Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: 525iT E34 Touring

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Mentor, Ohio
    Posts
    12
    My Cars
    1994 BMW 530iT

    525iT E34 Touring

    This is the first BMW I ever owned. I bought it way back in December of 2016 and payed $1200 for it and the condition definitely reflected that.

    Attachment 624909
    It has served me well over the past year and a few months. i have taken it on many trips including bimmerfest east. Unfortunately, i did not get around to doing anything to it until now. There is a lot wrong with this touring and information on these things is hard to find sometimes or it is inconsistent so i decided to do my own write up to add to the confusion . Also, "Finally, E34 Touring" is a great read if you like E34 Tourings or you are looking for inspiration. Anyway, nothing works on the tailgate (wiring), the suspension rides like a Buick, audio system is failing (lots of crackles and bangs), steering has a lot of play, interior is falling apart, the dual sunroof doesn't work and leaks (shocker), and bumper sags because the passenger side fender was hit. I am sure there is more wrong but those are the major things that i plan on addressing here shortly. On a positive note i did the brakes as soon as i got it and it stops almost as good as my ZHP.

    Tailgate Wiring (drivers side): Okay, so down to business. My spring break was this week so i finally had a lot of time to get some good work in. I got frustrated with having to crawl through the back of the car to manually open the trunk so i decided to start with the tailgate wiring. I looked up the wiring harness on FCPEuro (great site for parts) and saw that for one side it was going to be $350 ($700) total so i decided to make my own harness and do it myself. I ended up deciding to cut the harness inside of the tailgate and then again in the car by the spare tire and splice them together using disconnects. I'm hoping this makes it easier to repair in the future if i have to. It took me a five different visits to stores in the area to finally find some automotive wire at Napa. I got white 20 gauge for the signal wires and green 18 gauge for ground (BMW uses Brown for Ground). i got the disconnects from Lowes. For the life of me i could not figure out how to open the glass on the tailgate manually so i took it apart until it opened
    IMG_5821.jpg
    IMG_5859.jpg
    I made one white wire for every wire that was ran and labeled it as i went so when i went to connect them i knew which wire was which. BMW color codes every wire differently so don't worry about knowing which wire from the top of the tailgate connects to the bottom. There is only one possible option. BMW wire nuts all of the commons together and then runs two down the side of the car which then turns into one so i decided to leave those together and also run only two wires. there are two other wires that exit at the hinge of the tailgate. those are used for the defrost and i am still working on fixing those
    This is what it looked like when i was finished installing my makeshift harness
    IMG_5867.jpgIMG_5875.jpg
    I didn't tuck it in yet because i am still troubleshooting although i suspect all the electrical bits are shot.
    I closed the tailgate and started testing my handiwork. the brakes worked (only thing that worked before) but nothing else worked. So i pulled the actuator for the trunk and ran twelve volts to it. the thing jittered in place. i have a 540 auto parts car so i pulled the actuator from that to verify my testing method worked and that actuator moved back and forth nicely. Unfortunately the part is not the same as the touring part so i looked up the part online and it has been discontinued but i found one on Ebay for $50. I will update on how this part goes when it arrives and i install it. While i was repairing my tailgate i also decided to remove the hitch that came with the car. it was held on by 5 bolts going through sheet metal lolololol

    I am currently working on the headliner (hopefully a suede non headliner fabric) and finding a fender. I am also hoping with in the next month or so to fix the steering and suspension so stay tuned

  2. #2
    moroza's Avatar
    moroza is offline MORΩN ΛABIA BMW CCA Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    BFE
    Posts
    11,090
    My Cars
    E34T
    Good idea with the disconnects, but I'd've used much shorter sections near the hinge, not a whole harness that has to be snaked through grommets and such. Also, all white? Prepare for confusion!

    If you're using a thicker and less stretchy material than normal headliner stuff, you're going to need stronger glue than normal headliner adhesive. I tried some half dozen different glues and had best results with Loctite Heavy Duty.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Mentor, Ohio
    Posts
    12
    My Cars
    1994 BMW 530iT
    I knew all white was going to be confusing which is why i labeled them as i went (i also used a meter to check for continuity). From there the wires are the same color code inside the tailgate as they are in the car so it is just a matching game.

    As for the headliner, i appreciate the suggestion i will probably end up doing that

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    NW suburban Chicago
    Posts
    16,302
    My Cars
    hiss by my window
    Nice that you effectively fixed your car but the next guy to work in this area will be cursing you. No need for the spade connectors (adding six mechanical connections to each indistinguishable wire) and there is no place ever for wire nuts in an automobile.

    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

  5. #5
    moroza's Avatar
    moroza is offline MORΩN ΛABIA BMW CCA Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    BFE
    Posts
    11,090
    My Cars
    E34T
    Oh I didn't see the wire nuts. Agreed with Ross - get that crap outta there and replace with solder and heatshrink.

Similar Threads

  1. E34 WTB e34 Touring 530iT or 525iT (MANUAL PREFERRED!!)
    By miroxz in forum 5 series & 6 series
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 04-18-2012, 11:59 PM
  2. FS: 92 525iT e34 Touring! Needs some love or parts car. $1200
    By e28Jay in forum Pacific Northwest - US
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 03-18-2011, 09:18 PM
  3. E34 92 525iT e34 Touring! Needs some love or parts car. $1200
    By e28Jay in forum 5 series & 6 series
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 03-16-2011, 11:39 AM
  4. E34 FS: 1995 E34 Touring 525iT White / Parchment
    By tandemracer in forum E34 Classifieds (closing soon)
    Replies: 23
    Last Post: 02-03-2011, 04:20 PM
  5. [B] NEED TO BUY A TOURING 525iT e34 on EAST COAST !
    By miroxz in forum BMW Cars For Sale / Wanted
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 02-03-2007, 11:28 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •