Charles200

ah yes sorry, tourings had the air suspension, sedans didn't. im guessing yours is a sedan? the dash installed in them is probably the same

self leveling suspension fault. you dont want that light to come up. the rear suspension in the car has airbags instead of springs. they will fail eventually, they all do. just replaced mine, all up about $700

1. Jaycar, ask for a speaker level converter. About $30 iirc 2. Check for the factory amplifier in the boot, left hand side. All ten or so speaker outputs are there to tap into. whatever speakers you tap into just make sure they are getting all frequencies from the factory amp (possibly the rear shelf speakers). 3. No, you are only tapping off the speaker feed. Whatever speakers are tapped into will not lose any power 4. Its up to you what speakers you want re-amped. Im not sure what power levels the factory amp produces but imagine it wouldnt be as powerful as your aftermarket amp. If you want to amplify the speakers it is easy because if you install the amp in the boot all the speakers are there too from the factory amp. Would also recommend the dice unit for your ipod. www.gadgets4u.co.nz

no. both sides are fine when engine first turned off, then the right rear visibly starts to drop after a minute or so, all the way down to the bumpstop

Haha your damn right, If this cable is the fuse box feed I wouldn't bother using it at all. OP make sure the cable is not powering the fuse box. Or really anything for that matter. Can you get a photo of the said 'terminal' you found?

Some E34's had batteries in the front, some had them under the rear seat - drivers side. If you have a battery in the front and found a large cable + terminal under the rear seat, It may be possible the car was wired for the rear mounted battery. Use a multimeter and check for continuity from the positive on the battery to this terminal, and also check the terminal has 12v to the chassis ground (or 13 - 14 with engine on). If this is the case; I would use that terminal ONLY if the cable running to it was LARGER than the cable powering your amplifier (and then put your inline amplifier fuse on your amp power cable). The fuse current rating (and amp current rating) must be smaller than the current rating of the existing terminal cable. EDIT: even if this is the case make sure the cable is fused as close to the battery as possible. IF the cable is the same size as your amplifier cable, the cable would need to be traced back and inline fused closer to the battery, which could be a pain in the ass but still easier than running a whole new power cable. and if the cable was smaller than the cable required to power your amplifier DO NOT USE IT AT ALL. This is unlikely however as battery jump point connections are often large in cable diameter to handle the currents (300-700A) required to jump start cars. if you had no idea what I was just talking about, I would HIGHLY recommend you get someone who knows what they are doing or there is a fire risk.

am i best to remove the airbag and pressure test it then, as this is the most likely fault of the bag deflating, not a leaking air reservoir or something? hopefully someone has had hands on experience with this. this has been helpful however.

would definitely be keen but the funds are running low atm due to possibly needing to replace both of the rear self leveling airbags...

cheers guys will give that a go!

Are these for the pre facelift e39s? could be keen

clearlight.co.nz, they are a mobile service so pretty sure they can. they were pretty good to deal with. I already had my lenses removed and they just came over and picked them up from me and took them away. Real easy!

The self leveling suspension in the touring is dropping rapidly (~5 minutes) while the car is switched off. Turning the car on it pumps itself up and holds during driving, but I dont want to risk driving in case of further damage. The self leveling fault light has NOT come on, so I dont think the electrical system has faulted. Does anyone know what part is most likely to have failed? Will it be the bag leaking, a broken valve in the system or something else?

Gah, the DICE unit I bought is causing a horrible popping noise in the tweeters, regardless of volume, I suspect the level input to the head unit may be too high. This is because it doesnt happen when I use a tape or the radio Is there a way to adjust it on the unit or even on the Ipod? If not I may send the unit back and try another EDIT: there was a gain setting on the unit. fixed.

Had the lenses professionally repaired, and they also recoat the UV protective layer. Cost $100, but I'm happy, they came up damn near new looking. Now they are back in and clean, I am noticing the condensation building up in them, heaps on a hot day . Does anyone know how to prevent this condensation in the lights?

