E30 M52
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No, I didn't and I feel bad because a guy at work brought donuts in thinking I would bring it (he is a BMW guy and is excited to see it)
You have an awesome coworker!
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DOH! someone followed up with last nights goals!
No, I didn't and I feel bad because a guy at work brought donuts in thinking I would bring it (he is a BMW guy and is excited to see it)
I had some family things to do last night, so as soon as those were done I spent from 8P-10P in the garage working on some wiring
-Repaired the 12V outlet that had stopped working some years ago.
-Bypassed the window circuit breaker switch and recommissioned it to be a fan manual override switch
-Moved the VDO coolant gauge to the far right spot so its in better view since when it was in the far left spot my hand/steering wheel blocked its view and now that it is the primary coolant gauge I need to see it easily at all times.
-Completed the connection from the VDO temp sender in the head to the gauge.
Tonight I have between 5p-7p to button it up and test it out. I really just need to run one more wire through the firewall , put the HVAC panel back together, and try it out. As long as the temperatures stay below 200F on my test drive I will be taking it to work tomorrow.
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That’s an excellent idea, wiring the window lock to the fan. I hope you don’t mind if I copy the idea lol, I’ve currently got the fan wired to a toggle under the dash but I really don’t like reaching under there every time I want it on.
I might’ve missed it earlier, but where are your auxiliary gauges at?
Hope the test drive goes well!
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I might’ve missed it earlier, but where are your auxiliary gauges at?


Who needs radio?!?
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Want me to get you one?
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Want me to get you one?
I have been fighting whether to put a nice 6 button OBC back in that spot, a clock, or a blank plate (booo)
let me know what you can get them for. I may be interested, I think it would need to have a harness pigtail too
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Shakedown run:
Coolant temp on VDO=GOOD! temp stayed between 190-200F, given it wasnt a hot day and it wasnt a hard drive, but im not concerned with it anymore until a hard run on a hot day I guess.

The bad news: that cutting out issue happened and kept getting worse and is now debilitating. It stalled the car while driving once, gave me zero throttle response multiple times with a light lean pop out the exhaust, and I had to pull over twice until I had enough luck for it to start responding again.
It wouldnt accelerate anymore and I had to pop the hood and disconnect the MAF sensor to regain enough response to get the car back home.
Its not a mechanical issue because it runs perfectly when its not doing this.
My guess is that the used MAF I picked up is no good.
I have a spare TPS to try and Saturday I will try another testfahrt with the other TPS. (Im not expecting it to be the TPS but its a quick thing I can try)
Once it starts refusing to have throttle response I will unplug the O2 sensor and see how that goes. I honestly dont remember what car I bought it for (95 M3? 95 325i?) they really shouldnt be different.
Does anyone have a spare E36 OBD1 MAF I can try?
Im also going to email Sssquid and verify the MAF curve on this tune.
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That certainly sounds like a MAF issues, especially if unplugging it allowed you to drive home.
It's super hard to drive a car with bad MAF lol, I've done it once, not fun!I don't think I have a stock MAF, but I'll browse the parts shelf.
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I wonder though, because wouldnt a bad MAF manifest itself pretty much constantly regardless of temperature?
So far the car has run perfectly for a few minutes while cold and the problem seems to rear its head as the car warms up and enters closed loop which would point strongly towards the new oxygen sensor.
Who knows.. maybe the header coating fouled it as it was baking in, maybe my 3 foot extension harness sucks (Im pretty sure I checked resistance afterwards for good measure.... Regardless, I want a spare MAF so I will be on the hunt for a good deal on a new one or a known good used one.
I double-checked the part numbers for the MAF and the O2 sensor. both fit 92-95 M3/325i and are the correct parts.
I dont have a physical check engine light but I intended to wire it up once I pull the cluster again so in the meantime I cant do a stomp test.
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you can borrow my MAF for diagnosis, its currently off the car. check your potato phone.
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Guarantee it's the maf, all obd1 m5x cars I've owned the mafs went bad then the second hand ones didn't last long. I have one from Napa that runs the car alright but will randomly die at idle. Have an o2 sensor if swapping it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling.
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I borrowed @straight6pwr ‘s MAF and the car behaved the same way. I pulled over and unplugged the O2 sensor and all is well. It was a new Bosch unit too... so that will be my next purchase.
Here’s a 2nd gear acceleration to verify that there aren’t any breakups in the rev range.
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I borrowed @straight6pwr ‘s MAF and the car behaved the same way. I pulled over and unplugged the O2 sensor and all is well. It was a new Bosch unit too... so that will be my next purchase.
Here’s a 2nd gear acceleration to verify that there aren’t any breakups in the rev range.
buttery! 7k+

