Installing the temp sensor if fairly easy.
Begin by gaining access to under the front of the car. You will be spending a bit of time under the front spoiler, so please use jack stands – and do your self a favor and grab some safety glasses, they will keep things out of your eyes!
The wiring for the temp sensor will drop down from the fender area near the driver’s side front fog lamp. Once you are under the car you will be looking for your stock sensor, or the stock plug and wiring.
The factory plug (on late models) is a two pin round plug. You should be able to slip the plastic sleeve off of the plug a bit to peak at the wire colors. If you still have a stock temp sensor (I’ve never seen an e30 with one!), you should be able to identify it easily.
The wiring that goes to the temp sensor is one BROWN wire, and one BLUE wire.
They may be part of a second set of wires that go to your OBC horn. Yes, the OBC has it’s own horn – on my car it was located up high in that area, protected by a plate. The wires for the OBC horn are red/white and brown/yellow if I recall correctly. We only need to tap into the BLUE and the BROWN wires.
Once you’ve identified the wires or plug, you are ready to begin. The easiest way to install it is to simply cut off the plug and use the included quick connects. Slide the wire into the quick connect and use a pair of pliers to crimp the metal tab into the connector. Then flip the plastic cover to lock the unit in place.
The preferred method of installing it is to solder the wires, and using heat shrink tubing to seal against water. It is a not required to solder the wires, and you will get a very good connection with the quick connectors. If you do not seal the wires from water, you might get slightly high reading during a very heavy rain if the wires get wet – other wise there is no danger. It’s a low voltage signal.
I recommend that before installing the sensor you do a quick check to make sure you have the right wires – and that there is not a short or break in the stock wiring.
After you cut off the stock plug your OBC should read very low (–22 degrees F.) If you connect the two stock wires together, your OBC should read a very high value (+122 degrees F.) If you don’t get a high value, you may have a break in the wiring. If your OBC constanly reads 122 – then you have a short in the blue wire going to ground. When the wires drop down from the fender, they make a sharp bend. If your OBC doesn’t read +122 when you connect the wires, this is the most like cause. Please contact me and I can help you with a fix.
Physically mounting the sensor. You do not need to mount the sensor as the factory did. In my testing, I found that I got the same readings no matter where I placed the sensor, as long as it’s not behind the radiator. I’ve included a grommet if you wish to install it into the break duct. Simply drill a 3/8” hole, install the grommet, and then install the sensor into it. You can wrap the sensor in tape if you want a bit of a snugger fit.
Begin by gaining access to under the front of the car. You will be spending a bit of time under the front spoiler, so please use jack stands – and do your self a favor and grab some safety glasses, they will keep things out of your eyes!
The wiring for the temp sensor will drop down from the fender area near the driver’s side front fog lamp. Once you are under the car you will be looking for your stock sensor, or the stock plug and wiring.
The factory plug (on late models) is a two pin round plug. You should be able to slip the plastic sleeve off of the plug a bit to peak at the wire colors. If you still have a stock temp sensor (I’ve never seen an e30 with one!), you should be able to identify it easily.
The wiring that goes to the temp sensor is one BROWN wire, and one BLUE wire.
They may be part of a second set of wires that go to your OBC horn. Yes, the OBC has it’s own horn – on my car it was located up high in that area, protected by a plate. The wires for the OBC horn are red/white and brown/yellow if I recall correctly. We only need to tap into the BLUE and the BROWN wires.
Once you’ve identified the wires or plug, you are ready to begin. The easiest way to install it is to simply cut off the plug and use the included quick connects. Slide the wire into the quick connect and use a pair of pliers to crimp the metal tab into the connector. Then flip the plastic cover to lock the unit in place.
The preferred method of installing it is to solder the wires, and using heat shrink tubing to seal against water. It is a not required to solder the wires, and you will get a very good connection with the quick connectors. If you do not seal the wires from water, you might get slightly high reading during a very heavy rain if the wires get wet – other wise there is no danger. It’s a low voltage signal.
I recommend that before installing the sensor you do a quick check to make sure you have the right wires – and that there is not a short or break in the stock wiring.
After you cut off the stock plug your OBC should read very low (–22 degrees F.) If you connect the two stock wires together, your OBC should read a very high value (+122 degrees F.) If you don’t get a high value, you may have a break in the wiring. If your OBC constanly reads 122 – then you have a short in the blue wire going to ground. When the wires drop down from the fender, they make a sharp bend. If your OBC doesn’t read +122 when you connect the wires, this is the most like cause. Please contact me and I can help you with a fix.
Physically mounting the sensor. You do not need to mount the sensor as the factory did. In my testing, I found that I got the same readings no matter where I placed the sensor, as long as it’s not behind the radiator. I’ve included a grommet if you wish to install it into the break duct. Simply drill a 3/8” hole, install the grommet, and then install the sensor into it. You can wrap the sensor in tape if you want a bit of a snugger fit.
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