My '87 325 - Nörm

[superj]

that's odd. maybe its just a fluke from sitting and will work itself out

[128keaton]

that's odd. maybe its just a fluke from sitting and will work itself out

It’s been driven regularly for the past week. Been a fine daily! Today was the first real little fluke. Seemed to run fine when I drove back from work today. Not sure what was up.


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[ZeroDarkE30]

Question, connected to my front fan right behind the grille there was a resistor that was cut out and replaced with like 5 resistors put in parallel by the PO. Did you have to replace that at all or know a part number?

[tomstin]

Is item #14 what you're looking for? Controls the high and low speed on the fan.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=17_0073

[128keaton]

Question, connected to my front fan right behind the grille there was a resistor that was cut out and replaced with like 5 resistors put in parallel by the PO. Did you have to replace that at all or know a part number?

I have no idea, I'm sorry!

[128keaton]

I finally properly tapped the C104 into the engine harness at the glovebox, instead of running a wire from the C101 in the engine bay:
.
Thought it looked pretty stock, considering I re-wrapped it with adhesive cloth I purchased. Non-destructive tap, just clips onto the right wires.


I have a couple more wires in the glovebox I am unsure about. First one being a loom that comes off the ECU harness:



Another coming from the body side, which I believe is to send A/C idle up




And these guys, pretty sure red/blue is for the glovebox light

[superj]

the last one is the lights. the single wire, not sure. it might have to do with the cruise or 13 button obc. I feel like the top one is something related to the factory diagnostic stuff

[128keaton]

the last one is the lights. the single wire, not sure. it might have to do with the cruise or 13 button obc. I feel like the top one is something related to the factory diagnostic stuff

The top one had me thinking diagnostics, since the plug/pin layout is very explicit and the harness is designed to be snapped into something.
The lights make sense for that pair. I think the other single one is some sort of A/C idle up signal? Might have to run that one somewhere, will look at wiring diags later.

Another problem, today the car started getting hot. Needle would go to the line right of the middle. I made sure it never got into the red. Keeping revs up would help cool it down. Was originally thinking fan clutch, but I believe there is air getting into the system and I am losing coolant. I checked oil, not milky, so I don't think it is a head gasket, but I looked at my coolant reservoir and noticed the cap isn't sitting right.

It has done this before, but it hasn't been an issue until now. Is there a trick to these? I know it IS aftermarket, it was given to me buy a guy offloading some parts when I bought the engine. I might have the OEM one saved, but I doubt it.


I also noticed what appears to be a small leak at the small outlet hose of the radiator. Hoping its a loose hose clamp, and not a cracked plastic nipple.


If its cracked, I have some JB weld steel stick that works great for stuff like this, hopefully though its just a hose. I need to order a new radiator anyway, this one is pretty old and beat.

[superj]

might just be air

[128keaton]

might just be air

Haha, I figured out that it isn’t a cooling problem, but an electrical problem. If I turn on the headlights or climate control fan, temp gauge freaks. Yay more bad grounds.

I’m now deep in A/C research territory, I’m almost sure that the gray and purple wire on that weird connector above needs to be plugged into the black/purple wire, since the black/purple is definately A/C idle up. I do have a weird connector in the engine bay that I can’t remember what it plugged into, it’s on the body harness:


Going to replace the dryer, both lines, and hopefully that’s all it needs. I have two Bosch compressors, hopefully one or the other works!

EDIT: Yup, if I connect those two lines, the engine idles up when the A/C button is pressed.

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[superj]

cool.

you can take the adapters off the compressor and clean it out. ours had junk in it when we did. then you can run 90% alcohol through the lines and blow it out with the compressor. fill with pag oil and your choice of refrigerant and go

[128keaton]

cool.

you can take the adapters off the compressor and clean it out. ours had junk in it when we did. then you can run 90% alcohol through the lines and blow it out with the compressor. fill with pag oil and your choice of refrigerant and go

Sounds good, I’m really hoping one or the other is fine. Would you happen to know how the clutch lockup operates? I thought that the small connector on that area plugged into the compressor somehow, but it’s not long enough and I cannot find a place to plug it into. There are wires going to what I believe is the low pressure sensor, so maybe that loom goes back to the body? Not sure.


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[superj]

the sensors on the drier are the high low sensors and there is a wire on the back of the compressor clutch that plugs into something, I think a green wire that is near the drier.

[128keaton]

the sensors on the drier are the high low sensors and there is a wire on the back of the compressor clutch that plugs into something, I think a green wire that is near the drier.

Which system are you familiar with? It seems BMW used a few different A/C setups year to year. I am using a Bosch compressor, but I did see some Behr components inside. There is already some wires running to the clutch. I will test later to see if I get 12v at the green line on the clutch when the engine is running/A/C is on. Currently the belt is not hooked up to the compressor, so it’s pretty easy to test.


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[128keaton]

I ordered a new o-ring set, dryer/accumulator, hard/soft lines, and valves for R134a. Already have PAG oil and cans of R134a when I redid my 1993 4Runner's A/C system. Plan to flush out the compressor and all the lines too.

