<E30> Electrical Repairs, Stereo Upgrades - Progress Report...

[Scott Miller <sdmiller@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

... or lack thereof.  Plea for help follows description of actions taken
so far.  To refresh your memory:  I was trying to solve a headlight
problem, replace some broken switches, and upgrade the stereo in my 1990
325i/is hybrid.

Headlights:  Symptom - with low beams on, switch to or flash high beams,
and when switching back to low beams, the headlights go completely out
momentarily before the low beams come back on.  What I tried - replaced
both low and high beam relays with new Bosch relays.  No improvement.=20
Attempted to replace the turn signal / high beam / low beam switch with
a used switch, but the used switch lacked the connection for the horn
which the original had.  Thanks go to an East Coast Digester (don=92t kno=
w
if he wanted his name mentioned publically, he contacted me privately),
who loaned me a home made "pin-popping" tool.  This allowed me to remove
the existing horn wire pin from the old connector and install it in the
new switch connector.  So=85=20

This weekend I replaced the switch.  Results:  Problem still exists, but
is intermittant, happens about 25% of the time when going from high beam
to low beam.  To top this off, the high beam flash function no longer
works.  (This is where you pull the turn signal stalk back towards you
to momentarily flash the high beams.)   Well, at least the horn works.

So here=92s the affore-mentioned plea for help:  Does anyone have any
suggestions about which electrical connections to test next?  I would
assume I=92d want to look at the wires to and from the headlight relays,
for starters (no pun intended there).  I guess I=92ll also check the
headlight ground connections.

Switches:  The fog light and rear defroster switches had broken.  I
bought used switches to replace them.  Results -  Fog lights work,
although the switch is as balky as the original was before it broke.=20
Rear defroster - don=92t know yet, there was nothing to defrost.  The
indicator light in the replacement switch does not work. =20

Stereo:  Since I had to remove the stereo to replace the rear defroster
switch, I couldn=92t see putting the P.o.S. "Magic Finger" stereo back in=
,
so I put in a Kenwood KRC-405 instead.  Results - this stereo makes the
stock speakers sound better than the factory "Magic Finger" stereo.  I
managed to run the cable to the CD changer half way back to the trunk.=20
The rest of the CD installation will have to wait for another day.  I
just need to get out and drive the car for a while.

Thanks to Alex.Fadeev for faxing me a few pages of the ETM, and John
Bolhuis and John Goddard for the stereo installation tips.  Oh, and does
anyone have a better source for used switches?  Two
partially-non-functioning switches out of 3 isn=92t a very good record.

To be continued=85

Scott Miller
Golden Gate Chapter
BMW CCA #44977

------------------------------

End of bmw-digest V9 #775
*************************