E46 - Alpina instrument Cluster

[Sf_Manta]

Wandering if anyone would know how to resolve this issue:

I've managed to get a hold of a set of clocks from a B3 Alpina



Normal clocks for reference:



Having investigated in swapping clusters, there's the whole problem with retaining mileage and tamper dots. Obviously I do not want to swap the cluster complete as this will mess up all that. What i would like to do is transplant the needles, fascias and bezels onto my instrument cluster, thus retain mileage and not cause any issues.

My question is this, given the speedo scale is the only difference. is it possible to have the speedo re-calibrated to the Alpina scale? Would anyone know a company able to do this?

Standard clocks read to 150mph, the alpina's read to 180mph.

[E-bmw]

It is probably easier to change the speedo drive in the diff if that is the only difference.

The scaling comes from there.

[anonymous-user]

You can program the cluster to remove the tamper dot and alter the mileage on it.

[AlwynMike]

Instrument Repair Services in Nottingham used to be the go-to place for this sort of thing.
But that was a while ago.

They are still going so it may be worth giving them a ring.

I suspect you will end up coding the Alpina cluster to your car though.

[helix402]

E-bmw said:

It is probably easier to change the speedo drive in the diff if that is the only difference.

The scaling comes from there.

That’s how it worked in the E30, E46 uses an abs sensor for speed. PA soft can remove tamper dots from early E46 clusters, later ones need a chip swopping or a new blank chip fitting.

[Sf_Manta]

helix402 said:

E-bmw said:

It is probably easier to change the speedo drive in the diff if that is the only difference.

The scaling comes from there.

That’s how it worked in the E30, E46 uses an abs sensor for speed. PA soft can remove tamper dots from early E46 clusters, later ones need a chip swopping or a new blank chip fitting.

Helix, would this be the m35080 chip swap I've been reading up.?

Trying an alternative and seeing if i can have Alpina re-calibrate the speedo having fitted the needles and fascias to my original clocks.

On the off chance.. I asked how much a set of un-coded Alpina clocks are...

Answer: £1036..

Edited by Sf_Manta on Monday 12th February 11:50

[Sf_Manta]

Just had a call, apparently Alpina (Sytners in Nottingham) can reprogramme my cluster

So fingers crossed.

[helix402]

Sf_Manta said:

Just had a call, apparently Alpina (Sytners in Nottingham) can reprogramme my cluster

So fingers crossed.

Excellent news! Hope they can sort it.

[Sf_Manta]

helix402 said:

Excellent news! Hope they can sort it.

Basically they've said they can re-calibrate the speedo, so I'll have to dismantle both set of clocks still and transfer over the parts.
Fingers crossed though.

[ndg]

The sweep of the speedo should be recodable through NCS (with possibly the help of NCSDummy). Its straightforward to recode the sweep of the temp gauge on these clusters to get rid of the wide dead spot in the middle of the gauge, so should be possible on the speedo too if you can identify the hex that needs changing :-)