The comprehensive DOHC engine swap thread.

[325Projectz]

i didnt have to.

90' with an ABS steering rack. no spacers. 535i green mounts.

He's talking about the smaller 533 mounts.

[soliver]

i have 2 conflicting wireing diagrams... that ill post right here since there seems to be a lack of info on this on this thred... everyone can debate which of the 2 diagrams is the correct one or maybe a hologation of the 2... so here it is...

e30 plug pin#.... to e36pin#(diagram A).... to e36pin#(diagram B)
1............................25................... .....................................25
2............................16................... .....................................16
3............................NA................... .....................................NA
4............................12................... .....................................12
5............................23................... .....................................23
6............................22................... .....................................22
7............................21................... .....................................21
8............................24................... .....................................24
9............................20................... .....................................20
10..........................10.................... ....................................10
11..........................19.................... ....................................NA
12..........................8..................... .....................................8
13..........................13.................... ....................................13
14..........................14.................... ....................................14
15..........................15.................... ....................................15
16..........................NA.................... ...................................19
17..........................NA.................... ....................................18
18..........................18.................... ....................................NA
19..........................NA.................... ....................................NA
20..........................NA.................... ....................................3

I am working on my harness adapter now also. Diagram A appears to be the AKG diagram with the edits done in this thread on Dec 14, 2004. Diagram B is on addissimo.com. The discrepancy is in E36 pin 18 and 19. On my car (1991 318is) the starter is pin 18. Slot 17 is an empty housing with no contact. So... e36 pin 18 goes to e30 pin 18. e36 pin 19 is still a mystery, but I will leave it out for now and test it later.

I am, however, unsure of the accuracy of the rest of Diagram A. It makes use of e30 pins 2 and 10, which are also empty housings without contacts on my car. Perhaps this is optional equipment my car doesn't have??

My car has the newer m42 engine, and may be different from the m20 plug setups. Perhaps this is why the diagrams are different? I'm not sure, so as easy-e once said, "don't quote me boy, cause I aint said shit."

[DanGillan]

yea, i did 18 to 18, and i didnt use e30 pin 20.

[BeirBrennerE30]

yea, i did 18 to 18, and i didnt use e30 pin 20.

what did you do with e36 pin 19.... and what in yoru car does/doesnt work???

im trying to do an all inclusive writeup on the e30m50 swap and ive been getting very different answers on wiring...

[DanGillan]

i think you'll notice that there is different information everywhere, for a couple reasons, e30 are fucking retarded. different models seem to have slight differences. i have e36 pin 19 hooked up to e30 pin 16. i have not yet started my car so i cant tell you what worked or didnt, i will as soon as i finish up.

[BeirBrennerE30]

i think you'll notice that there is different information everywhere, for a couple reasons, e30 are fucking retarded. different models seem to have slight differences. i have e36 pin 19 hooked up to e30 pin 16. i have not yet started my car so i cant tell you what worked or didnt, i will as soon as i finish up.

i agree with the retardedness.... im in the middle of swap number 2 and it seems to be going completely differently than the first... im trying to do a writeup on the swap and it seems that swapping into an es is completely different than into an is... weirdness...

i originally thought that a generic pin chart would work for all m20s but it turn out no to be the case so im trying to find out what as many people did differently in their own swaps to see what works in what models...

[Jason89i]

i originally thought that a generic pin chart would work for all m20s but it turn out no to be the case so im trying to find out what as many people did differently in their own swaps to see what works in what models...

i have wired a few swaps. they are all different. 86 is different from 88 is different from 89 is different from 90. every wiring diagram out there stinks. grab a $10 voltometer and the wiring diagrams. take your time, understand how the system works and figure out each circuit. make your own chart. DO NOT FOLLOW ANY ONLINE DIAGRAMS from others that dont understand how the systems work. and if you did cheat of someone elses notes, its probabily wrong. cheers, jason

[DanGillan]

^^ what he said

people... use the online info as a resource, but make your own wiring chart. make sure you understand it or when you run into problems as you're finishing the swap, they may be wiring problems, and if you dont understand the wiring, then you will be totally lost when trying to diagnose your problem.

[BeirBrennerE30]

i have wired a few swaps. they are all different. 86 is different from 88 is different from 89 is different from 90. every wiring diagram out there stinks. grab a $10 voltometer and the wiring diagrams. take your time, understand how the system works and figure out each circuit. make your own chart. DO NOT FOLLOW ANY ONLINE DIAGRAMS from others that dont understand how the systems work. and if you did cheat of someone elses notes, its probabily wrong. cheers, jason

welll screw the writeup then... everyman for himself... i should finish my 2nd swap tomorrow s50 325is

[DanGillan]

in the bronzit?

[BeirBrennerE30]

in the bronzit?

my bronzit has had an obd1 s52 in it for a while... well technically it isnt in it anymore as the car is in pieces...

the swap that i was trying to base my writeup on was into a purple(i dont think its a bmw paint code) '90 325is with an s50 in a friends car

[iflytii]

That's a lot of good reading!!!

I'm about to button my swap up tonight and minus the exhaust I think I'll have her ready to start... I have a couple quick questions for you experienced swappers though.

1. the power lead from the distrabution block to the starter - the e36 harness splits with one lead going to the starter and the other lead I think going to the e36 fuse box. I've used my e30 starter wire instead and deleted that from the harness. I couldn't think of anything I would need the second connection for - am I wrong in thinking this?

2. The inspection plug has 2 wires bundled with it. I beleive Ryan said one was the master ground and the other was power, hooked up to the distrabution block. Does this sound correct?

[Jason89i]

1. the power lead from the distrabution block to the starter - the e36 harness splits with one lead going to the starter and the other lead I think going to the e36 fuse box. I've used my e30 starter wire instead and deleted that from the harness. I couldn't think of anything I would need the second connection for - am I wrong in thinking this?

check the wiring diagrams in the bentley. main power block wire on the 36 harness (large red one) splits into two large wires. one to starter, other to alternator. I have seen some harnesses not split. then, power block to starter, large jumper from starter to alternator.

2. The inspection plug has 2 wires bundled with it. I beleive Ryan said one was the master ground and the other was power, hooked up to the distrabution block. Does this sound correct?

color of wires would be helpful.

cheers, jason

[iflytii]

check the wiring diagrams in the bentley. main power block wire on the 36 harness (large red one) splits into two large wires. one to starter, other to alternator. I have seen some harnesses not split. then, power block to starter, large jumper from starter to alternator.

color of wires would be helpful.

cheers, jason

The alt has a loop back to the starter already so I think I am good deleting the extra lead.

The 2 connections in question are a bundle of brown wires (assumed master ground) and a bundle of red wires (obviously power). I've just answered my own question... :-D

[DanGillan]

yes. you can remove the lead that goes the fuse box.

and yes. one main ground and a power, the larger of the 2 wires (has 2 wires inside) is the ground. but check with a meter before you hook anything up.