Transmission Harness Swap Issue

[MElliottHolcman]

Greetings,

I have a 1991 E31 and am in the process of swapping the transmission harness (#5 in the diagram below).

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...17#12531732562

I was not able to find the proper harness for my car so I instead ordered the next part # in sucession.

Proper Part Number (for my exact VIN) - 12531724699 ENDED

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/partsearch?id=EG23-USA-10-1990-E31-BMW-850Ci&diagId=24_0617&q=12531724699

The One I Ordered - 12531732562

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/part...&q=12531732562

The two harnesses (the old one on my car and the new one I ordered) look almost exactly the same except for one pin in one of the connectors (see attached picture).

image3.jpg

In the picture above, you can see that the White Connector and the Clear one below it have what appears to be one pin moved. The White connector on the top is the one that is in the car now (part #12531724699). The Clear one below it, is the one that is on the new harness I ordered (Part # 12531732562). As you can see, in the White (old) connector, there is a pin missing in the second slot from the Left on the top row. And in the Clear (new) connector, there is a pin missing in the last slot on the Right on the top row.

I am trying to determine if I can safely move the second pin from the top left slot over to the last slot on the top right (in the new/Clear connector).

I found the following two documents however, I cannot tell for sure what each pin in each of the two connectors (the old one and the new one) are for so I cannot confirm that the pin in question is for the same purpose and therefore, can be safely moved.

http://www.armchair.mb.ca/~dave/BMW/e31/e31_91.pdf

http://www.armchair.mb.ca/~dave/BMW/e31/e31_92.pdf

Can any of you please tell me if I can safely swap the pin and/or if there are any other resources I can check to find out?

Thanks, in advance, for your time.

Elliott

[TxGR8White]

You need to ping it. See what the other end looks like and see if those pins match. If the pins in the pic, correlate to the same pin location on the other end, then you would need to relocate the pin in the plug.

[BMSman]

You will need a special tool to remove those inserts or you can try making one as I have from thin shim stock wrapped around a suitable size drill bit. Alternatively you could cut apart your old connector to retrieve the insert and push it into the new connector shell.

I would buz the wires in the new and old harness comparing them to the schematic in the electrical manual. This harness does not look that complicated so this should be easy. Make any necessary changes so old and new are the same. I'd also plug each of new connectors into their mates just to be certain the keying is identical.

What is wrong with your old harness that could not be repaired?

[Timm]

All the information including the pin numbers can be found in the circuit diagram - to make things easier - tell us what the white connector plugs into!

[MElliottHolcman]

Timm,

That's a great question. Unfortunately, I cannot tell what teh White connector plugs into. if anyone can tell me, that would be great.

Thanks,
Elliott

- - - Updated - - -

TxGR8White,
Thank you for your comment. It makes a lot of sense and I will try this.

[MElliottHolcman]

Timm,

Is there a diagram that tells you what each pin in each connector is for? The ones I found are not that detailed.

Thanks,
Elliott