Vintage BMWs are timeless. These thumping E28, E24, and E23s still catch eyes and offer an unmatchable experience behind the wheel. But amongst the cockpit, there is a more familiar foe the leaking NiCad battery nestled within the factory Service Interval Board.

Gauges are one of the worst things to fail on a car. Service lights act up. The whole cluster goes dark sometimes. The fix used to be difficult. Now, it’s simple − and permanent.

Leaking NiCad Batteries − The Cause of The Problem

The SI board was developed to use rechargeable NiCad batteries by BMW originally. Decades later, those batteries leak. Acid damage is rapid and erodes the circuit board.

This failure commonly leads to:

  • Dead tachometers
  • Inaccurate fuel or temperature readings
  • Random warning lights
  • Total BMW E23 cluster failure

This is when the corrosion starts, and if it occurs, repairs will not only be unreliable but some cases impossible.

A Smart Solution: Battery-Free By Design

Enter the Mod-ing SI board, which was designed to eradicate this issue once and for all. It removes the battery entirely. No NiCad. Those lithium cells that do not fail at some later time. Nothing to leak.

Which is why it is the go-to choice for BMW SI Board replacement today. Rather than attempt to fix an original that has suffered wear, owners fit a modern board, designed for a long life.

This approach restores:

  • Stable gauge operation
  • Accurate service interval lights
  • Factory-correct cluster behavior

And it stays that way.

One Bundle, Everything You Need

A lot of owners want an end all be all. That’s where the Mod-ing solution comes in.

The bundle includes:

  • The battery-free SI main board
  • A compatible coding plug
  • Updated components for plug-and-play installation

No hunting for missing parts. No guessing if components match. Perfect for those exact and high-speed BMW E28 instrument cluster repair projects.

For E24 owners, this also provides a replacement to the aged BMW E24 service interval board while not changing the appearance of function of the OEM cluster.

Why You Shouldn’t Bother to Save an Original Boards?

Good factory-built SI boards just don’t seem to exist anymore. Most have leaked already. Others are on borrowed time.

Even reconstructed originals (which are the best) still depend on:

  • Old circuit paths
  • Heat-stressed components
  • Batteries that will surely die again

That scarcity changes the game. The Mod-ing board has stopped being just an alternative. And it is quickly making its way into the new benchmark of true restoration.

Review: 2,500 Miles in an SI Board Review, Straight to Modding

This upgrade simply works from a practical standpoint.

Owners value it because:

  • It permanently removes battery risk
  • It is clean installation and no wires modifications required
  • It keeps originality alive where it matters

So, why the Mod-ing SI board review really comes down to peace of mind. Today, tomorrow, and years from now, your cluster just works.

Final Thoughts

Enough BMW clusters have been ruined by leaking batteries. That risk is now unnecessary to take. The Mod-ing SI board is the smartest way to keep your E28, E24, or E23 fully alive with a battery-free design, a full-featured package, and a dwindling number of functional originals.

No leaks. No compromises. Just reliable classics done right.