monty23psk

[monty23psk]

Recently did a coolant flush and replaced the radiator drain plug, the inner o-ring had a small flat spot and liked a few drops after a decent drive. Swapped it out plus the two larger upper radiator hoses as it had been over 10 years. Need to prep for the long drive to the Vintage in May.

I also an early birthday gift. Swapped out my modern radio HU to something more period looking for our cars but still bringing the modern touches of Bluetooth and media inputs, the Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46.  Very cool radio with many features. Just getting use to the operation of it. I am still working on calibrating the colors to match. Need to drive it during the day and night to make sure the color is close to OEM. I am also swapping to the HVAC panel bulbs with LEDs as well as the buttons for rear defogger and AC. Very easy todo, just awaiting the right colors to arrive. Will post one after that little project is complete.

[monty23psk]

Finally, the driver door is complete. Fast window action up and down and very solid when I close the door. No rattles and also the outside noise is more diminished than before. I awaited brand new door panel clips from the dealer and more than half are the original white ones from the 1990 build date. They would not seal the holes up and small water would seep through. Here is a quick pick of a portion of the door panel with the newer green clips. I will do the passenger door in June after The Vintage car show. I will move on to fixing the steering rubber coupler and installed the brand new fog lights for my car. My car didn't receive the fog lights from the factory but I know the wiring in the engine bay. Really hope the switch plug receptacle is there. I also have a euro dual fog light switch I will install. The second button is for something I am cooking up.

20210315_235202

[monty23psk]

While rebuilding my HVAC panel to add all the LED bulbs, I noticed that the middle slider light was night shining through. Upon inspection, the fiber optic wire had snapped about halfway from bulb to slider button. I was able to source a very mint panel from a non-AC car, which only has a blank plate where the AC switch goes and the slider mechanism was included. Got lucky with price. This non AC panel also meant that the plastic piece under the AC switch and above the defrost diagram was good as new. My old one has this missing and one I got years ago had a crack. 

I will post pictures as I complete it but while doing that, I swapped out the bulbs with in all the switches with LEDs. The only one I couldn't, the hazard. It uses an internal solder bulb. I have read it can be done but I want to keep it as original to the car. But I did find out the e28 hazard does have the bulb socket and works. Confirmed the pin outs with the ETM as well. The only thing you need to do, saw off a little plastic leg. Replaced the bulb, tested it and all good.

Here are the two switches side by side, front and back. E28 version on the left:




Here is red colored bulb:

[monty23psk]

I am running about 2-3 different projects at once so I want to do another update while I await some parts this week.

Here is a picture of the slider mechanism and you can see the middle black fiber optic cable broken. I got lucky on eBay as I found a non-AC panel from a car in Canada with low mileage. I got the slider mechanism replaced but also came a blank plug for the AC switch. This meant the structure integrity is brand new for the AC switch. I got the whole unit for the price on used HVAC panel in ok condition. Here is the picture of the broken piece.



All the levers are nice and smooth now and even better, all nice and bright with the LEDs. I also cleaned all the clear translucent parts with a optic cleaner and that surely made a difference from 30 years of dust.

I then moved on to my other project, installed factory new fog lights on my car that didn't have that option installed from factory. I knew the fog light switch housing was in in there, I removed all the under steering wheel trim and finally found it behind all the computers tire wrapped. I then added the 2 fuses and using my temp fog switch, pushed the button in and like magic, my green fog light LED turned on. First time isn 30 years this cluster has seen this light, super stocked.




Next will be pics of fixing the fog light wiring in the engine bay plus the lens and the Laminx items I purchased.

[monty23psk]

As I continue to work through the fog light wiring in the engine bay, the watertight insulation has crumbled away, so it just slides through the connector. I bought new tips from BMW, spliced them but solder/butt/heat shrink connector and then added heat shrink tubing on top of it to cover it. I also cleaned the connecters. Here are a few shots of one side which I also did the same exact thing on the other side.




Before and after of connector after a little simple green and toothbrush action:



Final product:

[monty23psk]

With the wiring repair, I started to work on the fog lights and mounting them.

I went with ZKW ones from FCP as I get lifetime warranty and the BMW ones are probably made by ZKW or one of its subsidiaries. Here is the picture of a new crisp lens.



With my car being red, I really like yellow fogs. I had the option to go with yellow bulbs or yellow Lamin-X. I opted for the bulb as I want to use LEDs. Here is the bulb that has about 1000 lumens which is close to a stock halogen bulb. I will still need to see how it looks because the yellow can look a different from the various power levels.



I did purchase the tint color from Lamin-X because with my front headlights having the smoked look. I want it all uniformed. Not sure how that will affect the yellow as well. Good thing, options with bulbs and Lamin-X.

