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Thread: DIY: E46 Gauge Carbon Fiber Bezel and Silver Rings Installation

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
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    E36 M3 3.2 EVO

    DIY: E46 Gauge Carbon Fiber Bezel and Silver Rings Installation

    WARNING!!!

    I am not responsible for any damage you may incur while attempting any of the following procedures. You should not attempt this procedure unless you are confident and patient. This is a step by step tutorial accompanied with pictures to help explain how to remove and take apart your BMW E36 instrument cluster, clean and install new carbon fiber bezel and gauge rings.

    You do this at your own risk and I strongly recommend reading tutorial at least couple of times and getting familiar with all the steps before attempting the installation.



    This tutorial was done with BMW E46 UK clusters, so US, European and other market clusters may be a little bit different. But it should be very similar, only couple screws or additional latches may be in place.

    Follow the instructions below and you should get a rough idea how it is done. Once again, this is only from my own experience and please do not expect me to know everything. I strongly recommend reading your car’s Owner’s Manual first and getting familiar with YOUR instrument cluster model.

    Looks like all LEGAL rights are covered and we are ready to ROCK

    1. Pulling Out the Cluster from the Dashboard
    2. Taking the Cluster Apart
    3. Installing CF bezel and rings



    1. Pulling Out the Cluster from the Dashboard

    Here is how your cluster should look like before you start working on it.
    You need to unscrew 2 screws on top of the cluster:




    Then you need to lower down your steering wheel in order to remove the cluster without removing the steering wheel:



    Once the steering wheel is lowered and 2 top screws removed, you can pry out the cluster. I’d recommend using a credit card or similar type card to stick on top of the cluster and get your fingers in (some pictures will be of E36 model, do not mind that, they are very alike and procedure is identical):



    Get a good grip and pry the cluster out slowly:


    Get it out as much as you can. You will not be able to remove it a lot, because there are 3 harness plugs connected in the back of the cluster. So start from right side of the cluster:



    Now you will be able to reach 2 harness connectors:



    Remove them as showed in following pictures:





    When all the plugs are unplugged you will be able to fully pull out the cluster and slide it sideways. Steering wheel should not be on the way. If, however, you cannot lower down your steering wheel then you will need to remove it. Be careful if your steering wheel has an airbag. Disconnect the battery first as recommended by owner’s manual.

    2. Taking the Cluster Apart

    Now you have your cluster out and ready to be taken apart. Remove the screws on the back of the cluster. Different clusters will have different amount of screws. But usually there are 4-5 screws. You will need a torx screwdriver for this task:



    Here is how those screws look like:



    Torx screws removed and cluster is ready to be split opened. Wiggle one corner first, then the other, try this couple of times and you should be able to open it up:



    Then get your fingers on harness connectors and pull the circuit board out of the plastic cover:



    Now you have them separate. We shall need only the plastic cover in this installation, so you can leave circuit board with gauges aside:



    Now it is the perfect timing to do some other DIY on your odometer digital display if there are some pixels missing or simply cleaning it, inspect and/or replace any burnt bulbs.


    3. Installing CF bezel and rings

    This is what you should have in front of you:



    This gauge bezel is made of one layer or real carbon fiber covered with a thin layer of lacquer resin. This design makes this carbon fiber look a bit raw and some people prefer this look over the 3D look when there is a thick layer of resin making it look bulkier. Either way these bezels are still a bit flexible (though this one is more flexible and that is what our customer preferred).

    Remove the backing sticky tape of the bezel:



    I have seen some people install this bezel by heating up and remove the clear plastic cover of the housing which is insane. They did not know these bezels are designed to be installed through the gauge ring holes, through the back of the cluster. Same rule is applied to gauge rings.
    NO NEED TO REMOVE THE CLEAR PLASTIC FRONT COVER!

    Insert it to the plastic housing through the back of the gauge ring holes:



    As mentioned before, bezels are flexible, so you can bend it slightly, but not too much as it may leave a bending mark or even crack in thin areas:



    And finally:



    I forgot to remove the odometer reset pin, just pull it out, you will be able to install it back in later with no problems:



    There you go, the bezel is inside the plastic housing:



    Use your fingers and align the bezel to the surface of the gauges surrounding plastic. Make sure it is the way you want it and stick the bezel onto it:



    There you go, you have bezel installed! It is time for the gauge rings now. As mentioned before, the procedure is the same, through the back of the gauge ring holes:




    Older rings required using some glue to keep them in place. I used them on my first install. But new type rings are snap-in rings and they have little clips that clip into the gauge rings holes pretty tight and no glue is needed.

    Insert the rings, align them and snap them into the gauge ring holes:



    Do the same with all the rings.

    !!!WARNING!!!
    Gauge rings are manufactured using ONE cluster, VDO or MOTOMETER. Once manufacturing mold is made all the rings are going to be identical and same size. But, from my own experience, I know that VDO and MOTOMETER clusters are slightly different. We are talking millimeters here. So rings designed to fit VDO clusters may be very tight to fit MOTOMETER clusters and vice versa. So do not panic if your purchased rings are slightly too large.
    Use a little bit of sanding paper and go around the gauge ring holes. Trim a little bit of plastic on the edges and rings will snap in. Some plastic expand a little bit over years too and it makes a bit hard to do it. Be patient and sand it down.
    I had the same problem with European cluster, but my method worked wonders. The same rings did fit perfectly into the UK cluster though.


    There you go, now you should have all the rings installed:



    Put everything back together the way you took it apart and install the cluster back into your car. Do not forget to connect all the harnesses.

    And of course the finished look:




    There you go!!! You have done it!!! Congratulations!!!

    I have tried to be as detailed as possible for everybody to understand the installation process. Some of the steps can be changed and used for other car models easily.

    Thank you for reading it and I hope I helped you out.

    Cheers.
    Danius
    Last edited by DJ Genius; 03-02-2013 at 02:19 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    New Bremen, OH
    Posts
    89
    My Cars
    95 M3, 91 318is
    where did you buy everything?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Dublin, Ireland
    Posts
    2,734
    My Cars
    E36 M3 3.2 EVO

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    New Bremen, OH
    Posts
    89
    My Cars
    95 M3, 91 318is
    Pmed

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