So im trying to install a boost gauge and a oil pressure gauge to my 2005 R53.

Problem Im having is finding a ACC 12V source. I tried finding a source directly on the tachometer wiring but cant seem to find something that shuts down when the key is removed or on the off position ... which is weird since i want the gauges to do exactly what my tachometer is doing.

Gauges in question are prosport gauges with white illumination (which will be used for daytime) and amber illumination (which wil be used with the headlights)

I have found a place to tap the amber lighting wire (grey and red wire from the tachometer) but have yet to find a good 12V ACC source near the tachometer. Any idea where i could tap a 12V ACC source ?

I know most people go all the way to the lighter but that seems a bit far for me and i was wondering if there are any sources closer

thanks for the help as always

 

Just do the lighter. You'll use that source of power again later for other projects. It's really not that "far" from where your going anyway. It'll be easier than the rest of the install.

 

Also, how are you attaching your oil pressure sender? Your not "supposed" to attach it right to the adapter, the engine will vibrate it till it breaks, then you can have oil everywhere (what I've read anyway). I used some oil line, it's a copper tube with crush washers. Ran the sender up where I could see it with a couple of drip loops to keep oil off the engine in case it leaked, which it did for a while. Don't be stingey with the Teflon tape! And remember, if you have to loosen your connections, you have to re-tape the Teflon!

 

Here's a quick pic of the remote install

 

I attached the sender remotly using the AMS oilp pressure remote kit (http://www.amsperformance.com/cart/A...Unit-Line.html)
I also heard of problems due to vibrations


Also, I have finished wiring up everything and seem to have a problem with the illumination function. When i turn on the lights (orange lighting of the gauges) my prosport gauges flicker between white and orange. On the Prosport instruction it says to plug the connection for the orange lighting to the parking lamp (in my case i tapped into the red/grey wire for the tachometer) and to tap the ACC for the white lighting. This seems a bit weird since the gauge will constantly have a input of power for the white lighting even when I turn on the headlights ?!?!?

 

Do you have a 12v power supply? If not, you can use some jumper wires from the battery. Do a test with the 2 power sources, just the white light, just the orange light, then both at the same time, see what happens. If it "works" as it should, with power to both wires , resulting in a white to orange function, then it may be an issue with the power line from the tach.

I originally just snaked a wire from a side light bulb, the front fender light, because I didn't want to tap into the tach. What I discovered, is that the power was not quite 12v! So it wouldn't power the gauge light correctly!

I ended up using that wire from the fender light to trip a relay, that took power from the cig socket. That solved it. You can then use the relay for other lighted stuff you install later, or even wire in another switch so you can turn off the led lights in the gauges if they got annoying.

Get a volt meter and see what exact voltage is coming from the tach. I'm almost willing to bet its not a "true" 12v, which is what is giving you that flicker.

 

For most cases ACC is purple with a stripe. It's available on the back of the radio. Schematics are here.

http://www.bmw-planet.com/diagrams/r.../r50/index.htm

 

Tapped into the cigarette lighter since I did not feel like taking the radio out.

As the the problem I was having, turns out it the gauge is faulty and I should receive a new one pretty soon.
One thing that should be noted is that tohave a full 12V power source from that wire you need to put your interior illumination at its brightest, if you dim the lights then the voltage goes down and the gauges wont switch color

 

The illumination is probably a PWM signal to drive the LEDs with a linear dimming. You could experiment with an RC filter to see if you can get the signal to trigger.