89' 735iL Instrument Cluster

My instrument cluster on the e32 most of the time will not turn on with the car, instead it beeps at me and only after a while will it ever turn on. while it is off none of the gauges or anything works on the dash, not even my speedometer, the car was manufactured in 2/89 so it has the $700 replacement part but i don't want to spend that much on it if i can just solder some loose connections. Also the onboard clock that is by the radio will not save any new settings so it is now 1 hour and 15 minutes behind i don't know if this is related to the same problem or not. Does anyone have any suggestions on what could be causing it and/or links that show or tell how to repair this problem?
Thank You.

This link may be of some use to you. It was just covered with another member on here.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=688074

In cajunboyla's case, a Cap fix cured the problem...

http://bmwe32.masscom.net/johan/dash_caps/dash_caps.html

Thanks for the tip, from the problems described on the links you provided it really does sound like the cap is at fault. I'm going to have to wait for a few weeks before I have the time to access it and fix the problem but I'll defiantly let you know whether or not that fixes the problem.