Now QUICKLY hit the accellerator to the floor 5 times and wait.
The Check engine lite will flash out a code like 1221 or 1444.
The car should flash 1444 if everything is OK and smth. other that'll tell you
what the DME thinks is the problem. BTW this works on ALL BMW's (in the US)
from late 1988 MY on up. That is DME Versions 1.3, 1.2, 1.7, 3.1, 3.3, 3.3.1.
On 3.3 and 3.3.1 you only a second or so to start whacking the gas pedal
after you turn the key.
1444 = 1 flash - wait - 4 flashes - wait - 4 flashes - wait - 4 flashes -
longer wait - repeat
| DME Version | M1.x
MCU 1 | M1.x
MCU 2 | M3.1 | M3.3 | M3.3.1 |
|---|
| DME Control Unit | 1211 | 2211 | 1211 | 1211 | 1211 |
| Air Mass/Volume Sensor | 1215 | 2215 | 1215 | 1215 | 1215 |
| Throttle Potentiometer | 1216 | -- | 1216 | 1216 | 1216 |
| "Output Stage, Group #1" | -- | -- | -- | 1218 | 1218 |
| "Output Stage, Group #2" | -- | -- | -- | 1219 | 1219 |
| EGO Sensor #1 | 1221 | 2221 | 1221 | 1221 | 1221 |
| EGO Sensor #2 | -- | -- | -- | 1212 | -- |
| Lambda Control #1 | 1222 | 2222 | 1222 | 1222 | 1222 |
| Lambda Control #2 | -- | -- | -- | 1213 | -- |
| Coolant Temp. Sensor | 1223 | -- | 1223 | 1223 | 1223 |
| Intake Air Temp. Sensor | 1224 | -- | 1224 | 1224 | 1224 |
| Knock Sensor #1 | -- | -- | -- | 1225 | 1225 |
| Knock Sensor #2 | -- | -- | -- | 1226 | 1226 |
| Knock Sensor #3 | -- | -- | -- | 1227 | -- |
| Knock Sensor #4 | -- | -- | -- | 1228 | -- |
| Battery Voltage/DME Main Relay | 1231 | 2231 | 1231 | 1231 | 1231 |
| Throttle Idle Switch | 1232 | 2232 | -- | -- | -- |
| Throttle WOT Switch | 1233 | 2233 | -- | -- | -- |
| "Speedometer ""A"" Signal" | -- | -- | -- | 1234 | 1234 |
| A/C Compressor cut off | -- | -- | -- | 1237 | 1237 |
| A/C Compressor | -- | -- | -- | 1242 | 1242 |
| Crankshaft Pulse Sensor | -- | -- | -- | 1243 | 1243 |
| Camshaft Sensor | -- | -- | -- | 1244 | 1244 |
| "Intervention, AEGS" | -- | -- | -- | 1245 | 1245 |
| Ign. Secondary Monitor | -- | -- | -- | 1247 | 1247 |
| Fuel Injectors (group #1) | 1251 | 2251 | -- | -- | -- |
| Fuel Injectors (group #2) | 1252 | 2252 | -- | -- | -- |
| Fuel Injector #1 | -- | -- | 1251 | 1251 | 1251 |
| Fuel Injector #2 | -- | -- | 1252 | 1252 | 1252 |
| Fuel Injector #3 | -- | -- | 1253 | 1253 | 1253 |
| Fuel Injector #4 | -- | -- | 1254 | 1254 | 1254 |
| Fuel Injector #5 | -- | -- | 1255 | 1255 | 1255 |
| Fuel Injector #6 | -- | -- | 1256 | 1256 | 1256 |
| Fuel Injector #7 | -- | -- | -- | 1257 | -- |
| Fuel Injector #8 | -- | -- | -- | 1258 | -- |
| Fuel Pump Relay Control | 1261 | 2261 | 1261 | 1261 | 1261 |
| Idle Speed Actuator | 1262 | -- | 1262 | 1262 | 1262 |
| Purge Valve | 1263 | 2263 | 1263 | 1263 | 1263 |
| EGO Heater | 1264 | 2264 | 1264 | 1264 | 1264 |
| Fault Lamp (check engine) | -- | -- | -- | 1265 | 1265 |
| VANOS | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1266 |
| Air Pump Relay Control | -- | -- | -- | 1267 | 1267 |
| "Ignition Coil, #1" | -- | -- | -- | 1271 | 1271 |
| "Ignition Coil, #2" | -- | -- | -- | 1272 | 1272 |
| "Ignition Coil, #3" | -- | -- | -- | 1273 | 1273 |
| "Ignition Coil, #4" | -- | -- | -- | 1274 | 1274 |
| "Ignition Coil, #5" | -- | -- | -- | 1275 | 1275 |
| "Ignition Coil, #6" | -- | -- | -- | 1276 | 1276 |
| "Ignition Coil, #7" | -- | -- | -- | 1277 | -- |
| "Ignition Coil, #8" | -- | -- | -- | 1278 | -- |
| Control Unit Memory Supply | -- | -- | -- | 1281 | 1281 |
| Fault (code) Memory | -- | -- | -- | 1282 | 1282 |
| Fuel Injector Output Stage, no cyl # | -- | -- | 1283 | 1283 | 1283 |
| Knock Control Test Pulse | -- | -- | -- | 1286 | 1286 |
| No Failure | 1444 | 2444 | 1444 | 1444 | 1444 |
Have fun,
Jim
For more, see the
The Motronic FAQ.
7.1.9: Fixing the coolant level sensor
(NOTE: On many cars from the mid-80s -> early-90s the coolant level
light on the check-control panel will sometimes go on even when the
coolant is fine. The sensor is in the overflow bottle connected to
the radiator. It can have a bad connection or be bad itself:)
From: Land Shark
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 19:42:45 -0700
Blair R. wrote:
>1) Coolant sensor. Mine I think is defunct, the coolant light stays on all
>the time, even tho' the level is full. So I took it out and found when I put
>in in a beaker of water, with the little plastic ring on the end sensing a
>'full' bottle, the circuit was open, same occurred when I dangled in the
>air. Norm informed me in the former situation the circuit should be closed.
With the ring buoyed up by fluid, the circuit should be closed
>So how does the little bugger work?
Ok, inside the foam ring is a black ferrite magnet ring. this ring closes
a REED SWITCH inside the unit when the coolant is normal.. upon coolant level
dropping, the magnet follows, and is no longer "in line" with the reed switch
which then opens the circuit
If you JUMPER the coolant sensor harness connector, and the light stays OFF, then
the problem IS with the sensor ... which you replace ...
You can also TRY to clean it ...
The sensor can usually be seperated into two main sections .. it seperates right
under the hex shaped "cap" that seals it to the coolant reservoir .. sometimes it
will almost FALL apart, other times you need to pry the glueline
The two parts are:
The outside plastic "test tube" with the ring/magnet
The guts (a reed switch on wires) connected to the plastic hex cap and connector plug
Clean out the "test tube" and let it dry .. using an alky wet Q tip, also clean all the
scum off of the internal black ring magnet (you'll need MANY Q tips!!)
Now reassemble and test to see if the reed switch and circuit close as the magnet is
raised ...
if so, reinstall ...
if not, REPLACE :)
>I notice a black ring inside the big
>plastic buoyancy ring...does it work by conductance or something?
Thats the ferrite ring magnet
It works by magnetism
Jim
7.2: Brakes
7.2.1: How to change fluid
Preasure bleeder
By far the most preferable. Bleeders available from various sources
including EZBleed (small, cheep, works) and Snap-On (~$100, profesional
tool, works well). Basically you drain your fluid resivoir, refill
it, attach the bleeder to the cap, preasureize the system (tire or
pump), then drain each wheel till you get new fluid.
Vacuum Bleeder
Works well, once you get used to all the little stuff you have
to do to make it work well (hints below). Basically you drain the
resivoir, refill it, go to each wheel, hook up the bleeder and pump
till you see get fluid.
Pump the pedal method
Works well, but you risk hurting your master cylinder from pushing
the seals beyond where they normally ride. Basically, drain the
resivoir, refill it, put someone in the driver's seat, go to each
wheel where you - have the "driver" pump the pedal several times then
hold it down - open the valve to drain some fluid (try not to let the
pedal drop to the floor, see above problem!) - close valve and repeat.
Kind of a pain, and you run out of friends real fast ;-)
For more details see a manual like Bently.
7.2.2: Tips to remember while using Mighty Vac
(by Rick Kjeldsen: kjeldsen@cs.columbia.edu)
>I have this same unit and find it absolutely useless, due to air leakage around
>the bleeder nipple. Under all circumstances, I get a steady stream of bubbles,
>making "air in the brake lines" impossible to discern.
A couple of tips to help avoid this:
First use the pointy tool that goes inside the nipple hole, rather
than the one that is supposed to snap over it. That one never snapps
tight enough, so you get bubbles.
Second, before you open (unscrew) the nipple, put a drop of oil on
the threads. Works like a charm in stopping the air. Thicker oil
lasts longer than thin. I've been doing it for years with no evidence
of the oil contaminating the brake fluid, but just in case, I make
sure to keep vacuum preasure applied whenever the valve is open, so
that any contamination will be immediatly sucked out. And, of course,
wipe off the oil when you are done so it doesn't attract dirt or get
on the rotors/pads.
