NVADER30

2007 e91 325i. Been having a very intermittent issue where the car will turn off a low beam and report a bulb out. Restart the car and the headlight works again with no issue. It's pretty rare so haven't worried too much about it. Sent the FRM to @promo at one point and there wasn't anything obviously wrong. As of a couple of days ago I'm now getting 4+ random bulb out errors every time I start the car. All bulbs were working but indicators blinking fast on both sides etc and constant fault 'bonging' noises. I've replaced every bulb on the car and it's still doing it so suspect FRM is toast. If I buy a used FRM is there a particular one I should be looking for or are they all interchangeable? And anyone have any recommendations for someone in the lower north that can code the replacement? Not sure if Pramod is still around? Cheers

Sold

My car is a 1991 E36 320i with an M50B20. A while back my car started to run rough on idle, then started misfiring during acceleration. It's also had the check light on since I bought it, although I've never done anything about it as Shelley BMW went over the car and decided there was nothing wrong with it and that the light must just be earthing somewhere. So yesterday I finally decided to do something about it. Looked up the diagnostic codes for my model, went through the pedal down 5 times method and got.....nothing. The check light stayed on as usual and gave no response whatsoever. Spent about 3-4 hours searching the net for possible causes but only turned up a couple of other people with the same problem, none of which seem to have found the answer. After that, I decided to pull the unit out and check all the connections. All exterior connections seemed fine however, the unit has clearly been opened as the seal is broken and most of the metal clips are broken also. Took the unit to my step-dad who's an A-grade mechanic. He took the top off and there are 2 connections on the lower board that have clearly been resoldered. The label on the unit is Motronic Bosch 0 261 200 403. I checked this number out on the net to see if I could get any more info on problem symptoms but this unit seems to be for 91-95 325i's with the M50B25 motor. Does anyone know what the factory Bosch DME number for my car should be (Jeff Gray BMW will not give this information out; it's company policy to only quote the $1,936 price for replacement), or has anyone encountered a check light that refuses to go off? Normally I would think it would mean replace the unit but the car was running fine with the check light on for almost a year. Any help appreciated. Cheers

Found a crack in the pipe between the Mass Air Flow Sensor and the manifold. Will order a replacement from BMW shortly but I would say that'll be problem solved Cheers for the help all

After a lot of searching around it seems like the best place to start is the ICV (Idle Control Valve) so I'll take that out and clean it this weekend and let people know how it goes. Found a good guide as to how to get to the ICV on an M50 Engine here

This has probably been covered before but I'm fairly limited in the time I have to get this posted. This morning when I stopped at a set of lights the car idled fine at 700rpm for about 15 seconds before suddenly dropping revs to almost zero. The revs then surged back up to 1.5k before dropping down to around 700 again. It continued to do this every time I stopped unless the road was sloped. Gearbox is a JATCO auto btw. Anyone heard of this before? The car had the normal e36 idle problem but it has never done this before...

Just had my whole car cleaned out a few days back. Tv's, subs, all my speakers, personal stuff, even my f*cking first aid kit was stolen. They brok two windows to get in and ripped the steel up around the boot lock to get it open. Worst part is I know who it was but I cant prove it.

Does that method work with the sedan aswell? Tried yesterday but couldn't get any movement even with the pillar covers removed and rear seat out..

What sort of cost would you be looking at for an e36 auto trans...anyone know?

Cheers mate. Went through the first 3 pages but found nothing on sizing for all of them. If anyone knows of a particularly good replacement for the front tweeters/footwell speakers the info would be much appreciated.

Is anyone able to give me a list of what the stock-standard speaker sizes are in an e36 320i 4dr sedan? Car is a Jap import if that makes any difference. Cheers

My last audio set up used a separate dvd player and tv unit. Both were single DIN size. Tried taking out just about everythign in the front of the car to get them to fit and still look clean. There is a potential spot in the panel above the glove box lock but it would mean losing air con and heat to the front passenger which isn't really desirable. The best option is to head down to Repco and get a DIN expansion unit. Costs about $15 although they probably won't have them in stock. I then mounted my DVD player under the glove box and the tv in the factory slot. Theres a space next to the factory DIN slot to run your wires down to the DVD player (just make sure you keep them away from the heater pipes). This would also work for a stacker/normal head unit set up I guess. As far as double-DIN untis go....You're either rich or dreaming if you want to put one in an e36

I bought an automatic '91 E36 320 sedan about a year ago for 4.5k At the time it had 125,000km on the clock, 4 new tires, new brake rotors, ABS. Mine is the 6 cyl model and as of yet I haven't come across a standard 318 that has anywhere near the acceleration. I drive from Featherston to Wellington and back everyday which includes driving the Rimutaka Hill road and sitting in SH2 traffic for 2 hours and petrol costs me around $20 a day which isn't too bad. No airbags but to be honest, the one crash I've had in this car where I completely lost traction on black ice and hit a barrier at about 40kp/h, I barely felt it. It was like hitting the tire wall in a go kart. Other than the water pump collapsing after sitting in the garage for a month, I haven't had a single problem with this car. Handles great, ample power, and built like Arnold Schwarzeneggar.