I learned that the weird, funky connector is C131 and C136. C131 seems to be an auto-car thing, and C136 I believe is all A/C + aux fan control related. Since my car is a split year car, theres more confusion. The 1987 BMW electrical troubleshooting manual DOES note this. Instead of the C136 connector being used on the 325, it looks like I am using the C105 connector. So I need to splice that in, no biggie. The EWD is super irritating to look through as the B&W pictures show nothing really other than a "general" location. It looks like the other C136 wire (black/gray) needs to be attached to the low pressure cut-off switch, but no idea where the heck it enters the body, but I should have it (noted as being C105 in the EWD)
Screen Shot 2020-03-27 at 7.59.35 PM.png
(above is the 1987 EWD relevant snippet)


And this is how I know, according to the 1989 e30 EWD:
Screen Shot 2020-03-27 at 8.01.16 PM.png

But then, what tells the ECU to idle up? I was receiving 12v on the black/purple line at the supposed C105 too!

Screen Shot 2020-03-27 at 8.05.50 PM.png

Well, I did look at the early diagrams, and while the colors don't match, the wiring does, so to speak:
Screen Shot 2020-03-27 at 8.10.07 PM.jpg

I'm hoping that all I need to do is simply splice the Black/Violet wire into the Violet/Gray wire and it'll kick on. If not, I might need to splice the Black/Violet into both the Violet/Gray and Black/Gray wire to tell the DME that the A/C can kick on.

[superj]

I dont remember which compressor is which on the car.

And i hope its the one splice, instead of two

[128keaton]

I dont remember which compressor is which on the car.

And i hope its the one splice, instead of two

Same here. The A/c systems between the eta and the I car are very different, so we will see soon.

I received the hardlines, o-rings, and the dryer today.


Ready for this weekend.

I also made a stop at the local dealer that sold the car in 1986 to get a front tag:


I also finished my fog tint. I think it turned out well.


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[superj]

Thats cool that they are still around

[128keaton]

I finally got around to replacing the timing belt tensioner. I went ahead and replaced the belt and the spring too, just because. No more squealing!

[128keaton]

Finally swapped the 027 AFM "properly" and played with the AFM cog a bit. Idles pretty dang smooth, pulls well, but every once in a while I believe it is starved for fuel. Pinging noise, less power, dies at the next hard stop. If I don't floor it in first through second, it is fine. I don't think it is a constant lean running issue, so I'm considering replacing the FPR, considering getting 19lb ford injectors, but I'm worried with 19lb ford fuel injectors, I might be back where I started: running rich all the time.

I did start replacing/flushing A/C system. Seems to be fairly clean! Compressor also felt good.

[superj]

19lb injectors work well with the 027 afm. A chip makes it perfect. I always just used a cheap ebay chip but one of the real chips would probably make it even better

[128keaton]

19lb injectors work well with the 027 afm. A chip makes it perfect. I always just used a cheap ebay chip but one of the real chips would probably make it even better

Noted. I'll be ordering the injectors and a new FPR.

In other news, my E30 now has A/C! After reattaching everything, I hooked up a vacuum pump. Held perfectly! Then, I charged the system. The compressor wouldn't kick on, finally narrowed that down to the Evap Temp Regulator. I'm probably going to replace the Evap Temp Regular + Temp sensor to the temperature switch setup found on earlier models, as my ETR works sporadically. The compressor is also not cycling properly. After running the A/C for a bit, the compressor kicks on and off rapidly, which leads me to believe that the high pressure switch isn't operating well. The compressor ended up being a Denso, which I love. Filled the compressor with 8oz of Ester oil. The system took three cans of R134a. Blows cold though!

[superj]

cool. we did ac on my youngest son's jeep, too. had to replace a line with a leak and clean out and pull vacuum. his worked good, too.


its nice to have ac in the cars.

[128keaton]

I've received the ford injectors (refurbished new $49, might be junk), and I plan to swap tomorrow. In other news, I'm in the middle of an audio overhaul. A friend was just itching to do a complete install, and he had all the components, so we went for it. I managed to fit 6" speakers in all the four interior places just fine. I'd love to source some tweeters for the doors, but thats a future problem. We're running two amps, and a new headunit, right now the interior speakers are just run off the headunit, as we couldn't figure out why the speakers sounded like garbage coming off the amp, but the sub is working and it works well. BMW did a good job on these interiors, there aren't very many rattles to be found.


I love this headunit! Actually matches very well.

[128keaton]

I swapped over injectors today, pulls better, runs better. Still need to "dial" in the AFM and idle mixture, but I really need to get an air/fuel gauge. I've been looking at chips on ebay and notice that most require 91 octane. Not sure how I feel about that. Now, I'm thinking I have a fuel supply issue like FPR. Longer crank, etc. Died once on the way home, hit a spot while accelerating where it fell flat. I know it isn't air now, though haha.