7.2.3: Brake Squeal
(by Roy Kao)
The problem of brake squealing seems common on all German cars, where
the use of more metal in the brake pads seems prevalent. I have a
'93 VW Corrado and an '88 635CSi and we've had the brake rotors ground
a couple of times and the squeal comes back. The service managers from
both VW and BMW say that the pads are the culprit and this cannot be
helped with newer factory pads. Just in case you're wondering, my
friend's '91 MB 560SEL also has a brake squeal problem and the answer
has been the same.
(eah@XAIT.Xerox.com:Eric Houston)
> you a light braker? did you allow some time for the new pads and rotors to
> seat to each other? did the squealing start immediately after installation of
> the new hardware?
>
> if the answers are y/y/n then you may want to try the
> run-it-up-to-80-and-stomp-on-the-brake method of removing any contaminants
> from the pad-rotor interface. i have to do this on my e34 every so often to
> keep the brakes quiet (oem pads&rotors). usually two or three 80-0 cycles
> will do the trick. the objective is to generate a lot of braking force and
> heat to "purge" the interface, so go fast and brake hard -- you won't hurt
> anything, just try to do this away from other traffic and the local
> constabulary!
>
> good luck,
> steve roth
> srr2@lehigh.edu
>
(by Rick Kjeldsen, fcmk@watson.ibm.com)
There are several anti-squeel do-dads you can add to the back of a pad
to help prevent it. (Some better pads come with an antisqueel coating
applied from the factory) One is a blue fluid you spread on and let
dry to a rubbery coating. The other I've seen is a thin metalic pad you
stick on the back of the brake pad. Both are available at good parts
stores. None of these take the heat of serious (track) braking very
well, so you will often find that after a hard day at the track your
pads will start to squeel on the way home.
7.2.4: Removing the rotor bolt
(by Rick Kjeldsen fcmk@watson.ibm.com)
>Spent Sunday trying to change the front brake pads and rotors on my
>1990 325i Conv. A seemingly easy job was thwarted by the 5mm hex head
>screw that attaches the rotor to the hub.
Ah YES - the old rotor screw problem!
The best solution to get out a stuck one is an impact driver - the
kind you hit with a hammer - with a hex socket. Don't try to get it
with one big blow, rather use several medium blows. If you havn't
already stripped the hex hole in the head of the bolt, it will
probably work. If not, you can drill the head off pretty easily
because the bolt is soft. That will get the rotor off, then you can
use vise-grips on the bolt stub, or use a smaller bit to drill out
the body of the bolt. You just have to be careful not to kill the
threads in the hub.
When you put a new one back in be sure to take some preventative
action for next time. I've found that if I use anti-seize on the
bolt (not a lot, so it doesn't fly out onto the brake surface!),
especailly under the head, it helps. The other trick is not to
tighten the bolt very much. I make it just snug enough to hold the
rotor in place while I reinstall the caliper, and no more. Once the
wheel is on, the bolt doesn't do anything. The lug nuts hold the
rotor. It won't loosen and fall out, because the wheel fits over
it. With that combination I've always had an easy time getting them
out again.
good luck!
rick
'87 325es
'90 325iX
7.3: HVAC
7.3.1: Poor AC performance
(by Rick Kjeldsen: kjeldsen@cs.columbia.edu)
Poor ac performance at low car speeds is often a symptom of a non-functional
auxilary cooling fan (it is supposed to come on slow when the AC is turned
on, pushing air over the condensor).
(see section on overheating)
7.3.2: Blower Fan Problems
(by Rick Kjeldsen: kjeldsen@cs.columbia.edu)
> ...I found out
> that neither the fan or the AC work at settings 1 to 3, but do work at
> setting 4 (max fan speed). Nothing at all happens at 1 to 3.
Common problem. BMW uses series resistors to reduce voltage to the
fan and produce the slower speeds. You just lost the resistor board.
The AC doesn't work because it senses the airflow before it turns on.
(The following is for an E30, ed.)
The resistors are easy to fix, but somewhat hard to get to. Look on
the top of the firewall from the engine compartement. There is a
section about 18" long by 6" high right at the top which is removable
with a couple of screws. You will probably have to take off a few
wires and tubes from the firewall as well.
After you remove that section you will see the top of the HVAC unit
sticking out of the passenger compartement. Remove the plastic cover
(held on by a couple of straps if I remember right) to see the fan.
The fan motor is a horizontal cylinder with a squirl (sp?) cage fan at
either end. The resistor board is slid into the HVAC case below the
fan. It is a small board, about 1-2" square, with 3 bare wire
resistors on it. You pull it out toward you, nothing to detach first,
it has plugs on the far side. Either you lost one of the resistors,
or the contacts are dirty. Check it with an ohm meter. Installation
is the reverse of removal ;-)
(uunet!cmd.com!sam (Sam Chien-shin Lin))
> 2) While I was driving yesterday, with the AC on, and the fan at the third
> setting, the fan just stopped! When I tried other settings, I found out
> that neither the fan or the AC work at settings 1 to 3, but do work at
> setting 4 (max fan speed). Nothing at all happens at 1 to 3. This is too
> weird. I checked the fuse box, thinking the fuse may have popped, but all
> fuses were OK. I would think there is one fuse for all the fan speeds, but
> I figured it was worth a shot. Anyone ever heard of this? I'm sure it's an
> electrical fault somewhere, but where...?
my '85 325e was doing this lately. there is a resistor pack mounted
near the blower. the contacts on mine were corroded, so all i had to
do was pull it out, scrape the contacts, and plug it back in (too bad
i broke a few fins off my fan before i realized that you don't have to
take it out to get to the resistor.)
-------------------------
From: JMaushammer@email.cta-space.com (John Maushammer)
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 96 11:39:47 EST
The blower resistors are cooled by the air stream, which results in a
curious condition: To run the fan at full speed, no blower resistors are
used. To run at the slowest speed, all of the resistors are used. The
problem is that when the resistors need the most cooling, fan speed is at
the lowest.
The bimetalic strip serves as an over-temperature protection to prevent
the resistors from burning up if there is not enough air flowing across
them. This could happen from a fan that doesn't work, blocked intake
ducts (?), or low-speed operation with all outlets closed.
Unfortuantly, this switch is what failed on my '89 325i. At first, the
fan would work intermittently, but it ususally worked on warmer days.
Sometimes after hitting a mild bump in the road, the fan would start
working... I took apart the assembly and removed the resistor set (it is
well connectorized), noticed that the resistor coils were in perfect
shape, but cleaned it w/ alcohol anyway. I spring to the contacts seemed
springy enough, and I filed to contacts. It worked for about 2 days. THE
FILE-ING WAS A BIG MISTAKE! I should have used super-fine sandpaper to
get a super-smooth surface. It was a pain to keep taking the blower cover
off, so I ordered another resistor package (with a new overtemp switch
built-in), installed it and it's worked fine now for about 3 weeks now.
What a relief it is to have a cool flow of air and not a full-speed
blast.
John Maushammer
jmaushammer@SMTPLINK.CTA.COM
7.3.3: Cleaning the radiator
(by Jim Conforti:jec@us.dynix.com)
> So, finally decided to replace the radiator. Now the temp gauge stays
> at 1/4 the scale on a 90 degree day at a highway speed. Previously it
> used to easily cross 3/4 mark and I have to run the heater to prevent
> it from going to RED mark.
So you still have the old one ??
Take it, dump out stale water/coolant ..
Go to grocery store and buy 2 or 3 bottles of CLR ..
(Calcium Lime Rust remover)
Pour it into the radiator .. let it sit for at least 24 hours
Pour out, rinse well .. done ..
This stuff dissolves CaCO3 like magic, also MgCO3, etc ..
it's the Carbonate minerals that do most of the clogging ...
Also, a big help is to carefully pressure wash the outside, and
straighten the "fins" ..
PS: Professional pressure cleaning IS a waste of time/money
PPS: This works *most* of the time ...
7.3.4: Stinky AC
From: mal@eauto.com
Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 13:15:28 -0500
The smell from the A/C system is from bacteria on the evaporator. For the
same reason one puts distilled water in cigar humidors and room humidifiers
to avoid this, there's bacteria in the condensation that forms on the
evaporator.
There are 2 companies you can call for product information and availability
questions:
Airsept 800.999.1051
Enviromotive 800.718.1131
Both of these companies make products that are sprayed into the MHVAC intake
ducts. This routes the chemical to the evaporator (the other deodorizers
require that you take the evaporator out, which is NO small job on most BMWs).
Hope this helps.
Malcolm Davidow
7.4: Body, etc
7.4.1: Fixing squeaking doors
(by John Coffin:JCOFFIN@us.oracle.com)
Generally in all striker plates a impact driver is needed. An impact
driver is like thick phillips screwdriver with a twist action in the shaft
so as the hammer strikes the top of the driver, a twisting action also
happens to loosen (or tighten) without stripping the head.
Adjusting the door is much more than moving the striker plate. While this
may fix the squeaking the door may require more effort to close. The give
in the door is actually in the pivot of the hinge. Door placement is a
system of the door frame, hinge spacing, and striker alignent.
