All these problems yet all I keep hearing is "how is it to drive"?? lol If only the tach was hooked up, then I'd love to try to get it near redline... I'm too chicken despite the rev limiter being there. I estimate I've gotten pretty close though. It must be an OCD thing. I had the sound of revlimiter. Now I just have to find the 3-pin connector for the tach in the glovebox. Everyone tells me it's there but I'm looking and I just can't find it...
Tach is hooked up. I tried getting the fuel economy gauge to work , but it still doesn't work; it constantly displays 5mpg and stays there. It does swing from left to right upon startup, but then nothing, just stays on the "fun" side of the gauge. The pinouts I used: from pin 24 of the x20 connector, I ran a wire to the 3-prong connector in the glovebox, to the green wire. I believe that is the wire for the fuel consumption gauge. I then looked it up online and have found something to do with a converter required to make that gauge work properly. This is the first I've heard about a "converter" being necessary; does anyone have any input on this?
mebbe this'll help, mebbe not - http://www.rmeuropean.com/bmw-e30-m50-swap.aspx This sounds expensive, but it is a custom-tailored plug-n-play solution, you need to find what wire(s) you need from where to to to what - http://www.treehouseracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=32 http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=147862
As I said, it is already wired up but it still isn't working. Based on the information on the 'net, it is wired up to the correct pins.
Which means it either isn't wired correctly, isn't connected at all, or is wired correctly but is not getting the correct signal, voltage, or input. All of which means getting to what pinouts are what, what type of signal is output from where, what input the fuel economy gauge needs to work, on which wires, etc. etc. The downside to free information is that sometimes you get what you pay for, nothin' + nothin' = nothin'. I wish I had more insight for ya - keep searching, maybe PM Paul or anyone else here with specific e30 swap experience. The flip side is, if you don't get that working, at least it's the most meaningless indicator in the cluster. If Pete McHenry is listed as a tech rep in the Roundel, he might have an answer for you, I think he was into E30 M50/S50 swaps very early on.
You paid a shop to do the work correct? Take it back and tell them to fix it. Period. IIRC Pete is no longer with us. I took the easy route and got a THR harness, I HATE, I mean HATE dealing with electrical problems.
It was an individual. Not only that, but he's 2 hours away, so I don't know if I really want to drive that far, pay about $23 in tolls round-trip + gas, just to get a fuel economy gauge working, which would all be at my cost just to get there. This is why I'm trying to fix it myself. Only reason I didn't get one was because he already had a harness made, and it was one proven to work as he had it in another car before mine. That saved me mucho dinero. Did your gauge work with the THR adapter? At some point, I need to get this coolant gauge to work as well. I wanted to do it the cleanest way possible, which I'm told is to tap the head for the E30 coolant temp sensor (or is it sender?). I know some people have done it in the radiator and all that good stuff, but until I see an image of what they did, it's just a thought with no mental image to map it to.
Wait, you paid for the swap and didn't get a working coolant sensor gauge? You went S50 correct? There should be two coolant sensors (both located in the head, it's M52 and S52 cars that only have one), one for the DME (Blue) and one for the cluster (brown). You can can't use the E36 cluster sensor because it's grounded differently than the E30 one. If the correct sensor is in the head, AND the harness adapter is correct, you should have a working coolant gauge. On my S52, I used the Zionsville Manifold adapter, its a small aluminum manifold that the cluster temp sensor screws into, then is put inline with the throttle body coolant circuit. I used mine to connect the hose coming out of the head to the spider hose and bypassed the throttle body.
I don't have the correct sensor in the head. That's the cause of my coolant gauge problem. I think this is the one you're referring to: http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/store/screen/prod/store_code/6134/product_code/OBDITSM.htm It says it's for OBD-II to OBD-I conversion. Mine is already OBD-I... can it still be used?
Not necessary for you, just put the correct sensor in the head, and if the harness adapter is correct you will have a working gauge. Although you'll probably need to pull the intake manifold to change that sensor.
Ahhh, that's right. You could just leave the incorrect temp sensor plugged into the head, then use the Zionsville manifold with correct sensor and plug the harness into it. If you're crafty, you could get away with not having to remove the intake manifold as well. That's probably what I would do.
Ah, you sir are a genius. Can't believe I haven't thought of that. Why would removing the intake manifold be a hassle as you describe it? I haven't done it yet but I'm sure I can manage it...
It's really not that big a deal, just a bit of PITA if you are by yourself. 4 bolts to remove the throttle body, few bolts holding on the few rail, 7 nuts holding on the intake manifold.
Didn't think it was difficult. By the way, do I need an E30 coolant temperature sensor or sender? I've seen both terminologies, at one point even when trying to order the correct part and both were listed. Do you have a part # for the correct unit I need so I don't get all these sensors mixed up? I would use the one off my M20, but that's 2 hours away...
the ti doesn't have a fuel economy gauge either, when people do 6-cyl. swaps on them the fuel gauge doesn't work either, I think some people have managed to get them to work but most people just leave them alone
Right before I got off of the phone with B, he did say that driving the S50 powered E30 was boring. This is a true story btw. All I gotta say is....lol wot?
