e39 cluster unlock - Part 1

The car battery has been acting up and so, I did some "googling" to find out more about the battery and alternator. Then I stumbled onto this.....

Yup, just like iPhones, the e39 also has diagnostic / information that is available on the cluster IF you know how to access them. And to think this kind of thing was available since '97 (or probably even earlier for other model?).... it is like discovering software "easter eggs" or iPhone "unlock/jailbreak". So, in my case - you can find out what is the voltage of your battery before and during you run the engine just via the cluster!

FYI - clusters on car build before Sept'2000 (like mine) is called 'low cluster'. After that, they are called 'high cluster'. Click here to know more.

Just to get the interest going, if you wanted to test if your cluster was full functioning (instead of finding out the wrong way that some of your information on your cluster was not displaying), you could run this test:

What else can you find out about your e39?
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3134093/1999-bmw-5-series/page-6

Most of the information are display only... but interestingly... there is 1 section that allows you to 'tweak' fuel factor. Will have to do a lot more reading before I will be messing with them. In the mean time, I have a whole handful of information that I will slowly decipher. Stay tune...