BMW E36 Cluster Setup
After lot of questions about Fuel and Temperatures gauges I've acquired the famous "E36" cluster and reviewed the following wiring.
Unfortunately, my tests show that Fuel and Temp will work randomly even if every single signal is perfectly generated.
In the light of these developments, please consider both fuel and temperature gauges as not working on the E36 cluster with Simhub. However even without these two gauges, seeing the RPM and speedo dancing and bouncing is still oddly satisfying ;)
- NO SUPPORT WILL BE GIVEN for this feature as it relies on used hardware (used clusters) or unknown specs gauges (various gauges which can be found on aliexpress, ebay, amazon ...).
- The following wiring has been exclusively tested with a 318i 1997 dashboard (non compact cluster with consumption gauge)
- There are thousands of models of clusters and gauges available, requiring different voltages/signals so they may or may not work correctly, please take it into consideration before buying parts.
- Engine temperature is not supported on all games or all cars (AC/ACC does not supports it for instance, and some mods from RF2 neither). In this case, the gauge will default to the middle position.
Simhub will generate PWM frequencies (0 to 5v signal) for these gauges. BMW E36 cluster uses this kind of signal. Other clusters/gauges may vary.
Depending of your gauge it may require 5V PWM or 12V PWM signal. If it supports only 12v, you may need to use a 5v to 12v wiring (identical to the Tach wiring ) If your gauge can work on 5V PWM you can plug it directly to a free arduino pin.
Wiring courtesy of Melly (aka MorGuux)
- set tacho to arduino pin 2
- set speedo to arduino pin 3
- set fuel to arduino pin 5
- set temp to arduino pin 6
-
set mpg to arduino pin 9Not supported yet
MPG is not supported due to technical limitations. Arduino chips have a limited number of timers, which are used to drive PWM signals and Tone signals for the gauges. The Arduino Uno has the ability to drive 2 Tone signals (RPM and Speed) and 2 PWM signals (Water Temperature and Fuel), this leaves none for the MPG gauge. This is what exhibits the MPG gauge flicking to either side, as the gauge either gets 0V or 5V. A more powerful Arduino is needed to drive the MPG gauge.
Wiring diagrams for the E36 cluster are available here, if you wish to try and drive some of the cluster's warning lamps (using transistors).
Ready to use arduino nano/uno setup tool profile : http://simhubdash.com/wiki/e36_cluster.tfp
An Arduino Pro Micro profile has been created, but not officially tested (thanks 𝔷𝔢𝔉𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔣𝔢𝔯!). Download
You can calibrate the gauges the way you want in gauge settings