7.4.2: Shifter feel improvement
(by Dale Beuning)
@
/
/ Shift Lever
(D)/
\===================================== @ ================= Floor Pan ====
|- - -Shifter Plate- - - -|--/
- ------------]=[]@----------------------@
Trans- ] ]](A) (B) (C) Rear Connection
mission ]]]]]]]]]]]]Driveshaft]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
] ]]
- ------------] Guibo
Hi Dave,
The above is a profile view of the car I hope it makes sense to you.
1) The short answer is that there are two things you MUST MUST MUST replace
to tighten-up your shifter.
The first is the (Forward Connection) brass fitting at the rear of the
transmission($10), the driveshaft must be removed to replace this. (A)
The second is the rear connection, the shift lever is a two piece
affair, upper and lower. The upper part is the chrome piece that the
shift knob gets pressed onto. The lower part is what MUST be replaced (C)
it has a non-replaceable lower bushing that wears out. Cost $30.
Also! As long as you have the shifter lever torn apart to replace the
lower part, replace the little nylon half cups that the ball of the
lower part rides in. Aprox $0.50 each. (D) The driveshaft does not
need to be removed to replace the lower half of the shift lever nor
do you have to disassemble the console. You will need lots of patience
to reassemble the shifter lever. Maybe I can scan in the exploded
view from Bentley and clarify the drawing to simplify the replacement
of this part.
2) The long answer is that the more pieces your replace the better it
feels. I'll list all of the parts I replaced and try to rate them from
1 to 3 in terms of helping shifter feel. (1 is best!)
Description | Rating | Price
- ------------------------------------|--------|-------
Forward Brass Connection (A) | 1 | $10
Lower half of shifter lever (C) | 1 | $30
Nylon bushings for shifter lever(D) | 1 | $1
Shifter rod (B) | 2 | $30
Shifter plate bushings(3) | 3 | $35
Leather Shift Knob | ergonomic improvement ! | $60
7.4.3: Rocker panel coating
(by Don Eilenberger:dje@mail.bellcore.com)
>The "rubberized?" paint coating on the rocker panels of my '87 325 is
>coming off in places and generally looks ratty. Otherwise
>the exterior of this car looks brand new.
>
>Is there a consumer paint product available that I can use to
>fix this with moderate skill levels and equipment?
Yes, but it's actually two products:
#1 is some semigloss paint - look for something made for
automotive purposes
#2 is harder to find - it is a clear rockerpanel spray on
coating - it purposely leaves the dimpled finish that you
see on your rockers now.
To use, first check for compatibility between the two (try on some scrap metal
first), and then test compatibility with the existing finish on your car
(there isn't any need to removeit if the finished are compatible). Spray some
of the black onto your rockers and make sure it doesn't have a bad reaction
with what is there. (Masking carefully with masking tape and newspaper first
of course!). When the black dries - overcoat it with the rockerpanel spray
(which purposely stays somewhat flexible).
(by Sandeep Pathak:uunet!etnibsd!sandeep)
I used Wurth's Underbody Seal Black. I just had to spray it on. Its about
$13 for i can. Its seems ok so far.
7.4.4: Plastic Panel Repair
(by idickers@newssun.med.miami.edu (Ian Dickerson))
While at the auto paint store this weekend, I learned a neat trick to repair
cracks in non-load bearing plastic, like the bottom of air dams that have
prematurely met the local parking bumpers (and who has NOT ever scraped over
one of these suckers?). Anyway, an unmounted airdam came with my 2002, and
I wanted to repair several cracks before putting it on the car. One of the
cracks is at the top, close to the mounting holes, so I thought I'd epoxy
a plastic brace behind it, but the guy at the counter suggested a much
neater trick.
First, sand the area surounding the crack about 3-4" on each side, clean up
the dust, and use superglue to tack the broken pieces together. Next, use
flexible epoxy to make a bead and cover the crack (on the back, of course).
Finally, use more flexible epoxy to cover a wide area (the area you sanded),
and press nylon material onto the epoxy. This dries as a single skin which
will flex, yet has surprising strength. The counter guy claimed any nylon
fabric would work, but I used ripstop (used in tents and camping gear). I did
this last night, and the results look impressive. This isn't a do-all fix,
but it does look like a good repair for minor cracks and dings.
7.4.5: Wheel paint
(by John Dempsey: johnde@netcom.com)
> * polished would look very nice with the Bristol, but I am concerned
> * about long term effects (if any) on the wheels with leaving them
> * unprotected.
>
> this advice is from a racer's point of view, but may be of interest
> in this context anyway:
>
> you should have the wheels bead blasted to clean/strip them, and then
> have them dye checked for cracks while they're in this state. then
I know where Richard is going with this one. You can probably do a good
job of removing the paint with a good automotive stripper and a high pres-
sure, car wash, type sprayer. Be very, very careful with this stuff-
even wear eye protection. It is *nasty*. But it will get everything off.
Don't get the cheap hardware store type strippers- unless you like being
frustrated and applying several coats. And don't do it in the cold- it
does not work.
You can then buy a dye kit if you like, and easily check the wheels your-
self. There are several sources.
> paint them with a suitable paint; if you are engaged in high performance
> (track) driving, then use a cheap laquer like Krylon. if you are
The idea with the laquer is that it is brittle in comparison to enamels and
polyurethanes. So, if a crack developes, it will be echoed in the paint.
So (hopefully) you will catch it in time before it becomes a problem.
> more interested in having them look nice on the street, there are a
> couple of decent wheel paints from companies like Wurth and VHT.
Wurth is indeed good. With good results. I'd say there is not really a
problem with leaving them unprotected- I guess that corrosion could be a
problem, but I don't think that much. Besides, when aluminum oxidizes, it
radically changes composition. Luckily this also keeps it from oxidizing
farther- kinda like what anodizing is all about.
I will say that looks suffer. And upkeep is higher. So even if my wheels
were completely polished, I'd still clearcoat them. Heck, it even gives
them a deeper shine.
For a gray car, I'd go with a silver/platinum center color, with polished
lips. Although I don't know the style of wheel you're dealing with (either
it was not mentioned, or I did not catch it).
7.4.6: Front and rear windshield install
(by Mike LaRosa: mlr@critter.cv.com)
Just finshed doing both front and rear windows on my wife's 88 528e.
It took less than an hour. Lets see.... for tools I used a spray bottle
with half dawn and half water mixture, a plastic orange peeler :-)(I'll
explain later...), a scribe(looks like a screwdriver only the tip is a sharp
point instead of a flat blade, and 2 bottles of Killian's Red :-)
There are probably other ways to do it, but this worked and didn't
take too long... your mileage may vary....:-)
ok, first step. (front lock strip)
- Spray the windshield molding with the dawn/water mixture.
- Take the scribe and poke it into the lock strip near a corner, pull it
back away from the corner and out of the rubber window seal.
- Carefully and slowly pull the lock strip out of the rubber window molding
(Don't want to rip the rubber molding)
- Insert one end of the new lock strip into the corner piece, this is were I
used the plastic orange peeler, it basically looks like a small flat blade
screwdriver on one end. Slide it under the lock strip near the corner in
perpendicular fashion and lever the molding over the lock strip.
Once the lock is started at the corner......
- The technique I used to get the lock strip into the rest of the window
molding was to bend the lock strip upwards at about a 90 degree angle, then
rock it towards you while pushing it away from you. It should pop into the
window molding lip closest to you. Now rock it away from you while pulling
towards you, it should now pop into the other side, only pop in about a
1/4" at a time, this way it goes in pretty easy. After you get the hang of
it it should zip in pretty quickly.
The first corner.....
- Use the same rocking technique thru the corner but make sure you hold the
outer edge down in the molding. It has a tendency to pop out again if
you don't. once you get 6" beyond the corner it should stay in.
- When you get within 5-6" of the end you may need to trim the end, (mine was
about 2"'s too long) I used a pair of heavy metal shears to trim it. Made
a nice clean cut.
- Insert the end into the corner molding.
- Use that orange peeler again to lever the rubber molding over the lock strip
for the remaining 5-6"'s.
The Rear lock strips.....
- Basically the same as the front except you don't have to go around corners
and there are more chrome corner brackets to mess with.
- Wash the car
7.4.7: Sunroof problems
From: GToyama@aol.com
Date: Sat, 18 May 1996 17:50:08 -0400
Mike Taylor wrote:
It appears the motor and the sunroof cables only got out of sync, either
by slippage or by removing the motor, allowing the motor to turn (or moving
the panel) and not reinstalling them in sync. In normal ops, the motor is
designed to stop after a certain number of revolutions of the drive gear from
closed position, x for tip-up in one direction and y for slide in the other.
On the E30, I'm not sure if you'll need to loosen or remove the header
panel to gain enough access to the motor; there are a couple of phillips
screws visible thru the rectangular clutch adjustment hole that look like
they may secure the motor.
Easiest way to re-sync is to a) put roof in closed position (you may have
to "bump" the motor several times), b) unbolt motor from roof, c) ign on,
play with s/r switch until motor stops in "closed" position, d) ign off,
reinstall.
Sync-ingly yours,
Gary
7.4.8: Gas Tank restoration
From: Thomas Nast
Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 17:31:12 -0700 (PDT)
Having just refurbished my second gas tank, I thought I would set
the procedure out for posterity.
