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Thread: 1989 535i - Sword repair

  1. #1
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    1989 535i - Sword repair

    Just bought another 89 535 and I'm in the process of baselining it. I started from the front of the car where I fixed a boatload of stuff and have finally reached the cabin and the heating system. I tested the blower when I took delivery of the car from the shipper and it worked fine in all speeds. Then today I tested it and it was working just fine for all of 3 minutes and then it cut out in all speeds except high speed. I figured it was the classic sword transistor problem like my other e34 so I pulled it and checked it out.

    I found two problem areas where the solder joints had broken.



    The circle in the top left corner is where the connector attaches to the sword. It had broken solder joints so I re-flowed those joints.
    The right circle shows 3 of the 4 joints also broken. They belong to these two components.



    Anyone know what they are? The look power hungry to me.

    The fix was to remove lacquer paint on that part of the board. I thought of scraping it of with a sharp knife but chose my dremel with a wire brush instead. That worked great.

    Joints re-flowed,



    Blower works in all speeds again. Yeah.

    cheers.
    demet

  2. #2
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    That are 2* 0,47µF in the Behr sword. For example WIMA 0,47 uF , WIMA MKP10 Series Film Capacitors http://www.mouser.com/WIMA/Film-Capa...Z9x371Z1z0yla4

    I have some more pics here
    http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/136145/
    http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/355700
    http://www.e32-schrauber.de/bmw/s-heizschwert.htm
    Shogun tricks and tips for the E32 series are HERE!

  3. #3
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    That lacquer paint is conformal coating, be careful with the dremel removing it, you don't want to pull off any traces.

    Go ahead and bite. Plenty for everyone.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by shogun View Post
    That are 2* 0,47µF in the Behr sword. For example WIMA 0,47 uF , WIMA MKP10 Series Film Capacitors http://www.mouser.com/WIMA/Film-Capa...Z9x371Z1z0yla4

    I have some more pics here
    http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/136145/
    http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/355700
    http://www.e32-schrauber.de/bmw/s-heizschwert.htm
    Thanks shogun. Any reason the solder joints on those two components would fail? I checked my other car and the same joints on that one are failing also.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Binjammin View Post
    That lacquer paint is conformal coating, be careful with the dremel removing it, you don't want to pull off any traces.
    Is there anything that can dissolve this stuff? It would be great if I could just spray some stuff on that coating and then rinse it away.
    demet

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    Quote Originally Posted by demetk View Post
    Thanks shogun. Any reason the solder joints on those two components would fail? I checked my other car and the same joints on that one are failing also.

    - - - Updated - - -



    Is there anything that can dissolve this stuff? It would be great if I could just spray some stuff on that coating and then rinse it away.
    Depending on what it is, alcohol or acetone would be the go-to to start off. Use a q-tip on a section of the board that isn't populated and see if it softens up.

    Go ahead and bite. Plenty for everyone.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Binjammin View Post
    Depending on what it is, alcohol or acetone would be the go-to to start off. Use a q-tip on a section of the board that isn't populated and see if it softens up.
    I will try that. Thanks Bin.
    demet

  7. #7
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    rubbing alcohol works. heat cycling due to the current will eventually break connections. similar to bending a wire back and forth repeatedly. You can buy a spray can of conformal coating at any electonics supplier to recoat (I use digikey or mouser).

    I went through this with my 89 sword, replace a bunch of components, plugged it in and watched the smoke pour. (I'm a hack at soldering) nothing like the smell of burning components.

    ended up simply buying a rebuilt one from programma...

  8. #8
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    fwiw, ive had a programa rebuild smoke a bit when new... well newly refreshed.

    scared the crap out of me with all the stories we've all heard of e34 burning up. sitting in traffic and the defrost vents started smoking.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tre0Tre34 View Post
    fwiw, ive had a programa rebuild smoke a bit when new... well newly refreshed.

    scared the crap out of me with all the stories we've all heard of e34 burning up. sitting in traffic and the defrost vents started smoking.
    Ironically that's probably the conformal coating overspray heating up.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by zubbie View Post
    Ironically that's probably the conformal coating overspray heating up.
    If it gets hot enough to burn off conformal coat, that's bad and should be sent back anyway.

    Go ahead and bite. Plenty for everyone.

  11. #11
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    Pics of said car?

