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Ron Stygar Carl Buckland Dale Beuning Forums Help
I've replaced my Knob! by Shawn Collins <shawn_at_geejeffery.com>
Subject: I've replaced my Knob! My patented, trademarked, copyrighted and kosher illuminated M-shift knob arrived in time for my Inspection II several days back, and I installed the thing myself. The kit was the knob-only -- no leather boot -- which had about 6 inches of wire (grey/red and brown) into a plastic connector plug. Also included was another cable, about 4 feet long with a matching plastic connector plug on one end, and push type connectors on the end of each grey/red and brown wire. Instructions were E36/5 (318ti) specific, but still useless. The easiest thing to do, I thought, would be to install the knob. I yanked off the old knob and removed the boot and insulating foam, no problems. After cleaning everything up nicely, I proceeded to thread the plastic connector plug through the opening in the leather boot -- it wouldn't fit. The remainder of this job was left to my wife, who pulled some stitching out of the boot, passed the connector through, and sewed everything back together. She did a fine job, if I may say! Reinstalling the knob is easy -- just push. The instructions show you how to remove the lower knee-panel from below the steering wheel which should reveal a wire loom tucked up the left side of the dash which has space to connect the grey/red and brown wires. What they didn't mention is that the North American models have a crash pad for the knees behind this panel (by the illustration, Euro models have a shelf down there), which you would also have to remove. The locations were specified in the manual, something like 58 & 31, but were not clearly illustrated and I'd be dammed if I could find them. So, after screwing around with that for 20-30 minutes, I put everything back together, and instead I took out and spliced the grey/red & brown wires that illuminate the ashtray. That works fine, and to anyone else attempting this -- screw the instructions. So the knob looks great, real nice leather, etc., etc. Just one observation: the illumination colour is bit more red than the orange everywhere else. Does anyone else have this problem?
Regards, '95 318ti | Jet Black, partial M Technic | Sport | M Contour, S-02, K&N, PBR, | | Stebro | |
