Guys, I remember seeing an article in Roundel,That pertains to replacing the slide in clip that holds the itty-bitty lights that show the e30 computer display. I do not remember the Month of the article, Anyone remember which one it was? I would like to read it carefully before I attempt this surgery? I am having fun rehabilitating my Vert Happy drives all cbinspok
Here's a link that explains how to do it: http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/bmw/bmw-m3-e30/forum.php?postid=1795968 Which OBC do you have? The simple 6-button one or the more complicated one? Mine is the simple 6-button one. For mine, I didn't have to remove all the crap listed in the above link. All I did was pop off the faceplate for the OBC and pull the thing out using the two tabs on each side. The above link may refer to the more complicated 13-or-so button OBC that I don't have, so I can't verify whether you really need to remove all of those parts to take the thing out.
12 - 13 buttons Mine is the multi function with 12-13 buttons, its working as I can see faint readings for the different items, but impossible to read from the drivers seat. I ordered the light clip, I was wondering if I could put in the less complicated display module if it is less problematic, Or would it be a big hassle? I will poke around the road fly site, not familiar with that one, Thanks for the tip! I wish we had a on-line "archive file" search function for our tech-tips out of Roundel available to us members for researching problems cbinspok
The simpler OBC uses a different wiring harness, to my knowledge. I wanted to retrofit mine to the 12-13 button one but after finding out I needed a new wiring harness, I wasn't willing to take everything apart just to have something I won't use all that much. That article will most probably apply to the OBC you've got.
The 'more-functions' OBC is held in place with 4 screws in each corner of the obc, that are impossible to access without removing the radio, the heater/defrost switches mentioned in the roadfly post, and the glove box side panel. Here's some pics I took when I did it - the roadfly procedure is good, I didn't think to loosen up the front panel, I just removed the OBC. The problem w/ pulling the OBC out altogether is you risk dropping & losing the mounting screws when you pull them from the OBC. If you drop those, then you're probably literally screwed, they'll take a whole lot more disassembly to retrieve if you can even find them. Since they're brass, they're not magnetic, either. http://picasaweb.google.com/aduquequax/E30OBCLightChange If you click the first pic to get the full size image, you can see the 4 brass screws, though the screw on the lower left is slightly obscured (that was a pic from an extra heater fascia panel I had w/ the OBC in it) - as the roadfly post says, you don't need to completely pull the heater control panel from the dash. 2nd & 3rd pics show the access to the left-side screws from the front, and the access to the right-side screws with the glovebox side panel removed. The 4th & 5th pics show the right side screws w/ the OBC out, and how I held my fingers to pull the right side screws- the roadfly suggestion to use needle nose pliers to pull them I suspect is to hopefully keep you from dropping them (not a bad idea if you can get access to the screws w/ the pliers). 6th pic is pulling the light bar, and the last pic, I braced the glove box so I wouldn't have to remove it completely, or risk breaking it - I think I had to lean on it to get position w/ the screwdriver, etc, and I think it seemed like dropping the glovebox further to the floor risked springing the hinge or damaging it in some fashion (I know I had a reason for bracing it, but I did this stuff 4 years ago - sometimes the specifics get a little fuzzy). Just don't drop or lose the screws! Good Luck
thanks The Light bar came today, I hope to get to it this weekend,THNKS for your tips, I'll post the out come of this trial. I know I know...do not drop the screws! - but I always drop the screws, steady MAN. Tx cbinspok
A towel makes a good screw catcher. Lay out a face towel directly underneath the computer but over all the wires and stuff that are directly below the computer. The towel will catch 90% of dropped screws. It's also good for wiping tears when the critical screw misses the towel and drops down some awful little crevice. Good luck. I've changed my light module too; a lot of work just to replace a dumb bulb.
Yeah, but you'll need that towel when you find out what the replacement light bar goes for. I was seriously considering offering a rebuild service for, like $10 exchange to relamp them, but I didn't think there was enough call for it. Replacing that once is enough!
