How did your guages work with the new engine?

[uflnuceng]

Hey...

I wanted to bring specific attention to this question so I am posting it outside of my M30 swap thread.

I know people have varying problems with the stock guages on their M30 swaps. Chris at CR's BMW Wholesale doesn't have a working tachometer or engine temp guage.

My tach works fine, but my engine temp guage doesn't seem to register anything. I can tell that it gets a current cos the needle jumps up when the engine starts, but it doesn't register any temperature. I bet its a wire that I have to switch at the plug but I don't know which one.

Im thinking Im also having issues with my tstat opening which I am going to work on. I think it may be a bunch of air pockets in the engine or the tstat is dead. Im thinking of just going with a restrictor plate as opposed to a tstat since I don't have this hooked up to the heater core either.

Anyway... let me know if you guys have any insight.

[gstuning]

Re: How did your guages work with the new engine?

Hey...

I wanted to bring specific attention to this question so I am posting it outside of my M30 swap thread.

I know people have varying problems with the stock guages on their M30 swaps. Chris at CR's BMW Wholesale doesn't have a working tachometer or engine temp guage.

My tach works fine, but my engine temp guage doesn't seem to register anything. I can tell that it gets a current cos the needle jumps up when the engine starts, but it doesn't register any temperature. I bet its a wire that I have to switch at the plug but I don't know which one.

Im thinking Im also having issues with my tstat opening which I am going to work on. I think it may be a bunch of air pockets in the engine or the tstat is dead. Im thinking of just going with a restrictor plate as opposed to a tstat since I don't have this hooked up to the heater core either.

Anyway... let me know if you guys have any insight.

your tach signal is normally #9(black)
should be black on the engine side as well,
you also need to swap out the coolant temp sensor on the engine for a E30 one, so the signal matches the gauge,

[uflnuceng]

Oh!!!!! Don't I feel kinda silly on that one. I'll take a look at the parts catalog and see if I can find the right sensor.

My tach works fine, but Im sure that will help others who's doesn't. Any known combos that cause the tach not to work?

[rs4pro3]

all my guages work pefectly, I used the e30 temp senders, and with both fuel injection setups I've had on the m30 the tach works perfect.

[uflnuceng]

Im ordering the E30 M20 senders now:-) Looks like both units are completely different parts as far as the signals they send out. Interesting.

[rs4pro3]

ya I'm running many many e30 sensors on my m30 :)
See e30 325i
ICV, TPS, oil pressure, engine temp, coolant temp, crank sensor. And I think a few others.

[uflnuceng]

TPS?

[rs4pro3]

throttle position switch, on the side of the Throttle body. Tells the ECU when the throttle is closed and at WOT

[uflnuceng]

Any reason why you would want to change that? Isn't it being handled entirely inside the ECU?

I think I just need to swap out the engine temp sender units. That should get me with all working guages till I can get my own VDO setup later.

[rs4pro3]

most of the 1.3 motronic m30's use a round 6-pin TPS(automatic only) instead of having to do wiring the e30 one works just fine. I didn't have the m30 one so figured I'd give the m20 one a try and it works perfect.
ya just swap the sender and you'll be good to go(assuming your wiring is good between the engine and the chassis)

[uflnuceng]

Oh, so the TPS is only found on automatic engines? That's good to know.

[rs4pro3]

no the auto engines got a different TPS, all the m30's have TPS's the Auto one is a variable unit and is harder to wire in to work if ussing the engine harness from a manual car.

[uflnuceng]

I see... I'll pass that little nugget a long in my writeup if that is ok with you. I may ask you to proof read it, if you don't mind, to make sure that it is ok since my entire drivetrain came out of a 5-speed e34 535i. My wiring issues were seriously nil. Now that I know what was wrong with my radiator guage the only warning lights I will have are my brake lining (I haven't installed those sensors yet) and my ABS warning light (I am looking for the correct front ABS sensors to solder onto the E30 2 wire sensor).

[rs4pro3]

no problem.

[Operator62]

While we're on the subject. I've got a few concerns myself. I've got the wiring harness, computer, and motor from an '89 735i automatic. It's all going into an '84 318i. One big problem is the fact that there is no big round plug on the '84. Anyone got any ideas for that, other than robbing the plug from another car and then splicing wires on the car onto the plug? Also, how will the sensors and TPS work in my car since I'm going to be using a manual tranny? Seems to me that the TPS won't matter as it just won't have anywhere to send the signal, but it shouldn't affect how the motor actually runs, right? Sorry to hijack the thread, but I felt it was relevant. :P