Little Orange Box on Wheel Wells in Engine Compartment

[Bangalorre]

I'm a newbie. My teenage sons and I just bought an E30 to restore - black '90 325i. We bought the Bentleys manual and have been cruising lots of forms. We've spent lots of time in and around the car and making a very long list of things to fix. Our initial focus is on making the car safe with a good running engine. We are very excited by our new project!

We are stumped by two little orange boxes near the front wheel wells in the engine compartment. They are about 1.5 inch cubes. The one on the driver side seems to have gone bad as it is losing something that looks like black glass. I'm sure it's bad but don't know what that thing is and haven't seen any photos that would help identify it. Any ideas what it is and what type of issues it may cause by being bad?

Thanks in advance! Mike

[Sputnik]

Yeah, thats for the Airbag srs system.
Chances are the system is no-good. Majority of e30's airbags are non-operational anyways.

[Bangalorre]

Thanks for quick reply! I guess that explains the SRS warning light. If I replaced that item is it likely the system would still not work? Not that I want a 25 year airbag blowing up in my face :)

[Ether-D]

It likely won't fix it. I replaced my check panel (the one with the SRS warning light) with one from a non-airbag car. Also, with 13 and 16 year old sons, you're gonna need another e30...

[UlrichFennec]

It likely won't fix it. I replaced my check panel with one from a non-airbag car. Also, with 13 and 16 year old sons, you're gonna need another e30...

Good thing there's plenty of them to go around! Pull an Oprah.

"You get an E30! You get an E30! EVERYONE GETS AN E30!"

[Sputnik]

My suggestion is not to fuck with it and replace your steering wherl for a non-airbag equivalent.
You can remove the entire srs, but in my opinion its not necessary.
Yeah prepare for your front yard, garage, and backyard to be invaded by bmws in various states of disrepair. You just introduced you kids to a horrendous addiction, HAVE FUN!

[Nick_S]

I removed my whole SRS system when I put my momo wheel in. Sensors, computer, wiring, everything. I don't necessarily trust 25 year old german explosives going off in my face.

[getouth]

^^This!

[mybimr]

LOL, I've fallen into this trap too...both daughters (16 & 20) now have e30's as their first cars. in addition to my cabrio and my '89IS. And yes, now they are addicted and think everything else drives like crap. But I told them that they would likely have to get rid of their e30's if they move out of town since I won't be there to maintain them!

[mikerob97]

I removed my whole SRS system when I put my momo wheel in. Sensors, computer, wiring, everything. I don't necessarily trust 25 year old german explosives going off in my face.

I also removed the complete SRS system, steering wheel, wiring harness, sensors, computer, etc.

[Bangalorre]

Thanks for the messages! We are having a great time so far. We are in the process of restoring the BBS basketweave rims. A previous owner did an awful job spraying them matte black. We soda blasted them naked and then repainted with Wurth silver and clear. We went through the entire process with one and it looks awesome! We will finish the rest this weekend and then get some new tires.