Restorative Maintenance: Dashboard Pixels

Yep, you've got em and you're gonna lose em. It seems that BMW left it out of the user manual, but our pixels are prone to disappearing. It's true, if you haven't experienced it yet, you're bound to find your pixels one day have left your MID and have wound up on a milk carton. This leaves you with one of two options:

1) Replace the speedo unit for $500 (or hopefully under CPO warranty); or 2) Try the alternative "cheaper" method - Contact Cleaner.

Since I'd rather the $500 be a last resort, I opted to give the contact cleaner a shot. Below, I have taken directions from the E38 Forum message board (courtsey of Eric) and illustrated the procedure with my photos. I am hopeful that this will make it easier for you and help you decide which route you'll take in your quest to become un-pixellated.

The beginning - the missing pixels...

Not unbearable, but I'd prefer to have them at 100%. So, this attempt at restoring the pixels is not guaranteed, but has worked for others, so here we go...

1. At the top of the speedometer unit you notice 2 screws. Remove the 2 screws with a T10 torx screwdriver.

2. Using a flat head screwdriver, wedge in the screwdriver between the dash and the speedo unit. See pic below...

See how easily the entire unit comes out...

3. Disconnect the 3 wiring harness connections - just push down on the center of the connector and flip up the locking lever. See the 3 harnesses in the pics below...

4. Once totally free from the wiring harnesses, disconnect the wired ribbon that plugs into the speedo/tach from the module. See below...

5. Now depress the button and slide the module to the right. It will easily slide right off...

6. Locate the 5 "X" type connectors. These hold the housing and the speedo/tach together. Twist the "X" connectors to line up with the holes on the housing. I don't have a good pic, but you can see them in the pic above. I had to use needle-nose pliers. These were tough, but they will move. NOTE: Upon reassembly I left the connectors twisted, because the unit snaps back together and is still a very tight fit.

7. Once the "X" connectors are lined up, you will need to depress the 2 clips on the top of the unit, and then the 2 clips on the bottom. This will allow you to separate the the speedo/tach from the housing. See the result below...

8. Lay the speedo/tach face up on a soft surface and remove the 8 torx screws, using a T10 screwdriver. NOTE: This will not allow you to open the housing, but it will loosen it enough to allow you to spray the electrical components inside.

9. Looking at the bottom of the speedo/tach you'll see the MID is held on by 2 clips. Use a flat head screwdriver to loosen the cover of the MID. This will allow you to spray underneath the cover onto the orange plastic - which is actually an electrical display board for the pixels.

10. Spray all holes and connectors with contact cleaner, including the ribbon connector. The contact cleaner should be "plastic safe" and residue free. The stuff I used dried within 20 seconds of application. I drained any run off and let the unit dry for 15 minutes. You might want to spray the wiring harness connectors that are hanging from the exposed dash.

11. Reassemble and good luck!

Total time: Approximately 45 minutes

My pixels were partially restored, and they seem to be "fading back" to full brightness. A couple of lines are still missing entirely, but I think it was definitely worth the effort. I went back in and did it again. It only took me 15 minutes the second time to do it (not including drying time.)