The gas tank must be restorable. For many years, BMW installed
tanks with nice, water-absorbant foam rubber between the tank and chassis.
The water would wick into the tank seams, and 18 years later the tank is
junk. Forget restoring these, just buy a new one (2002 owners know this
drill well) and install it with silicone sealant. If you can buy a new
tank for under $3-400, it's a better way to go. Remove the sending unit
and any pumps, etc. in the tank.
Detach the battery ground, put your cigarette out, pull the hoses
and wire and extract the tank. Remove the fuel.
Haul the thing to a radiator shop and have it boiled out. This
will set you back around $100. Instruct them *not* to paint the tank
after boiling. This process will remove a lot of the rust and scale, and
all of the paint.
To treat the inside, you will need a gallon of MEK and a quart of
Randolph's Sloshing Sealer (No. 912) (Is it coincidence this is named
after the rustiest of Karmann-bodied Porsches?). These can be obtained
from places that sell aircraft supplies. I get mine from Kenmore Air
Harbor (Kenmore, WA). Figure about $60.
Plug up all the holes in the tank. A junk fuel sending unit and
gas cap can make this a lot easier (beg the dealer for these). Toss a
quart of MEK in the tank and thoroughly slosh all sides and seams. I
attach the tank to the frame holding my kids' swings using bungee cords;
works great. Drain the tank in accordance with the zillion regulations
you never heard of. (Hint: MEK evaporates *very* quickly.) Now take a
few handfuls of clean pea gravel, and toss them into the tank with another
quart of MEK. Do the sloshing routine again. You are really sanding the
inside and chemically prepping it for the sealer. Drain, and make sure
all the rocks come out. Let dry, then shake it some more for stones.
Now pour the whole quart of sealer in, slosh as before, then drain
as much of the sealer out as possible into the can, and cover immediately.
You can clean up mistakes with MEK (which is why you bought the extra two
quarts). Wait about five minutes (the stuff will already be skinning) and
do it again. Seal the can this time, and clean up. If the tank has any
vents, I blow themwith compressed air to make sure they are clear. Put the
tank away a day or two for the sealer to cure.
What you have now is a tank with a fuel-resistant plastic skin on
the inside.
You can paint the outside to taste. My procedure is to sand any
rust, clean with paint reducer (Ditzler DTR 602), prime with a
zinc-chromate primer (DuPont 2085S, which requires no catalyst) and use
black Ditzler Delstar (DAR 9000) with flattener (DX 685) for the color
coat. Delstar paints require a catalyst (DXR-80). If there are seams
spray can't penetrate, I paint them with a brush just before spraying.
This is much more durable than any factory or aftermarket painting, looks
indistinguishable from new and really keeps the rust away.
The paints can add to a little money if you don't have them lying
around (I do keep them around, as they come in handy in all manner of
restoration projects, from cast-iron radiators to ham radio towers). You
can always resort to a spray can, or better yet, a body shop will probably
shoot it for you for under $100, which is about what the paint would cost
(with enough left over for another 24 tanks).
Th.B. Nast
"If it isn't rusting, I can't afford it."
7.5: Electrical
7.5.1: Fixing Automatic Antennas
(by Harvey Chao:Harvey_Chao@smtp.esl.com)
If the automatic antenna you have doesn't (fully extend/retract when the
radio powers on/off) this may help you. The unit described herein is
factory original as installed on an '83 528e, and I expect
typical/standard over many years and models.
This is intended to address the situation where you can hear the antenna's
drive motor operate, but the mast fails to either fully extend or retract.
I suspect that many "failures" can be simply fixed, w/o purchase of parts
(new mast $35 -40) new antenna assembly ????. The following describes how
I fixed mine at no cost.
The first concern is that the mast itself moves freely, and is not
sticking because of dirt or gummed up old lubricant. Get the mast fully
extended, or remove it from the drive assembly, thoroughly clean, lube
lightly and be sure that the telescoping sections move freely, re-install
and or fully retract. The Bentley manual describes how to remove and
replace the mast. If it fails to fully retract, you can do this manually
by CAREFULLY pushing it STRAIGHT down. Be careful that you don't bend it!
Note that there is a retaining collar at the base of the antenna assembly
on top of the fender that has two flats (13mm if I remember) that unscrews
to facilitate removal and replacement of the mast. The mast itself is a
set of telescoping sections. Attached to the end of the topmost section
is a long nylon(?) flexible "cable", about .125" in dia. and maybe 3 '
long. This is the actual part that is driven by the motor/clutch assembly
to raise or lower the mast. Locate, remove the cover, expose and examine
the drive assembly. It is a box about 4x6x1.5 " with a black plastic
cover that is held in place by 4 Phillips head self tapping machine screws
into what appears to be a die cast aluminum or pot metal body.
Inside the box you should see the following basic arrangement. [I will
use the "clock" scheme to describe where the various major pieces are, 12
o'clock = top of the box, 3 o'clock = middle right hand side, etc.] The
drive motor is a metal cylinder, oriented long axis vertically located at
between 2 and 3 o'clock. It has a worm gear on its shaft that drives a
large plastic gear at the very bottom (or back) of a stack of various
disks, some of which freewheel on the shaft of the gear driven by the
motor, and some of which are "keyed" to that driven shaft.
On the opposite side from the motor, about 10 o'clock, you will see a
relay. coil on top, contacts on the bottom that pivot up and down from
one side. With the radio off and the mast retracted, if you use your
finger or a wooden stick to push the relay contacts closed (up), it will
actuate the motor. If you hold it that way, the motor will run until the
driven shaft described in the prior paragraph rotates a fixed number of
turns and the mast (if properly operating) will have been driven to full
extension. When you release the relay, the motor again actuates in the
opposite direction a fixed number of turns to retract the mast.
The largest and bottom disk on the driven shaft, looks like a pulley, is
just above the gear driven by the motor, and FREEWHEELS on the shaft. The
"flanges" of this pulley, along with a pinch roller located at about 7
o'clock grip the nylon cable and drive it up or down.
The next piece outward from the pulley is a clutch plate that drives the
pulley but also freewheels on the shaft. Next outward is the "pressure
plate" that is keyed to and driven by the shaft. What I think usually
happens, if the motor operates and the mast is free to extend and retract,
is that the clutch slips and thus the pulley doesn't turn enough rotations
to fully extend or retract the mast.
Next two pieces are spring "washers, very roughly star shaped, and convex,
assembled so that they provide some constant pressure against the pressure
plate and clutch assembly.
(editor's note: Use caution, this diagram may have been distorted!)
\\\\\\\\\\\ gear driven by motor worm gear
\_______________/
_______________ "pulley"
/ \
_____________ clutch plate
_____________ pressure plate
\____/ washer #1
____
/ \ washer # 2
________________
\ washer with lock tab
________________
I I Sheet metal nut.
Next outward from the second washer is a large flat washer with a tab that
is bent up to prevent "loosening or tightening" of the large sheet metal
nut that tops off this whole assembly. This washer is also keyed to the
shaft. The way this whole thing works is that the driven shaft transmits
torque through the clutch assembly to drive the "pulley" which in turn
drives the nylon cable up or down. If the clutch slips, the pulley
doesn't turn the required number of turns to drive the mast, but the
counting mechanism on the driven shaft does turn, and after the
predetermined number of rotations, stops the mechanism.
If you carefully use a screw driver to bend the locking tab back you can
free the large sheet metal nut (about 1.25 inches). Before you start to
move that nut, mark it in such a way that if you remove it, you can get
back to the original starting point. Then remove the nut, disassemble the
layers down to but NOT including the pulley. Use some solvent to clean
off the clutch face and pressure plate dry well, and re-assemble.
Starting with the mast fully retracted and the sheet metal nut in it's
original position, actuate the relay with your finger until the mechanism
"auto stops", release the relay and again let it run to "auto stop" so
that the mechanism runs through a full extend/retract cycle. If there is
still some slipping of the clutch and the mast does not fully extend and
or retract, push it down so that it is fully retracted, try tightening the
nut one flat more, and again actuate the relay to run through a full
extend/retract cycle. Repeat until you get proper cycling of the mast,
bend the lock tab up to lock the tension provided by the nut and button up
the cover.
(by Rick Kjeldsen, fcmk@watson.ibm.com)
If you antenna is sticking, first just try lubricating the mast.
That will work for a year or more till enough gunk works it way down
into the mechanism to cause friction - then just lubing the mast
will have increasingly less effect, till it doesn't help at all.
What follows comes from my experience with '87-'90 E30 (325/M3)
antenna's. I know they used the same antenna for some time, over a
number of cars, but still you may find differences...
To clean the internals, first pull out the whole antenna. You
have to pull out the trunk side trim (inside) on that side to expose
it. Then undo a couple of bolts and electrical connections to free
it. They should be obvious. Then just pull down to pop the mast
down through the gasket in the body. A little WD-40 may help, but
it should come out pretty easily. You shouldn't have to loosen
up anything from the top to do it. Now you will have in your hands
a black box about 8"x4"x2" with a bracket on the bottom and the mast
sticking out the top. Take it to a workbench.
Now examine the box. You will see that the front and back of the
black plastic case snap together around the edges with many molded
clips. You have to get them appart. This will be toughest part of
the whole job, and you just have to play with it till you get it.