    I need to hop on this too.. as I have no speeds and some times high speed with enough bang to the console
    2016 640i Coupe'
    1990 Bmw 535i Turbo 600whp

    1999 740iL: Sold
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    1988 535i: Crashed and Parted
    1988 528e: Crashed and parted
    IG- @Rogetta_Stone

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by E38740iMD View Post
    Pics of said car?

    I need to hop on this too.. as I have no speeds and some times high speed with enough bang to the console
    Here's a couple. It's from CA, black on black with great paint. Paid $950 to get it shipped back to CT. Totally worth it to get a nice rust free car and if you live in the NE you know what I mean.





    Nice seats. Max likes them too.



    Someone was playing bumper cars with it and the front and rear bumpers are cracked so they need either repair or replacement.

    demet

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    Was waiting for pics of that thing to show up, car looks sweet!

    Go ahead and bite. Plenty for everyone.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Binjammin View Post
    Was waiting for pics of that thing to show up, car looks sweet!
    Quite right Ben. It would be nice to drive a rust free e34 with good paint for a while but sadly, it's not for me. It's for my daughter to replace her very reliable 86 528e that she's had for 8 years. Her only gripe with me is me finding cars for her that are older than she is.
    demet

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    Quote Originally Posted by demetk View Post
    Quite right Ben. It would be nice to drive a rust free e34 with good paint for a while but sadly, it's not for me. It's for my daughter to replace her very reliable 86 528e that she's had for 8 years. Her only gripe with me is me finding cars for her that are older than she is.
    What's wrong with the e28?

    Go ahead and bite. Plenty for everyone.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Binjammin View Post
    What's wrong with the e28?
    Not that much. It has some rust that I haven't removed yet. Engine is pretty good but the HG seeps a little oil. Heating and a/c work. It's an auto so it's a slug.

    After the body rust at the lower fenders was repaired I replaced the fenders and I painted the fenders and hood. That's all I had time for this summer and my daughter only cares about what's in front of her. So she's happy.

    demet

  17. #17
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    and thats a good looking E28

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by demetk View Post
    Not that much. It has some rust that I haven't removed yet. Engine is pretty good but the HG seeps a little oil. Heating and a/c work. It's an auto so it's a slug.

    After the body rust at the lower fenders was repaired I replaced the fenders and I painted the fenders and hood. That's all I had time for this summer and my daughter only cares about what's in front of her. So she's happy.

    Where did you get the lower fender rust repaired?

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by chuddism View Post
    Where did you get the lower fender rust repaired?
    At demet's garage, where else? The fenders I threw out because they were rusted out beyond the point of no return. The front body rust I patched myself using sheet metal and simple tack welds. I think a lot of the rust in that area came as a result of the sunroof drains draining into the rocker panels over so many years. The sunroof drainage system is such a poor design.

    The rust.



    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by struka View Post
    and thats a good looking E28
    Thanks. It's only good looking from the front unfortunately.
    demet

  20. #20
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    Looks just like my rockers. I wish you had pics of the hoses you routed into the wheel wells.
    Demetk's garage needs to do some paid work for members of the public!
    Last edited by shogun; 06-02-2022 at 09:46 PM.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by chuddism View Post
    Looks just like my rockers. I wish you had pics of the hoses you routed into the wheel wells.
    Demetk's garage needs to do some paid work for members of the public!
    The rockers are the hardest to repair unfortunately because the floor pan attaches to the rocker panel. Usually that seam is rusted away so you need to rebuild it in some way. The professional way would be to rebuild the seam with sheet metal, but I like to use angle iron because it can be used to quickly bridge the eventual gap that remains after you cut out the rust and the seam. Some tack welds later and you have an edge you can build off of.

    I spend just a couple of hours on this (and it shows ), notice the angle iron i used.





    It's certainly not going to win any body shop awards but it will do. I hate rust but if you need an little bit of help, let me know.

    For the drain tubes, I did this on my e23 but the e34 should be similar. I extended the drain tubes through the rockers by drilling a 3/4" hole at the bottom of the rocker and used 1/2" copper pipe as my extension because the drain tube fits perfectly snug in the pipe. You can access the drain tube from the speaker well. Pull it out, stick it into the copper tube and shove it through the hole you drilled. Finish the hole with some zinc primer and some undercoating and you're done.
    demet

  22. #22
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    Looks good to me. Significantly better than the rust. I'm taking it into a shop in a few days. Let's see what they hit me with. I may just have to have you give me some lessons so I can diy.

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