Display Pixels:

  1. TBA

Results: Click for Before/After Image