Pry them with a small screw driver and hold them apart while you do
the next clips, curse when they snap back together, etc.
When you finally get the shell apart, inside you will be able to
see the bottom of the mast with the plastic "tail" sticking down out
of it and going into the gears of the motor. It's been a long time
since I did this job, so the details are a little sketchy in my
mind, but at the bottom of the case under the mast there is a
toothed gear that engages the teeth on the tail. Opposite that is
an idler pulley that just serves to keep the teeth on the tail
engaged with those on the gear. From there the tail curves over and
loops up, but that area doesn't seem to collect dirt. What seems to
collect it is that idler pulley, and to a lesser extent the toothed
gear. Use a penetrating lube like WD-40 to wash out the pulley and
gear as best you can. Be sure to get the dirt out of their axles
and from behind them so they operate smoothly. I seem to remember
you could pull the pulley right out to clean it. If there is dirt
anywhere else in there, clean it out. When you reinstall it, there
is no need to lube it with anything but a little WD-40, or maybe a
VERY little white lube, because they are all nylon and any lube will
only serve to collect dirt.
Then you are basically done. Make sure everything is back in
place, snap the shell back together and reinstall. The whole job
should take less than an hour, and your antenna should work like new
again.
Oh yeah, one more thing I should mention. Another good idea is to
really clean your mast, as it collects gunk inside as well. To do
that, remove the mast. That involves (with the antenna installed)
turning on the radio to raise the mast. Take a 10mm(?) wrench and
completely undo the two sided nut on the base of the mast. Then
turn off and on the radio quickly to restart the motor. The mast
will come completely out.
Once you have the mast out you will feel how hard it is to move.
Unless the sections slide all the way togeather and appart smoothly,
it needs cleaning. You won't need to replace it unless it gets
damaged. Again, clean it by squirting large amounts of WD-40 in
there and moving the sections in and out over one another. It's
easy to clean out the gunk so that the sections move in the middle
of their range smoothly but stick when fully in/out. That isn't
good enough! Keep going till they work smoothly everywhere in their
range of motion.
Then reinstall the mast - First straighten the end (about 8")
of the tail. If it curves even a little, it will keep it from
getting down into the motor far enough to engage. You may have to
play with this a few times. Then with the radio on, stick the tail
in the hole in the same orientation that it came out (teeth front or
teeth back). Turn the radio off, and the motor will suck the
antenna back down in. Be sure to help it along so that the mast
goes in smoothly. I find it useful to pull out that trim piece in
the trunk to expose the motor and disconnect the motor ground so
that you can control the motor operation easily (by connecting and
disconnecting the ground) rather than running back an forth into the
car. Remember that if you start to have trouble, just turn the
radio back on again, and the motor will reverse and push the mast
out.
Anyway, when you finish that, your antenna should work as good as
new for several more years.
Good luck! Let me know how it goes.
rick
Jeff Moser
PS: I was able to order replacement parts for my Hirschmann 6000EL antenna
on this same car. I must say that dealing with these people was on of the
most pleasent buying experiences that I have ever had. Hirschmann's prices
are ridiculously cheap, and their payment policy will astonish you. If you
need parts for your antenna give them a call at 1-800-225-0524, choose
Antenna sales, and ask for Diana. You won't be disapointed!
7.5.2: Taking care of your battery
(by Robert Moore:RMOORE@BROWNVM.brown.edu)
Always used baking powder and water paste (the yellow box from Arm &
Hammer) followed by a thorough flushing with water. Let dry. Coat the
terminals with vaseline. I've NEVER had corrossion of the terminals
or connectors in 30 years.
I did once try a heavy grease. At underhood temperatures it turned into
something reminiscent of the stuff that comes out of an electric glue
gun. Forget it. Vaseline.
7.5.3: Troubleshooting Central Locking System
(by Jim Conforti:jec@us.dynix.com)
(Editors note: This pertains to mid-80s -> early 90s cars)
Start with doors unlocked and all windows open
NOTE: NEVER CONNECT OR DISCONNECT THE CONTROL UNIT UNLESS BATTERY POWER IS
REMOVED!!
Operation Response Action
1 DDL to lock All doors lock Goto OP #2
Some doors Lock R/R suspect Door Lock Motor ckt.
No doors Lock Goto OP #4
2. DDL to deadbolt All doors double lock Goto OP #3
Drivers and SOME others dbl lock R/R suspect Door Lock Motor
Drivers ONLY dbl locks Perform TEST B
Drivers does NOT dbl lock Mechanical Problem
3. DDL to unlock All doors unlock Goto OP #4
Some doors unlock R/R suspect Door Lock Motor ckt.
No doors unlock Goto OP #5
4. PDL to lock All doors lock If doors did not lock in OP #1 R/R
DD lock switch
else Goto OP #5
Some doors lock R/R suspect Door Lock Motor ckt
No doors lock If doors locked in OP #1 R/R PD microswitch
if doors did not lock in OP #1 perform TEST A
5. PDL to lock All doors unlock If doors did not unlock in
OP #3 R/R DD lock switch
else Goto OP #6
Some doors unlock R/R suspect Door Lock Motor No doors unlock If
doors unlocked in OP #3 R/R PD Lock Switch
if doors did not unlock in OP #3 perform TEST C
6. Get in car, close/lock all Doors remain locked Goto OP #7
doors, IGN to RUN Doors Unlock R/R Central Locking control unit
7. Get out, DDL to lock All doors can be unlocked Goto OP #8
Unlock each door by All doors remain secure Disconnect connector from
control unit and check
pulling up button for short to ground at terminal #11
if short, find it!, if not R/R Control Unit
8. Trunk lock to LOCK Trunk Locks Goto OP #9
Trunk does not lock If doors lock, R/R Trunk lock motor and/or circuit
If doors do not lock R/R Trunck lock switch
R/R Control Unit if switch and circuit are OK
9. Trunk lock to UNLOCK Trunk unlocks Goto OP #10
Trunk does not unlock If doors unlock, R/R Trunk lock motor and/or circuit
If doors do not unlock, R/R Trunk lock switch
R/R Control Unit if switch and circuit are OK
10. Turn key back to LOCK Gas filler locks Goto OP #11
Gas filler does not lock R/R Gas Filler Motor ckt.
11. Turn key to unlock Gas filler unlocks Done, No faults!
Gas filler does not unlock R/R Gas Filler Motor ckt.
TEST A.
Measure Voltage at Control Unit Connector w/ Control Unit Connected
Term 3 and Ground should be battery, else check wire to Term 3 for open
Term 3 & 4 should be battery, else check wire from Term 4 for open to
ground
Jumper between Term 7 and ground, if doors lock R/R switches and related
wiring else ...
Disc. battery, remove Control Unit and reconnect Batt. jumper 1 & 3
together, now jumper 2 & 4 together if doors lock, R/R Control unit, else
check wires on Term. 1 & 3 for opens (see schematic)
TEST B.
With Conrol Unit connected, jumper between 10 & ground doors should double
lock, if not, check wires to Term. 11 for opens and R/R Control Unit if no
opens found. If doors DO double lock, check wires to Term 10 for open and
R/R Unlock Inhibit Switch if wire OK.
TEST C
With Control Unit connected, Jumper 6 & ground. If doors unlock, R/R
switches and related wiring (see schematic) if doors do NOT unlock R/R
Control Unit
7.5.4: Resetting service indicator lights
The service interval indicator FAQ page.
7.5.5: Changing service indicator light batteries
Changing the SII batteries
This is part of the SII FAQ page.
7.5.6: The On-Board Computer (OBC)
The OBC FAQ
7.5.7: Power Windows
(by Rick Kjeldsen: kjeldsen@cs.columbia.edu)
The most common cause of a flaky power window is just the switch.
The contacts in the switch get pitted and carbon buildup, and will
become erratic. You can clean them pretty easily. Pop out the
switch (it may be easier to pop up the shifter boot (manual xmission)
and push the switch out from below), remove it from it's plug.
Disassembly is easy, the bottom slides out of the case formed by the
top and sides. Watch where the parts come from as you take it appart.
Clean the contacts, clean and lub the rubbing surfaces LIGHTLY with a
grease or white-lub, and reassemble. Takes about 5 minutes.
After many miles the contacts may become so pitted that you need to
replace the whole switch.
(by Chuck Huston ckh@csb.varian.com)
>the driver side power windows is stuck. all the other three windows
>work. is it a motor problem ? it is something i can fix or check to
>figure out the problem.
>89'325i
- -----
I have an '89 325i that had the "same" problem....here's the procedure:
(Assuming that the other window works, which eliminates one electrical
possibility)...
1) Swap the window control switches on the console around the gear shift
lever. They can be easily
pryed up and unplug. If it works after that, replace the switch.
2) If it's not the switch, check the motor itself by taking off the inside
part of the door to gain access. You remove the 3 screws that hold on the
door handle (one is behind the black plastic cover at the top of the
hand-hold, and you pry this cover off to get at it....the other two are
under the arm-rest part). Remove the little black part surrounding the door
opening lever (it slides BACK, then off), unscrew the lock pin cover, then
carefully pop off the inner door (plastic connectors on the inner bottom and
sides) before lifting it off. Last, carefully peel back the inner plastic
to get at the bottom area where the motor is. [all of this is discussed in
Bentley].
