Wiring help please..

[JGood]

The only reliable way to do your pinouts is to use the ETK.

Don't trust anybody else, do it yourself and triple check it.

Everyone said the x20's are the same too. I don't trust that either, obviously...

He's right, but you really need to look at the schematics. It's the only way to do this. It tells you EVERYTHING you need to know and then some.

Half the charts floating around on this forum that you see when you search for wiring info are wrong.

I get the impression that there are so many harness variables that the only way to do it properly is pin out your own harness for you model and year.

That would be a reasonable conclusion...

[TurboFox93]

Anyone know off the top of your head the cost of doing it properly;including price of tools?

[White325is]

That would be a reasonable conclusion...

I have been searching and doing it myself but I dont know the year the harness came from. so thats why I posted the wire color for the pins on my harness to see if someone might know or be able to help me. only thing I know is that its from an automatic e36.

Not a hard question to answer if someone has done it all the time...

[JGood]

I have been searching and doing it myself but I dont know the year the harness came from. so thats why I posted the wire color for the pins on my harness to see if someone might know or be able to help me. only thing I know is that its from an automatic e36.

Not a hard question to answer if someone has done it all the time...

Open the diagrams in the link I have posted. Started checking wire colors vs. yours. When you find a wire color that doesn't match yours, move on to the next year. It's a vanos harness, so it can only be a 93, 94 or 95, right?

If none match up with your colors, then trace the wires that don't match up (continuity check with a multimeter). Since the diagrams show not only colors, but where they come from and where they go as well, then you will know if the color is relevant for you or not. If it says a blue wire is coming from the alternator and going to pin 25, and you have a red wire going from the alternator to pin 25, then wire color is irrelevant.

Or use somebody else's info. That's what I did. They posted a chart, same model/engine/year as mine. Said it worked for them for months. What happened? My harness melted because it was wrong.

[asubimmer]

So is there no such thing as a "universal harness" for these swaps. I get the impression that there are so many harness variables that the only way to do it properly is pin out your own harness for you model and year.

its really not that bad at all. I took the harness out of my 91' 318is swap and put it in my buddies 87' 325is swapped car. Although I did have to remove one of the wires from the original setup and change it. But they are VERY close to one another...

[Spaz]

its really not that bad at all. I took the harness out of my 91' 318is swap and put it in my buddies 87' 325is swapped car. Although I did have to remove one of the wires from the original setup and change it. But they are VERY close to one another...

All those harness's you see for sale are "universal" they give the body/engine what it needs to run and thats about it. Some might have the oil level sender wires, some don't, Some might wire up the ABS for late cars, some don't.

Just spend some time with the pin out charts and wiring diagrams and you'll figure it out.

-Cam