E30 M52

[Daggerty]

Ok, I like to tell people at my work about my car plans, because they tend to ask you consistently why you aren't driving that car to work.

[B C]

Im getting more acquainted with my ground-based spaghetti monster (as opposed to the flying variety).

Off the top of my head I think all I have left to identify are the connectors for the:

-Vanos solenoid

-oil pressure switch

-TPS

Aaaaand a whole bunch of ring terminals, grounds, and things I may wrongly identify as grounds which will fry something.

(Halp!)

[jc43089]

Oil pressure switch has only one prong

TPS has 3

vanos - I can't remember

I can go take pics of my car at lunch if that would help.

[B C]

Between the idle control valve and the TPS, they are both 3 pin with RED YLW GRN rastafari wires so I will need to trace those back to the ECU connector

If you can take a picture of the battery power block that would be beneficial [emoji1303]

[jc43089]

Will do, yell at me if I forget.

[Jdesign]

Ahh yes. Wiring. the best part 

[Daggerty]

When in doubt ground it out

[B C]

What is a 3 pin connector that isnt for the TPS or idle control valve?

Remember this is OBD1.

Could it be the oil level sensor?

I havent checked to see if thats a 2 or 3 pin connector.

I will also be wiring the CEL so that it works properly

[KaiserRolls]

Cam sensor is 3 prong

Vanos solenoid is 2 prong

CPS is 3 prong

Intake mani is 2 prong

Oil pressure is 1 prong

TPS is 3 prong

ICV is 3 prong

E36 coolant temp sensor for ecu 2 prong

M20 coolant temp sensor for cluster is 1 prong, but the harness has a 2 prong connector

Knock sensors are 2 prong (3 spaces though)

Purge valve solenoid guy is 2 prong

I forgot to look at my e34 pan for the level sensor- don’t think my harness has a provision for it though (haven’t seen any stray Bosch style connectors)

[B C]

I am pretty sure it is the oil level sender, which leaves one connector with two pins that is wired into the X20 connector, and all the +/- ring terminals. I just cant trust that all the black wires are grounds and all the red wires go to the battery block so I will spend tonight tracing those all back to the connectors. There are also a couple connectors that clip into the harness bracket under the manifold. I need to find out which connectors fit into those spots (on the M20 it was the crank position sensor and the cylinder reference sensor) and get an idea of how the harness is supposed to lay/mount in the bracket. If anyone has or can find a  good photo of an M50/S50 under the intake manifold it would be much appreciated. I'm just seeing a lot of pictures that are OBD2 or are obscured by the spidey hose

The wiring harness sleeves are a little tedious but very satisfying, thanks to Mitch for introducing them to me. I picked it up from Pegasus

[KaiserRolls]

The knock sensor connectors are secured into a bracket and oppose one another. Right under the icv. The other connectors that “slide” into brackets are the crank sensor and maybe the vanos solenoid wire? And cam sensor maybe?

[jc43089]

I have the worst memory known to man.  I didn't take a pic of the power block, text me tonight and I can take a picture of my other e36 engine that is sitting in the garage on a furniture dolly, it will be easy to see where the harness goes.  I pulled it with the harness attached.  So it is laying in the tray like it is supposed to be.  Mine won't have the oil level switch but otherwise should be just like yours.

[B C]

Awesome that would be great!

[GunMetalGrey]

The only ground wire that ends in an eyelet is the one that is part of the diagnostics connector. The other wire is red under the sheathing, and as thus goes to the positive terminal, along with the cable from the starter. This is per my memory so I would verify.

E36 or E34 Harness? I need to stop at the shop tonight and can verify a couple connections if need be. If you have connectors in question just check continuity from pins on the ecu to find what they are, easiest way in my opinion.

[jc43089]

Also the ground eyelet that goes to the m8 bolt on the front engine lift point.  It is a short wire that comes out of the end of the injector wiring box thing.

[B C]

I’ve had a few valve cover gaskets and head gaskets delivered to my house in the past few years. My wife is catching on:

[Jdesign]

Snap said:

I’ve had a few valve cover gaskets and head gaskets delivered to my house in the past few years. My wife is catching on:

DED. HAHAHHAHAA.

Also I like the new title of your thread.

[B C]

Many thanks to JC and Kaiser for the pics they sent last night!  The alternator and starter wires were identified as well as the ABS unit power wire which is needed for a 24V swap. There is still a mystery 2 pin connector in the same loom as the O2 sensor connector which could possibly be for the reverse light switch? but it seems strange for that to be caught up in the engine harness instead of one of the chassis harnesses.

I stand a much better chance of getting the engine fired up without having to troubleshoot things now. I will take one last look at the remaining connections and see what I can make of them, install the harness on the engine and move on to the clutch and trans tomorrow.

[GunMetalGrey]

Snap said:

Many thanks to JC and Kaiser for the pics they sent last night!  The alternator and starter wires were identified as well as the ABS unit power wire which is needed for a 24V swap. There is still a mystery 2 pin connector in the same loom as the O2 sensor connector which could possibly be for the reverse light switch? but it seems strange for that to be caught up in the engine harness instead of one of the chassis harnesses.

What year is your chassis?

[B C]

1991