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**JeLani** · 10-05-2015, 08:58 PM

Looked forward also to buying

Alt belt
motronics 1.3 ecu if i dont have it already
New afm because of the rich ass idle, there wasnt an adjuster bolt thing on there so it just idled at whatever pace it wanted to.

I also bought a valve cover gasket and intake gaskets ( it has a leak )
It chokes revving sometimes but after idling a while it wont.

**2mAn** · 10-05-2015, 10:04 PM

It definitely sounds like it has a drain on the battery is a major problem, theres problem more, but at least start there so you can drive the car (sort of haha). check your grounds. any brown wire that isnt bolted down to something is probably causing a problem. Not sure which ecu is the right one, but I want to say its a 173 (# thats on the label on the ecu itself). ECU is in the glovebox on the upper part hiding behind some plastic cover....

Are you good with a voltage tester? and also, do you have a Bentley Manual???

edit: who are "they" who did the head swap?

post pics, sometimes our eagle eyes can spot stuff

**e30onBBSs** · 10-05-2015, 10:30 PM

All of my problems.input please

^ what he said. This doesn't seem like a problem where new parts are needed. Start with your symptoms, then work your way to the conclusion. If you get a multimeter and get the EVIDENCE then start buying parts. Definitely check your grounds, a parasitic draw will drain any new battery. Get yourself familiar with a multimeter and get numbers and basically make a case against the car. "On this day it had 12.7 volts at the battery" "the next day it randomly had 12.6... Etc". It is most likely a parasitic draw, which means something is drawing current when it shouldn't be and is therefore using your battery up. I would get it started to make sure your alt is up to par, then smack the battery on a charger to see how much voltage it loses when it's fully charged. Definitely check ground wires. They are all over the place, under the dash, in the bay, on the pan etc.

The dash lights dimming means your battery is shitting itself and doesn't have enough power to start , so that's what you need to find. What is making that shit drain?!

**JeLani** · 10-05-2015, 11:11 PM

Thanks guys, but what are the red and blue connections to the alt? Are they grounds?

**Dirty325ix** · 10-05-2015, 11:18 PM

Red wire goes to the starter and the battery
Blue goes to ignition
I am probably missing a few things but I think that the main stuff

**JeLani** · 10-05-2015, 11:19 PM

Originally posted by 2mAn View Post

It definitely sounds like it has a drain on the battery is a major problem, theres problem more, but at least start there so you can drive the car (sort of haha). check your grounds. any brown wire that isnt bolted down to something is probably causing a problem. Not sure which ecu is the right one, but I want to say its a 173 (# thats on the label on the ecu itself). ECU is in the glovebox on the upper part hiding behind some plastic cover....

Are you good with a voltage tester? and also, do you have a Bentley Manual???

edit: who are "they" who did the head swap?

post pics, sometimes our eagle eyes can spot stuff

I will post pics , and a 'mechanic' , did , which is what i was told when i asked why the f*ck my coolant reservoir hose is running on top of the valve cover and under the intake manifold ( not good , very obvious ) . It was pinched, i'll post pics. The PO had it done. He acts really cheap although he owns an e30 m3 , and like 6 other E30's , and decided a head swap alone would make a $500 car worth 2500 that i an 18 yr old kid getting into this world would think is a good idea. But anyways i'll post pics.. Not used to using this site for pics.

**JeLani** · 10-05-2015, 11:22 PM

Originally posted by 2mAn View Post

It definitely sounds like it has a drain on the battery is a major problem, theres problem more, but at least start there so you can drive the car (sort of haha). check your grounds. any brown wire that isnt bolted down to something is probably causing a problem. Not sure which ecu is the right one, but I want to say its a 173 (# thats on the label on the ecu itself). ECU is in the glovebox on the upper part hiding behind some plastic cover....

Are you good with a voltage tester? and also, do you have a Bentley Manual???

edit: who are "they" who did the head swap?

post pics, sometimes our eagle eyes can spot stuff

Im supposed to have a 1.3 ecu along with everything comes with it ( manifold , maf i think , and whatever.

**stonea** · 10-05-2015, 11:22 PM

Originally posted by JeLani View Post

Thanks guys, but what are the red and blue connections to the alt? Are they grounds?

The Blue is D+ and is your number 12 pin in your C101 connector, the red one is B+ and it goes to the starter.

**2mAn** · 10-06-2015, 08:48 AM

...but do you have a Bentley yet?... My friend is selling his and I could send it along with the new o2 if you decide you still need it

**JeLani** · 10-06-2015, 11:10 AM

Originally posted by 2mAn View Post

...but do you have a Bentley yet?... My friend is selling his and I could send it along with the new o2 if you decide you still need it

How much? I have the pdf. Are there different versions of the manual?

**BavarianCult** · 10-06-2015, 03:13 PM

Had the same issue with my 1990 325i, i replaced my alt. belt because it was shredded like no other and now the car starts right up. I'd say it is your alt/alt belt because the car is running off of the battery only and the alternator isn't helping at all. That's why your battery is getting drained. So check the connections on the back of your alternator.

**101** · 10-06-2015, 05:04 PM

Definitely low voltage when trying to start the car.

Start at the battery. Make sure the cables are clean and snug and the ground cable is in good condition and clean where it attaches to the body of the car.

Move to the engine compartment. There is a positive battery cable junction on the firewall of the passenger side. move the plastic cover aside and make sure those connections are clean and tight.

Next stop is the starter. There are two large cables that attach to the starter (as well as two smaller ones) Are those clean and tight?

Finally, double check your alternator belt tension and connections. And nearby you'll see the main engine to chassis ground. Same thing - is it in good condition and tight where it attaches to the engine and the body?

Once you've gone through the primary cables as above, then the components are next. Since you've already replaced the alternator and battery, you COULD have a starter that is on its way out. But eliminate everything else first as a starter change is not the easiest job on an M20 engine. AutoZone or O'Reilly's can run a charging system test on the car and identify issues with the battery and alternator.

Do you have a custom stereo, amplifier or aftermarket alarm system on the car? These could be a source of battery drain if they are not wired correctly.

Other obvious things to check would be the trunk light and glove box light. If their switches are not working or adjusted properly, guess what stays on all the time?

One of my cars had an issue with the instrument cluster SI board that would drain the main battery over a few days. Is yours working properly?

As far as your engine, your pictures do show an "I" intake manifold and the proper looking components. To determine which Motronic version you have, you'll have to look at the label on the ECU. It resides under a plastic cover over the glove box. Two screws and two plastic clips hold that cover on. Report back on the number and color of the label.

Your cooling system is a hybrid! The coolant overflow tank is for the early model cars(which yours is), but the radiator is from a later model. I'd have to see a picture of the water pump and front of the engine to decide if the rest is correct for an early or late model car. The later models use a coolant overflow tank on the driver's side of the engine and a "spider" hose. It looks like someone just tried to cheap out and attach the hose across the engine to the earlier model overflow tank. Is there any issue with engine overheating and does the interior heater work correctly? It might be perfectly fine but it sure looks odd.

Welcome to E30 land!

**JeLani** · 10-06-2015, 05:34 PM

I'll post more photos asap, yes. As i stated above , the PO has an e30 m3 , alpina , mtech vert , and like 2 others and is really cheap , i doubt i have anything really new except for the head. No i dont have an aftermarket stereo or antitheft. I have the old cluster which the PO , ( as you already know , is cheap ) , didnt have the 7k one installed probably so i can do it and spend my money. And also the coolant hose used to be pinched under the manifold but i moved it , i overheated once but that was because the radiator being so close to the wall prohibited me from putting the hose and clamping it after changing the coolant.