I've got a '03S and it seems as if there are 6 segments on the tach that can light up red to indicate red line.

A friend of mine told me that they should all light up when cold, and gradually disappear (indicating increasing redline) as the motor warms up. Mine doesn't do this. It's always just the last 2 bars no matter what.

Is there something wrong?

Thanks!

 

My 05 MCS does the same thing as yours. I think it's just another example of BMW's brilliant engineering (like the self-dumping glove box ).

Then again, maybe it doesn't get cold enough where you and I live for the other segments to kick in...

 

Devinw,

your friend is wrong, that feature was never implemented.

The other segments are for the use of the same tacho on the diesel version of the car that has a lower redline than yours.

Your car is fine...........................

 

The higher brow (aka paycheck) BMWs use the 'variable redline' feature. We just utilize the same tach for various models.

Note that it can take 10-15 minutes for the oil to warm up to operating temp.

 

I thought it was something they forgot to include in my software version.

It never made sense to me anyway because if they really wanted to safeguard the engine, they should have imposed a much lower redline when the engine was stone cold.

I'm guessing many if not most Mini owners aren't car savvy enough to worry about oil temp vis a vis engine RPM.

 

The redline is also changeable....tuners can change where it lights up, and depending upon the transmission choice, the redline will be different with even if the cars share the same motor.
Consider the tach to be a semi universal mini tack... The red line is set based upon which is approprate for the car by the factory/tuner. It does not varry based upon engine temp in gen1 cars.

 

Thanks guys! I'm glad to know mine isn't broken .

The friend that told me about this was indeed familiar with the high-brow Bimmers so that's why he thought it was that way.

Thanks again! You guys rock!