Instrument panel & AC Problems on an '87 528e (archive)

My tach, instant fuel economy gage, and temp gage go from inop to normal op to wild swinging (that one is interesting the first time you see it). I found a web site that says that there are a set of NiCad batteries in the cluster for the SI board that can cause this if they are dying. I had my dash apart today, and even though that site made it sound like the location of the batteries would be pretty obvious, I of course couldn't find them. Can anyone confirm that this may be the problem, and if so, where are the batteries?

Also, I've had a slow leak in my AC that has dumped a couple of different freon charges. We put dye in the system and it seems to be coming from the shaft seal on the compressor (the car sat for several years, so it apparently got brittle). The last time, we soaked the seal in mineral oil to see if it would come back, but it didn't. Can you buy a seal kit for the compressor, or am I stuck with buying a whole new unit?

Any input is appreciated,
Bill

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