3) Check the connector to the motor (it's obvious) for power with a tester
while you actuate the controller. If no power, my condolences (check
manual, etc. for electrical troubleshooting).
4) If the motor is getting power, remove it for test/replacement. Remove
the nuts (a few) to get the motor/window bracket assembly out. You will
need Torx keys to get the motor off the bracket. Before replacing it (I got
one from a salvage yard in Rancho Cordova for about $140 - check the Roundel
for ads) reconnect it to the system and try it again. The first time I went
throught this, the motor was simply "jammed" and I reinstalled it. (it must
have jammed because of weakness, however, because it eventually died for
good about 3 months later!)
5) To reinstall - the "trick" is getting the all stupid bracket wheels in
the appropriate tracks (there are 3). FIRST put the two wheels into the
appropriate tracks that are ON THE WINDOW. Then, if you remove the door
track (you can't see it, but the bolts stick through at the middle of the
door) you can put the BRACKET on the wheel and maneuver things back to where
they were before installing it, then the motor.
6) As they say, assembly is the reverse of disassembly.
(by Rob Shively: rob.shively@mail.admin.wisc.edu)
I had the same problem with passenger side window on my 325e last spring. The
window would go down but would not go back up with out assisting the motor
by pushing the window up. It got to the point it would not go up anymore.
The first thing I did was pull the track and motor out of the door. I then
removed the motor from the track and tested it. It seemed to work OK. The
track seemed a little sticky so I gave it a good dose of DW40 and shot a little
in the motor as well. Reassembled and adjusted the whole works and gave
myself a pat on the back for saving $200. The window worked for nearly 2
weeks.
So I took the track and motor out of the door again. This time I use white
lithium grease, from a spray can, to lubricate the track. Reassembled the unit
and tested it. I looked like the motor was shot which lacked the power
to push the window up.
Since I thought the motor was junk I took to my shop and took it apart.
I had to pull the center shaft out of the housing. On the bottom of the shaft
there is a ball that sits in a cup at the bottom of the housing. The ball is
held in place by metal fingers. The cup and ball were full of crud so I used
DW40 and steel wool it clean them up. Next I packed the cup full of lithium
grease and attempted to push the ball/shaft back in place. The finger kept
bending in under the ball. I ended up bending the fingers out enough so
the ball would fit into the cup. This cause the ball/shaft to be loose and
no longer firmly held in place. I reassembled the motor and put the track
and motor back into the car.
The motor is louder since the shaft can now move up and down but it is still
working with no problems after almost a year.
I am sure that someone else on the net might know the correct method of
reassembling the motor so the shaft is held in place.
I did seal the motor around the top with silicon caulk and I had to cut the
wires to the motor to get it all apart. I think it took less than 2 hours
including a trip the hardware store.
7.5.8: Problems with key panel
(Ben: uunet!ux4.cso.uiuc.edu!bthongsa)
> On my '83 745i, the computer key panel will not light up. The battery on
> the car ran down and the car was started with a battery charger set to
> start mode using 50 amps. What in the heck did I kill, and how do I fix
> this? I have electronic soldering skills, but no schematic or clue where
> to start.
Sounds like you blew the OBC fuse. The early versions actually consisted
of two units, the keypad unit, and a main unit that is hidden behind the
driver's kick panel on the 745i (at least it is on an '84). There's
a small 2amp or so fuse inside of the main unit. Pull off the speaker
cover on the driver's kick panel, fish out the control box (there's
probably more than one, it's been a while since I did this) and open
it up. There should be a small glass tube fuse somewhere on the board.
Usually, this fuse blows when a voltage surge occurs.
Of course, there's also a fuse for the OBC in the main fuse box. You might
want to also check that first, before digging in the interior.
7.5.9: Installing garage door openers
From: "Harvey Chao"
Date: 19 Jul 1995 10:26:44 -0700
1) Perhaps one of you will put this in a FAQ for the future reference of
others.?
2) Although I have done this modification on two different brands of
transmitters, to a total of about 8 units, I have NOT verified the proceedure
(which I wrote from memory) by taking a unit and modifying it as described in
the enclosed/below proceedure. As is often stated: "Any modifications or
changes may void your warranty and are the sole risk of the owner" YMMV. I
am available to answer any questions.
Garage Door Opener Modification
Purpose:
This describes how to modify the transmitter from a garage door opener so that
it can physically be located in the glove box, under the dash, or elsewhere at
your convenience and have a remote push button to trigger it. I have done
this to two different brand openers, the differences in implementation are
purely a matter of the mechanics/packaging of the particular transmitter you
need to work with.
Skills:
This will require modest skills to solder some wires, mechanical abilities to
open the transmitter housing and reassemble it, and to install a switch on the
dash board of your vehicle. Alternately, if you have an existing switch with
a pair of unused contacts, normally open, momentary contact, you can use them.
(I have heard words to the effect that some cars have such spare contacts on
one of othe steering column control "stalks", this I cannot verify or deny -
YMMV).
Parts:
In addition the the transmitter(s) to be modified, for each unit to be
modified you will need:\
a) One momentary contact "push-On" switch. You can finde something suitable
at Radio Shack, and electronic surplus store, or best option - get a switch
(prefereably from a wrecking yard) that will fit a spare/unused cut out in the
dash. For example on E28s there is a fader on one side of the dash, and on
the other side is a cut out not used. If you can only get a switch that is
"push on - push off" ( like the a/c or emergency flasher switches) it is
possible to disassemble the switch and remove the small part that makes it
latch.
b) A miniature earphone plug and jack set. Get the smallest available.
Radio Shack is a good source. I think there are two basic sizes, the larger
size has a plug with a shaft diameter of around 1/8" and is a common size for
headphones. You want the one that is smaller than that. The reason is that
space in the transmitter housing is usually at a premium. You don't need a
"stereo" or 3 connector plug, all you will need is the two wire version.
c) Some small gauge, stranded wire for hook up. Around 22 to 24 gauge will
do.
Procedure:
Caution: Make sure no one and nothing is in the way of your garage door. It
will cycle during this proceedure when you test things and perhaps other times
when you are working on the modifications/installation.
1) Take the battery out and find a way to open the transmitter's housing
without destroying it.
2) Locate the switch on the printed circuit board inside the transmitter
housing that is activated when you push the button on the housing to open or
close the door. Examine it carefully to locate the contacts that are closed
when you push the button.
3) Find a location in the housing where you can drill/file a hole to mount
the jack. and make the appropriate hole. Don't mount the jack in the hole
yet.
4) Prepare 2 lengths of wire to connect the switch contacts to the jack
contacts. Make them long enought to reach taking into account how you may
have to route them to get from the switch to the mounting location of the
jack. Length isn't critical but don't leave too much slack that will be hard
to control when you are re-assembling the housing.
5) The jack will have 3 places to attach wires. Insert the plug into the
jack and see which 2 of the 3 terminals on the jack make contact with the tip
and shaft of the plug. Solder the two wires to those contacts. Connect the
other ends of the wires to the two switch terminals on the printed circuit
board located in 2) above. The idea is that the two wires on the jack are in
parallel with the two terminals on the switch. Which wire goes to which
switch terminal doesn't matter.
6) Prepare the switch that you will mount on your dash. Do this by soldering
the terminals on this switch to the wires that will connect to the terminals
of the plug. The length of the wires depends on where you locate the switch
and transmitter. It helps to twist the two lengths of wire together so that
the become a "twisted pair". Be aware that as you twist the two wires
together, the overall length of the wires will "shorten" - cut yourself a
little slack, literally! Likewise, solder the free ends of the wire to the
terminals on the plug.
7) Now is a good time to check for any solder bridges and or shorts.
Reconnect the battery to the transmitter and test to see if it will actuate
your door opener. When satisfied, remove the transmitter battery, install
the jack in the housing, re assemble the housing but do not yet reinstall the
battery.
8) Install the swtich in the dash and route the wire to the location where
you want to locate the transmitter. Insert the plug into the transmitter
jack, reinstall the transmitter battery, and stash the transmitter.
9) The new location you have choosen for your transmitter may adversely
affect the distance from the garage that it will trigger the opener, but at
the very least, it should still work from your driveway. Do a "road test!"
From: Brian Robinson
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 20:07:46 -0700 (PDT)
For all who are interested in having the convenience of garage door
opening on their left-hand sterring column stalk (high beam activated)...
read on:
The following is a copy of the post that I sent out to all who requested
it a couple of weeks ago. I noticed several people asking about it. I
never posted the entire procedure to the list so if anyone has any
questions send them to me directly at brobinso@uofport.edu.
Good Luck
BR
The wiring should begin as I outlined before on the BMW list with the
purchase of an extra garage door opener. Remove the case because you will
locate the electronic pc board without the casing (usually it will be
easier to find space for the board itself without the bulky casing).
Take this opener apart and locate the contacts that the button on the remote
closes when you push it. These are the contacts that you will need to
solder your two remote wires to. Once you have figured this out set it aside.
The next step is to begin your wiring for the relay itself. On a standard
Bosch 5 pin relay there are the following terminals.
