Newbie Questions

[danjrusdug]

So I've sorted through some things on my '90 325i. I've still got a few minor issues and was wondering where to start on a few. Here goes:

Antenna is noisy going up & down. Is there a proper way to lube it?

OBC has an erratic display sometimes. Mimics the Matrix's screen.

Speedo is OK, but ODO is not correct. Possibly at 60-70% of correct mileage.

Cruise Control doesn't work. All fuses are OK. Where to look?

Both fog lights don't work. Haven't checked bulbs yet. Is there a relay to check as well?

Where do you get material for the sunroof? Mine is torn on the side.

Anyone ever dye their carpet & door panels with Duplicolor Vinyl paint? Does it look OK? My seats are black but the carpet is tan & stained everywhere.

Thanks in advance!

Doug
'90 325i Zinnobrot
'73 2002tii Atlantik

[JasonC]

I can tell you about the carpet. I did it to mine, and it has held up. Only problem that i've had is on the foot rest and the vinyl mat it is wearing off of those. But a floor mat could cover the little pad on the floor.

[PiercedE30]

ODO not working - gears that drive the numbers are worn down and need to be replaced. Check out Odometergears.com (I believe that is it), you can get a hole set of replacement gears for like 85 bucks.

[danjrusdug]

Jason, did you use a stiff brush on the carpet during the spray? I heard that will help the paint get into the fibers and not create a stiff finish.

PiercedE30, would it not be cheaper to buy a used instrument cluster than rebuild the gears? I know you can buy on for the 2002 for that much. Are they that expensive for the E30s?

Thanks guys.

Looking for responses to the other questions. Anyone else able to help?

[JasonC]

Nope, I just sprayed it and let it dry. Then i went over it with a blunt object to loosen the stiff fibers.

[PiercedE30]

Well, if you buy another used cluster you don't know if the gears will work or not. If you replace the gears, then you are sure they will be good for a LONG time since the guy at OdoGears makes them from delrin (I believe) and aren't going to fuck up. 85 bucks isn't much anyways.

[TwoJ's]

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24276

Try that out if you want to lose the old style antenna.

[echothreezero]

Antenna - use a clear petroleum lubricant like Vaseline.

Cruise control. Gets its speed off the green harness on the back of the Instrument cluster - OBC does too - make sure there are two single-wire plugs coming out from the harness when you pull the IC out to sort the ODO.

If OBC displays speed correctly and both wires are plugged in you can rule out a problem there (try swapping the plugs over to be sure if you want - there are three sockets - all identical and all speed-out.

There are two microswitches - one on the clutch pedal and one on the brake that disable cruise when either pedal is depressed. Make sure they are functioning. If the car has ahd a manual conversion from auto, the clutch switch may be missing - this is fine, but if whoever did the conversion didn't get cruise running after, then it will simply be that the override circuit to stop cruise being engaged when the trans is in P, R, or N needs to be disabled - all you have to do is pull the correct wire out of the main harness under the dash.

Then you need to start tracking fuses, relays, functioning of the unit itself and the switches in the stalk. Which I know bugger all about as my cruise problems were solved by checking all of the above.

[danjrusdug]

Thanks for all of the replies.

One question that wasn't addressed. Are there any relays for the foglights? How resilient are the switches? Just wondering since I'll be diagnosing those this weekend.

Doug