PELICAN PARTS DME MOTRONIC article says...

[Slick92GS-R]

.... my 9/93 E36 M42 DME 0 261 200 990 green label runs on Bosch M1.7, just like a 90/91 E30 318is -- uses a 0 261 200 175

PLEASE PLEASE let me know if my '990' can be tested on an e30 ... anyone ?

i need to know if my DME is good

[colin86325]

I don't think the two can interchange.

[DesktopDave]

I'm not sure about this. I would figure that slightly newer DMEs are compatible. The early E36 motor is identical to the E30 unit - except for mechanical parts like the oil pans and accessory drive. I'd assume that the DMEs are identical or nearly so. I'd assume that some early E36 DMEs will have EWS security.

I'd carefully study the pinouts first...BMW has a tendency to swap pins on various functions. It's not that easy as documentation tends to be pretty slim on DMEs.

Even extremely similar units from the same cars can have considerable differences. I've had quite a few Motronic 1.0 cars, and those DMEs do not swap unless you carry over many matching parts. For instance, particular AFMs are paired with specific DMEs. My '84 745i has an M1.0 that won't swap with anything else - it includes an auto tranny ECU and a knock sensor.

[Slick92GS-R]

after '93, the M42 DME's all got involved with EWS. i've been searching and the last E30 M42 and First E36 M42 run the same version Motronic 1.7. i hear you about the Pinouts..   that's gonna be a struggle to find and compare 

[MLM]

E36 will have a disa connection which has no home in a e30. May be able to defeat it by connecting the solenoid valve.

[Slick92GS-R]

Thanks MLM. I'm hoping really just to test/PnP my DME on an E30 and getting it to start and thereby determining if its good or not