I decided to buy a BMW E36 cluster so that i could wire it into an Arduino UNO and have it operated by the SimHub software (decided to do it after seeing someone's tutorial ) so i wired everything up correctly to the Arduino and to a DC jack to supply power to the cluster. Once i did that, i used the file that was linked in the description of the video for the Arduino. Everything went well until it was time to test it.
I pressed the 'Test RPM' button, but nothing happened. I tried the 'Test MPH' button, but still nothing happened, although i did see a reaction from the Arduino ( a light blinked when i pressed the test buttons ). I went and tried it on a game (Dirt 2), but the only reaction i could get out of the cluster was the MPH needle moving up to 20 at random points in the game.
The MPG needle 'bounces' when the cluster gets plugged into the wall, but i can't get any of the needles to move properly.
Could someone help me? As i think it may be the code that was linked in the video, but i don't understand any of it.
If it helps, the instrument cluster im using is a BMW E36 6211 8379818.
This is impossible to sort out from the information given .
It is always a problem downloading and using someone else’s code - you need to go through it and understand what the problem is and how to fix it, or use the bones of it to write your own code. It may never have worked or could be full of errors, if he’s not supporting it , who knows?
Couple simple points :
are you using the same dash module as the author ?
same arduino?
-wired up correctly , exactly as the authors ?
hammy:
This is impossible to sort out from the information given .
It is always a problem downloading and using someone else’s code - you need to go through it and understand what the problem is and how to fix it, or use the bones of it to write your own code. It may never have worked or could be full of errors, if he’s not supporting it , who knows?
Couple simple points :
are you using the same dash module as the author ?
same arduino?
-wired up correctly , exactly as the authors ?
I have the same model of cluster that the author has, which is the E36 ( But the video doesn't state which version he uses, he only states that cambus ones won't work ), the same Arduino and the same wiring. I did also try to look at some simplified code that was put on one of the topics in the Arduino forum.
Edit: I also want to add that on the little screen below the MPH needle, it says code 1, if that means anything. It displays it all of the time when it is plugged in.
Did you do the custom controls configuration step at 4:44 in the video?
Yeah, and i have tried it with different custom control configurations from the video that you linked. Also added on my other post that anytime the cluster is powered up, the screen says 'Code 1'. I researched about the 'Code 1' issue on BMW E36 clusters but can't find anything about what it means.
Edit: I did some more digging around and found out that many other people have had problems with the E36 cluster, so i could've been sold a faulty one. I can also tell that the cluster has been opened by the previous owner, because there are no screws and most of the stickers have been broken. There are also many missing bulbs, but saying that, i did test all of the needles/motors with a AA battery, and they all worked, which leads me to believe that the board is at fault, but i'm still open for suggestions as i could be wrong and it could be a software issue.