30 This will be one of the wires from the remote
87a This will be one of the wires from the remote
87 This will be unused
85 This will be grounded to the body of the car
86 This will be a lead that transmits power only when the high beams
are active (this triggers the relay to connect 87a and 30)
There is a mini diagram on the relay usually.
The next step is a decision: Do you want to keep all of the wiring inside
the car, or are you comfortable running the relay wiring into the engine bay?
Engine Bay: you will need to run the two remote wires through the
fire wall and up to the fuse panel area. In this area you can ground the
relay (Terminal 85) to the strut tower, or battery ground strap, etc....
Once grounded you can attach the relay to the car (either screw it down
or strap it with a tie strap)
At this point I would run a short lead (fused for about 2 or 3 amps) from
the high beam headlight wire, or from the wiring under the fuse panel
(you can remove the cover with a couple of nuts, then locate the high beam
wire that is only hot when the High beams are on). Attach this wire to
terminal 86.
Inside the car: you will need to do everything as above however attach
the relay under the dash with a tie strap. Ground terminal 85 to the body
of the car with a self tapping screw and short lead. Connect terminal 86
to the wire under the dash that supplies power to the high beam relay in
the fuse box, be sure and fuse it at about 2 to 3 amps. I dont know what
color it is in any particular car, consult a manual or probe with a
circuit tester the bundle that goes to the steering column controls.
Final step: Connect the two wires from your garage door opener to the
terminals marked 87a and 30. It dosen't matter which ones go to which
terminal.
Test it: If it works locate the remote opener close to where you would
like to hide it and test it again. I recommend the headliner area by the
sunroof access panel. If you have a manual sunroof, or can't fit your
particular opener up there find some place else. You can also put in a
water tight plastic box under the hood. Silicone all of the holes where
wires go into the box, leave a way to access the battery to change it.
When you are sure it will work where you want to hide it run the wires
and button up the car.
PS Some have inquired what the consequences would be to driving with
the high beams on. I don't use my high beams for driving, I use my
driving lights, and fog lamps. Obviously it would cause your relay to
operate your opener continuously, and eventually run down the battery.
This would be a hassle to change the battery all the time, so... if you
do use your high beams frequently you would simply have to add a 12volt
to 9volt converter to the contacts on the remote opener to supply it with
constant power from the car instead of it's own battery
Find it at Radio Shack, usually it will have a
cigarette plug on one end and leads with a barrel plug on the other.
Solder the two leads, make sure you pay attention to + and -, to the
cigarette plug *or* cut the plug off, and run it to the contacts on your
remote opener, solder to the opener contacts that the 9volt battery
connects to. Radio Shack also will sell you contacts that will let you
plug your new 9volt supply into the contacts on the opener without having
to solder or cut them off.
Good Luck,
BR
7.5.10: Adjusting Headlights
Here's what I found in a German manual for the E30s and it probably applies to
the E36 as well.
1. Park the car 5 meters back from a wall.
2. Draw a horizontal line on the wall 5 cm below the height of the center of
the headlight unit.
3. Mark X's on the line which are as far apart as the centers of the
headlights are apart on your car.
4. Adjust the height of the beam so that the flat part of the pattern lines
with the horizontal line (i.e. 5 cm drop for 5 meters forward distance).
5. Adjust the lateral aim so that the "kink" occurs at the X's.
The fog light beam should drop 10 cm in 5 meters.
7.5.11: Sunroof adjustment
From: GToyama@aol.com
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 1995 14:03:32 -0400
The mechanism inside the motor assembly has reduction gearing and limit
switches which "count" the rotations necessary to tip the panel up and stop,
and to slide it back and stop, of course with a stop in the closed position.
Apparently the motor and roof panel are out-of-sync. The easiest way to
remedy this is to "bump" the motor until the roof is in the closed position,
unbolt the assembly until it's free of the cables, then cycle it with the
buttons to the middle, or closed, position. Reinstall the assembly.
Of course, this is the way it's supposed to work. Doug, I don't know why
yours would work ok for a week before screwing up, unless the switches inside
the motor assembly were somehow getting wrong signals. Quite possibly the
gears are slipping on the cables. (Never had the door thing happen, but now
that I've said that...)
BTW, for anyone whose sunroof motor's clutch is slipping, ie, the motor
runs but the panel doesn't, it's adjustable. Under (above?) the sunroof
motor access panel is a large hex nut with a small allen screw in the middle.
Hold the allen screw still, while turning the nut to tighten the clutch.
Don't overtighten it, or you may burn out the motor if the roof panel jams
or reaches its limit of travel before the motor does. This procedure does
*not* require removing the motor.
Good Luck, and Happy Bimmerin'!
Gary
7.5.12: Interior light delay
(NOTE: On most models starting in the mid-late '80s, the interior
lights were designed to stay on after you closed the door so you
could find your keys, etc. Here are some comments on how it should
work)
Drivers door handle should turn on lite .. does it?
Lock the car and lift the handle .. do the lights light inside ??
Second test .. lites come on when door opens, but go right off when
door is closed ?? with car OFF ??
If this is so, and lites also come on with passenger door ... then
the delay unit may be dead ..
NOTE: somewhere between 87 and 89 they switched things such that the
delay ONLY occurs from the drivers door handle (outside) ..
If this is the case, and your lite delay is nicht gut ..
the switch in the door handle may be dead ..
Remove the left kick panel, and behind the left speaker, should be a
relay-like device ... with a relay type connector ..
Rd/Bk -- Power, hot at all times
Gn/Wt -- ON with key on .. off when key in START
Br/Gn -- Ground when drivers door lifted ...
If doors are closed, with unit disconnected ..
LItes should come on if Br/Vi and Br are connected ..
If there IS a Br/Yl wire .. it should be ground with drivers door open
<<<< (by Matt Graham: msg@dr.att.com)
If you lift up the door handle only part way, the light will go
out as soon as you close the door. Lifting the handle all the way
enables the delay.
7.5.13: Removing Steering Wheels with SRS (Airbag)
From: Peter Rhim <0006877381@mcimail.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 96 13:45 EST
On June 14, fastestM5 wrote about removing the steering wheel to get at
the dash module:
>...Steering wheel removal is easier, but then you need to find a
>MODIC man to reset your SRS.
To everyone out there with SRS-laden BMWs, there is a way to remove your
steering wheel without having to pay the MODIC man $$$ to reset your SRS light.
I posted this about a month ago...
I removed my airbag-clad steering wheel on my 90 E34 to fix a problem I had with
my horn. Removal is a simple procedure and not dangerous.
NOTE: Make sure you have your radio code before performing the following
procedure because your radio will go into 'anti-theft' mode when battery is
disconnected and you will have to enter the code before the radio will work
again.
Step 1: Unhook negative battery cable. This removes any possibility of
the airbag deploying or messing up the SRS system as people have
recently reported on the list.
Step 2: On the back of the center part of the steering wheel, there are
four allen wrench screws. Unscrew these (the screws will not come
out - they are part of the airbag contraption) and the entire center
part of the steering wheel (airbag) will come off. You will have to
disconnect (just pull the connector off) the airbag trigger wire from
the center part of the airbag contraption to remove it completely.
Now the steering wheel looks exactly like a non-airbag steering wheel with the
big nut holding the steering wheel on. Unscrew the nut and the steering wheel
pulls straight off. Installation is reverse... Re-connect the negative battery
cable *last* after you are . Good luck. Std disclaimers apply...it worked for
me.
Regards,
Pete
90 5er
6877381@mcimail.com
7.6: Misc
7.6.1: Redline MTL
(NOTE: While most digesters really swear by MTL (Manual Trans Lube)
to improve shifter smoothness, especially in cold weather, there may
be a problem. This has since been reported by several other
digesters:)
From: prreitz@amp.com (Paul R. Reitz)
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 08:39:43 -0400
Dear netters;
Dewspite all the wonderful things about MTL, I've one question...
I've been experiencing repeated failure of the backup light switch in an
'82 528E. The backup light bulbs are standard P25-1 (equiv. 1156). A new
switch lasts for maybe one month.
At first I attributed the failure to a bad batch of inferior aftermarket
switches. But repeated failure with switches from different sources,
including BMW OE parts, suggest re-evaluation.
(Destructive) disassembly of failed switches reveals normal slight
discoloration of the contact, but no pitting, etc. Minimal cleaning
restores low contact resistance, but the switch cannot be reassembled. :(
Is it possible that the Redline MTL in the gearbox is creating a
sufficiently non-conductive film that it permeates the rubber membrane,
coats the contact, and creates the failure? Has anyone else, using MTL or
not, experienced this?
Please reply directly, as I get only about 1 of 3 digests on average. I'll
summarize responses for the list. Thanks!
- -Paul Reitz, BMW CCA #1167
(prreitz@amp.com)
[2002, 733, 528e, 325iX]
7.6.2: Power steering noise
From: bthongsa@students.uiuc.edu
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 21:59:03 -0500 (CDT)
One thing that is often overlooked when the power steering pump starts
making groaning noises on BMWs equipped with the hydraulic brake
booster is the power steering fluid filter. Often, this filter
plugs up after 120-150K miles. It's a strange plastic-like material,
and is located at the bottom of the fluid reservoir. Drain the fluid
out of the reservoir (remove the hose at the bottom), remove the clips
holding the screen in, and you'll see the filter hiding at the bottom
under a large plate that is also clipped on. Removal and installation
is a straightforward procedure.