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O2 Heater relay circuit is not working. I can only get 12V at the sensor by jumpering pins 87 and 30 on the relay harness. Tomorrow I will run the trigger wire from the fuel pump relay to also trigger the O2 heater circuit. I’d imagine this is my issue and hopefully last thing to iron out before I start really driving it.
Gravity kicked in and suddenly i need a new lens for my drivers side headlight. My drill fell off the shelf and smashed it

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Gravity kicked in and suddenly i need a new lens for my drivers side headlight. My drill fell off the shelf and smashed it

I'm assuming the lenses are different left to right? I have a passenger side US ellipsoid with a broken frame, lenses are in great shape.
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the glass lenses are identical left and right. the plastic buckets are not.
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Bled a little more air out of the cooling system. Its a steady stream into the overflow so lets hope im done.
the o2 heater relay circuit is repaired but the car still falls on its face and doesnt run when warm unless the o2 is unplugged.
I suspect the solution will be found in one of these:
-new o2 sensor
-new DME
-ensure there are no upstream air leaks.
This exhaust system is the biggest pile of crap ever and the guy that did it sucks. I didnt know how poor of a job he did until i got home and took a better look underneath. Im living with it for now and have only scraped on my driveway entrance when i cant take it at an angle. Tonight it caught and pulled the band clamped portion of the system off the headers. Based on how stupid this exhaust system is I would not be surprised if an upstream air leak was throwing the o2 sensor off.
its a little too loud for my tastes and at some point tonight i need to crawl under the car and re-attach it.
My wife will not permit me to spend the money to have someone competent do the job and she is running out of patience with the car.
Its entirely possible to make this exhaust system work great but it will take someone who does quality work, and of course... money.
I feel like im at a bit of a stalemate
Voices inside my head tell me to list it on R3V for $7500 and be done with it
It drives so well with the o2 unplugged though
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Bled a little more air out of the cooling system. Its a steady stream into the overflow so lets hope im done.
the o2 heater relay circuit is repaired but the car still falls on its face and doesnt run when warm unless the o2 is unplugged.
I suspect the solution will be found in one of these:
-new o2 sensor
-new DME
-ensure there are no upstream air leaks.
This exhaust system is the biggest pile of shit ever and the guy that did it sucks. I didnt know how poor of a job he did until i got home and took a better look underneath. Im living with it for now and have only scraped on my driveway entrance when i cant take it at an angle. Tonight it caught and pulled the band clamped portion of the system off the headers. Based on how stupid this exhaust system is I would not be surprised if an upstream air leak was throwing the o2 sensor off.
its a little too loud for my tastes and at some point tonight i need to crawl under the car and re-attach it.
My wife will not permit me to spend the money to have someone competent do the job and she is running out of patience with the car.
Its entirely possible to make this exhaust system work great but it will take someone who does quality work, and of course... money.
I feel like im at a bit of a stalemate
Voices inside my head tell me to list it on R3V for $7500 and be done with it
It drives so well with the o2 unplugged though
Sidepipes! Or a fender exit!
On a serious note, please don’t sell it. You’re too close to give up now. Seriously. Ill start another GoFundMe.
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