e34 or e36 engine harness?

[lifeiskaos]

hi, my friend and i are swapping an m50 into his '86 e30. we have most of the parts for the swap, but are unsure about the electronics. should we use the e34 m50 wire harness or e36 harness? which ecu? assume the engine is from an e34. thanks

[318isbmw]

hi, my friend and i are swapping an m50 into his '86 e30. we have most of the parts for the swap, but are unsure about the electronics. should we use the e34 m50 wire harness or e36 harness? which ecu? assume the engine is from an e34. thanks

e36 is best. E34 is about 6 inches shorter so you'll have to make it longer to be able to get the ecu into the glove box or make a case under the engine bay. e36 eliminates that issue and your able to fit it in the glove box in the ecu holder. I would look for a red 413 ecu...

Brendan

[BMWE30iS]

e36 is best. E34 is about 6 inches shorter so you'll have to make it longer to be able to get the ecu into the glove box or make a case under the engine bay. e36 eliminates that issue and your able to fit it in the glove box in the ecu holder. I would look for a red 413 ecu...

Not to make you look dumb man, but i used a e34 harness for my m50 swap and the harness goes into the glove box with no issues and easily reaches.

Dan

[318isbmw]

Not to make you look dumb man, but i used a e34 harness for my m50 swap and the harness goes into the glove box with no issues and easily reaches.

Dan

Interesting, didn't stretch when funk and I tried...
Are you able to mount it in the ecu tray, just curious? Wonder if we were just retarted there. It was midnight...

[evil_twin]

I heard it is shorter, but it's not something that zip ties can't fix.

[lifeiskaos]

alright, well we'll probably just use the e34 harness then. thanks for the replies!

[evil_twin]

Worst comes to worst, you extend the wires, no biggie.

[e30s52]

it is shorter. but thats why god invented zip ties

[yberther]

are you sure about the red label 413? is it a n/vanos engine or ?

should use a seafoam green 402/403/405 for the non vanos right?

[evil_twin]

if you're going to go with an M50 non-vanos engine you will need a 402 Red label ecu. If you are going with an M50 WITH vanos engine you will need a 413 Red label ecu.

If you go with the M50 non-vanos engine, I have a 402 ecu that I need to sell quick.

[yberther]

for my non vanos I just bought a seafoam green 403. I was told this would work...

[Mot]

honestly, e36 IS longer. I have used both and have a e34 harness on my car, sure zipties work, but with the e36 harness you can use the 91 318iS dme holder above the glovebox. With my e34 harness, its a huge pain to use the s14 wiring harness cover in the engine bay and have a clean above glovebox install....

[yberther]

shouldn't be an issue with the treehouse adapter should it?

[lifeiskaos]

if you're going to go with an M50 non-vanos engine you will need a 402 Red label ecu. If you are going with an M50 WITH vanos engine you will need a 413 Red label ecu.

If you go with the M50 non-vanos engine, I have a 402 ecu that I need to sell quick.

got an m50 from a wrecked e34 at the scrap yard today. wire harness was there but no ecu... how much?

[lifeiskaos]

honestly, e36 IS longer. I have used both and have a e34 harness on my car, sure zipties work, but with the e36 harness you can use the 91 318iS dme holder above the glovebox. With my e34 harness, its a huge pain to use the s14 wiring harness cover in the engine bay and have a clean above glovebox install....

damn, we got the e34 harness... figured it would be easier to get everything from an e34 because the oil pan and such was already there, and the harness was in tact. so there's no way the harness will reach the ecu in stock e30 location?