Hope this helps,
Ben
7.6.3: Seat Repair
From: "Harvey Chao"
Date: 3 Jul 1995 18:17:21 -0700
I replaced my driver's side seat pan this week end because of multiple broken
springs.
SPECIFIC CAR: '83 528e (applies to others)
PROBLEM: Broken springs in the driver's seat pan.
First found a broken spring in the right rear corner, tied it back down, then
a year or so later had a broken spring in the left rear corner, tied it back
down, then last week I found a broken spring at the left front edge and
decided to stop kludging around.
DEALER SOLUTION: Replacement seat assembly or sub components. Not attempted.
Didn't even ask.
PARTS DEPARTMENT SOLUTION: It is possible to buy a replacement seat pan.
Left and right front seat pans are interchangeable. Price: $300. !!!!
That's for the spring frame only. Pad and or cover or complete seat are
extra. Not even talking labor.
MY SOLUTION: Chased down a seat from a wrecking yard. Gambled that any seat
pan from any E28 regardless of year would do (specifically, at least what I
wound up with did). Then had to locate a wrecking yard that would sell me a
single seat, most wanted to sell a pair. What I wanted was the right front
passenger seat, on the assumption that regardless of year, it would be less
worn (fewer sit on it, get up from it cycles) than the driver's side. I found
a right front seat from an '87 for $115. This did not include the seat's base
(the part that bolts directly to the floor pan that has the adjustments for
fore/aft, up/down, etc. that I didn't need any way and would have been
motorized and my '83's is manual.
Since the old seat was a black vinyl (and not in good shape plus being filthy)
and my interior is gray?or beige vinyl, I decided to strip down the
replacement seat and only use the donor seat pan spring frame assembly.
STRIP DOWN DONOR SEAT:
1) If attached, remove the base from the seat. (4 10mm bolts).
2) Remove the plastic skirt. This is fastened by two "push in plastic pins.
3) Removed plastic trim pieces over the hinge mechanisms at the junction of
the back and seat pan, left and right sides. A single Phillips head screw
secures each piece.
4) Separate seat pan from seat back. The seat pan is attached to the hinge on
each side by a 13 mm bolt at the back (this has a patch of "Locktite" on it so
it comes out somewhat stiffly), and via a circlip on a tube that goes through
the bottom(seat pan) part of each hinge. Before you can remove the circlip,
there is (at least on manual seats) a lever shaped piece that attaches to the
tube and links it to a pin that is part of the lever mechanism that you use to
adjust seat back angle. This piece is a "snap" fit into the tube, and can be
pried or knocked out with a hammer and screwdriver and minimal to modest
effort. When you get it out, notice that the shaft of this piece that goes
into the tube has two "flats" on it so that it's orientation in the tube is
"indexed" (i.e. it rotates with the tube and transmits torque). Once you have
this piece out, you can remove the circlip. It is possible by removing these
3 pieces on each side (13mm bolt, lever that fits into tube, and circlip) to
separate the seat bottom from the seat back.
Notice that when you remove the left and right levers that fit into the
protruding tubes, there is a handlebar shaped tube that goes across the bottom
of the seat pan. Note it's orientation for future reference and the fact the
inside of the ends of the tube are keyed to match the flats on the lever
pieces that go into the ends of it.
If you have trouble removing the seat pan from the seat back at this time, you
can completely remove the hinges from the seat back by remove the two very
large Phillips head screws that fasten each hinge piece to the seat back.
Once this has been done, you should be able to then remove the hinge pieces
from the seat pan.
5) Removal of fabric and padding from seat pan. The fabric is stretched
across the padding and frame and anchored in place by a series of pointed
"fingers" around the perimeter of the seat pan frame. You can either just
stretch the fabric enough to free if from these fingers, one at a time, or you
can use pliers to bend each finger about 180 degrees to release the fabric.
Once the fabric is release all around the perimeter, roll it back up (and
"inside out") until the fold is even with the edge of the top of the seat's
surface.
Before you proceed further: There are two wire stiffeners that run front to
back under the fabric. In addition, there are 3 tape tabs that anchor the
seat fabric about 2/3 of the way back from the front edge. All of these are
anchored to the horse hair seat pad with wire upholstery rings. These rings
are simply pieces of about 16 gauge steel wire that are formed/crimped into a
circular ring, about 1/4" in diameter. Probably the best tools to use on
these rings is a pair of pliers to hold the ring while you pull with needle
nose pliers.
IF at this point YOU ATTEMPT TO JUST PULL THE FABRIC OFF the seat frame, YOU
WILL RIP OUT THESE ANCHOR POINTS. If you don't want to reuse the fabric, no
problem, but when you do this to your old seat and intend to re-use the
fabric, I recommend you practice with the "donor" seat on removing the
attaching rings.
Remove the anchor rings, there are about 5 on each of the two wire stiffeners,
and one on each of the plastic tabs. This should now free the fabric from the
padding and it can be peeled off.
Inspect the original padding. At this point, it was clear that the donor
padding was in much better condition than my original padding, so I left the
padding on the donor seat frame. ( The original pad was breaking down,
evidence of this is copious amounts of green colored dust (matching the color
of the pad and the general loss of firmness and shape of the pad) If you want
to remove it, the padding is attached to the springs on the underside of the
seat pan with 3 or 4 attachment rings. Once you remove these, the padding can
be removed from the seat pan frame.
PREPARE YOU ORIGINAL SEAT: Strip your original seat the same way as the donor
seat, being careful not to damage the fabric, especially when you separate it
from the padding by cutting or bending the upholstery rings open.
REASSEMBLY: Ever heard this one before, "Reassembly is the reverse of
disassembly" Reassemble the donor seat pan, padding and fabric from you old
seat. A good replacement for upholstery clips are pieces of heavy (16 gauge)
steel wire about 5 to 6 inches long bent into the shape of a hair pin. Slide
the replacement wires through the fabric that covers the wire stiffeners and
over the stiffener wire and then down through the horsehair pad. Twist the
two ends together on the other side. Use the same technique to anchor the 3
tabs in the center rear of the seat pad. Since these wires will be longer
than necessary, find some that poke through the pad near a spring and twist it
to the spring to anchor the fabric and pad to the seat pan. Stretch the
fabric down over the sides of the seat pan and try to use the original holes
in the fabric on the anchoring fingers.
REATTACHMENT OF THE SEAT PAN TO THE HINGE/SEAT BACK. If you did not separate
the hinges from the seat back on disassembly, and you have trouble getting the
end of the tube through the matching hole so that you can re-attach the
circlip, removal of the hinge from the seat back will allow alignment.
Position the tube that goes under the seat pan in it's original orientation
across the bottom of the seat pan, and re-install the levers in the ends of
the tube ( remember that they are "keyed" so that the slot in the lever
engages the pin the seat back adjustment mechanism. If you position them
properly, a light tap with a hammer will seat them nicely. Re install the
plastic skirt on the outside bottom edge of the seat, re install the plastic
covers over the hinges on each side, bolt the seat base back on to the seat
pan, re-install the seat.
7.6.4: Shipping wheels for repair
From: Brian_Foster_at_ASTISHR@ccmailsmtp.ast.com
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 94 19:20:04 PST
Here is the combined wisdom:
1) Ship VIA UPS "Surface" [Brown] depending upon time desired to ship:
Brown usually results in 7-10 days cross country, 2-3 days if within a
state or two away.
2) Packaging:
a) Cut open large cardboard boxes and lay them flat.
b) Take each tire/wheel & lay it on top of the flattened cardboard
and trace around the tire receiving a circle the same size as
the tire.
c) Cut out eight of these cardboard circles and put one the front
and back of each tire/wheel leaving only the tread visible.
d) Run shipping tape from one side across the tread and onto the
cardboard on the other side like stagecoach wheels (or a star)
with the next strip about 4" from the last strip.
e) Note that there is now a nice big area for address information
(make sure the address is on on the cardboard before you tape it
up :) )
Both
Tire Rack and
Wheel Warehouse
were very helpful with information.
Either ships two wheels packaged together at a time to save handling
costs.
7.6.5: Transmission filling trick
From: "Shane Callaghan"
Date: Fri, 28 Jul 1995 20:28:52 +0000
Mike wrote:
>filter yet. Also, anyone have a suggestion for a little pump that can fill
>the gear box and differential with oil. I could let the dealer do this, but
>they charge $60/hr in labor, whcih is more than I make! I figure I might as
>well do as much as I can, and then let them check over the car for 1/2 an hour
>or so. Much better than spaening $350 +. Any ideas would be appreciated.
>
You can get small hand siphon pumps that work reasonably well, but
try this for the transmission oil (credit to Trey Cobb from the RX-7
list): get about 4' of 1/2" heater hose, pass it through the engine
compartment, and put the end into the fill hole from underneath (you
may have to taper the end to get a good fit). They you can stand
comfortably and pour the oil in the hose. I haven't tried this on the
BMW yet, but it worked great on the RX-7. The RX-7 has a separate
check hole, though, so you don't end up with a hose full of oil. You
could try cutting a small hole in the top of the end inserted in the
fill hole, so oil would drip when the transmission was full - just
watch for drips when you get close to capacity, or use a clear hose
so you can watch the level.