I must confess I managed to "snap" the removal screw when taking out my headunit, however when I pryed it out with the flat blade I had seen that no damage had been done, the screw had just fallen out and I was able to repair it, and now it all works as it should, can remove and reinstall the unit in a matter of seconds. Way easier to remove the head units compared to some jappas, where half the dash/centre console has to be dismantled. And with regards to the factory speakers I did figure they would be rather weak (~20w rms), so if I do amplify them it wont be with alot of weetbix.

Thats good to hear, are the units in E46's standard DIN size or do they have a crazy facia that needs adapting plates or some such? I definitely would have put a new headunit in if it was a standard DIN cut out, but I prefer the factory look of the dash. Next step will be to amplify the factory speakers as the headunit amplifying them is pretty weak.

Just for anyone who might want the info, Got the subwoofer in the car today. Sounding pretty good now. Had to remove the headunit, this involved removing the volume knob and then using a flat blade screwdriver (yes a flatblade, not a torx) to turn the latch holding screw 45 degrees (unlike 90 others suggest) and while doing that had to get another flat blade down the sides of the unit and slowly work it forward and out. I discovered that the factory HU does indeed have a built in amplifier. Purchased a speaker level converter from Jaycar and tapped into the rear speaker outputs then ran RCAs all the way from the front to the amp in the rear, along with a switched 12v wire. Basic head unit No factory amplifier

Alright ... you've scared me now. I managed to pull the lights out and get the lenses off tonight. Didn't attempt to clean them. Now not sure what to do, think I might take them to a plastic repair place tomorrow and see if they can repair. The other option I am looking at is completely new lenses which brent offered me.

No factory sub (probably would've been happy if it did), and definitely no factory amp in the L/H side of trunk. Have seen many with factory amp in boot and mine does not have one. Seems I have some sort of poverty spec optioned radio. From what I have read some people speculate there was a headunit installed in E39s with an integrated amp. I will pull out my headunit tommorow and verify. Owning this E39 has become an adventure...

Cheers thanks is that jaycar in mt wellington? I have established I have a non DSP unit so I have ordered a DICE unit for Ipod connection. Cant wait. Now it turns out I cant find/dont have a factory amplifier in the car, so im stuck for ideas on how to get an input for a new amplifier! frustrating! Is the amplifier in a different place to the sedans or do I not have one. Would have thought I did, having ten speakers...

Have done alot of reading. have decided on a DICE silverline duo or whatever. great that someone has made proper ipod integration. and and now on the hunt for a line output converter to get RCA's from output on car amp to the new amp and subwoofer. its late am I doing this right... have googled and cannot find a supplier of these, does anyone know where I could get a line output converter? Jaycar?

Cheers for the replies. Think its a pre facelift (2001 528i) so I will try cleaning them. If the result is no good I will buy new lights. Any recommendations on products to clean with?

The headlights on the e39 I have just got are so covered in what looks like mould or water damage I cannot believe the car even passed a WOF. Is it easy to remove the plastic covers over the front of the lamps to clean them and if so what do I clean them with? It is so bad you cannot even see through them - it looks disgusting. I'm almost considering new headlights entirely! What are my options here? Any help would be much appreciated.

Sorry, my flat-peak must be on too backwards. I was just hoping to improve the stance of the car if possible when I get new wheels for it in case it looks too high. If it is too much hassle I can live with it. Cheers for your help.

Hi there, the stereo that is in the e39 wagon is lacking in bass. mids and highs are amazing because there are 8 speakers in the thing, but I still cant help feeling that im listening to grandpa's handheld battery-powered radio at times. has anyone installed a subwoofer in one? at the moment the only way i see possible is to parallel off the speakers and run to the speaker level inputs of an amplifier for the sub. is this the only way to do so? the headunit is obviously not upgradable, unless there is some sort of adaption plate that I can buy so one could fit a standard DIN mount head unit? It would be a bonus to have ipod control as well, all I have at the moment is the ipod running by tape-adapter. Any help would be appreciated.