Here are the lens protection I received:


One side applied to allow contrast:


Both sides complete.

[monty23psk]

Got the fogs installed. While I did buy a used fog light switch, I then opted for the dual fog light switch you can get in the Euro models. I decided to use the right side as a kill switch for my antenna. With the new radio, when it powers up, it sends the signal to extend the antenna. With the use of the iPod or BT streaming the majority of the time, I wanted to keep the antenna away from any danger. I got new timer connector to install them in the factory housing and ran the BMW black/red wiring. Worked like a charm. I added an LED amber bulb to the HL housing as well.

Here is the switch:


Here is one of the connecters crimped with a TE connector as I couldn't find the right one from BMW, they were all too large.


Here is the housing with the LED, which old one would power on whenever it wanted to.


Here are a few pics of the fog light install. No issue as valance was great and untouched all these years. Removed the blank plates which I had my sister get them when she owned the car before I got. I will sell them with the clips. Got new BMW hardware to install.





Here is one side installed and then one with the yellow light one. Next is for me to adjust and take some exterior pictures. Also need to see the yellow to make sure it is the color I am looking for and brightness.

[bmwman91]

Nice work, it's always the zillion little details that eat up so much time.

How do you think the middle fiber optic cable broke? That's an item that must be hard to track town or repair!

[monty23psk]

Nice work, it's always the zillion little details that eat up so much time.

How do you think the middle fiber optic cable broke? That's an item that must be hard to track town or repair!

I am thinking the back and forth of the middle slider just wore it out. Since I have had the car, I always open and close it. I know the majority of owners leave it open to the right. The heat can make the plastic jacket more right. I don't how working on radio install can cause this. That is the only time it has been exposed in my car. A cable falling in between and the being yanked broke it. While anything possible I believe age and heat made it prone to the break.

[monty23psk]

I just completed another small project after going to an e30 meet and someone using LED tap in the trunk under the rear shelf to illuminate that area. My e39 had a lens in the middle but I didn't want to cut the metal to make it fit. I want to do something similar and still provide a temporary way to remove if not needed. THe bar is around 12 inches in length. I used the came connector when I added the 2nd trunk lid light and spliced some 22awg wiring in a sleeve following the factory patch. The LED light bar is pushing out some natural white color. Didn't want warm white or the cool blue, as I don't see the blue as functional. The light is very strong but not over powering and best part, it has using magnets in the housing so easy to attach and remove. Light has great reviews being used in RVs and shops due to the magnets. Here are a few pictures of the install.

A few pics:

Added next to factory wiring:


Light bar installed and held up by magnets. Got it at superbrightleds.com


Let there be light. I also like how this now make the color painted and audio system visible. I took this before I ran the wiring to make sure it all worked.

[bmwman91]

Nice idea! I think I need to do this as well. We have similar audio setups, although I have the sub in the middle of the baffle firing into the ski pass hole. Nice and out of the way, mostly.

[monty23psk]

Really makes the trunk useful at night. If you need PNs I used, just let me know.

[monty23psk]

Happy m42club is back. Few updates since site went down:


Haven't updated in a while. My last project was a doozy. I removed my old ABS pump to have ti rebuilt by Jordan. His pictures of my pump really shows how bad things with age get. In the 15 years I have owned it, the brake fluid has been flushed every 2-3 years. After getting the pump installed and everything flush/bled, I can now feel the pump working. I highly recommend this upgrade if you still have the ABS because age, not miles is what the culprit will be.

Old pump removed:


Jordan's pics of the teardown showing some of the low points:



What I call parts porn:


Final product (thanks Jordan!):


ABS plastic cover after some wet sanding, SEM Soap, and then SEM trim paint:


Everything installed:

[monty23psk]

Next project, swap in rubber front floor mats in place of my stock e30 black mats. The mats are NLA so I decided to remove the fronts, clean them and store them. I will use the rubber months for now during the rainy season and only use the carpet ones for shows. I wanted something OE and hear the e82 versions are small enough to be a perfect fit. I order them as they are still under $40 for the front set from BMW. They do come with the anchors to screw into the main carpet and uses velcro to prevent them from sliding. The driver side is a very good fit, almost perfect. The passenger side is just a little too wide at the top so it covers more of the bottom carpet up and to the side of the lower speaker. It really doesn't cover the grill trip just buttons up to it. Here are a few pics and I do recommend them. Weathertech ones looks like it will fit but looks more modern than these IMO.

[bmwman91]

Awesome! I also have a Jordan-rebuilt ABS unit, and damn it is one of the best "upgrades" I have ever done. The stock ABS is really good (when it is actually working)!