adro 1084 Report post Posted March 28, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, hunter said: The little bulb will be the tiny little guy used for park lights. This happened to me on my e46 and took a bit of looking to see it on the back of the light housing. It’s up the top towards the inner edge of the light housing from memory. Oh ok cool. thanks! ...turns out there wasn’t a bulb in there. All sorted and no more lights out on the dash. Edited March 28, 2021 by adro 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted March 28, 2021 nice, love the xenon light upgrade and good on you for going the extra mile with the chrome bulbs (no egg yolk) @Sammo take note 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted March 29, 2021 6 hours ago, qube said: nice, love the xenon light upgrade and good on you for going the extra mile with the chrome bulbs (no egg yolk) @Sammo take note Egg yolk is where the nutrients are, I just went extra free range yolk 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted April 15, 2021 (edited) Today I clay bar'd and applied chemical brothers 'jet seal' to the whole car, not sure how good this product is but I got it for the E39's headlights that i no longer have and it was pretty expensive so figured might as well use it. I feel like this is the cleanest this car will ever be so went and shot a few photos to document it. Edited April 15, 2021 by adro 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted May 8, 2021 (edited) 213xxxkm Cosmetic update. 35% tints and chrome blackout wrap (satin) done by Wrap Innovations. Interior trim switched out for the 3D cube version. I sourced this from Weitz. I thought it was plastic but it's actually alloy. I think it adds a richer texture to the cabin than the previous plastic ones. I also got the antenna module from Weitz too but that hasn't fixed my remote key woes. Next up is some beefier spring pads in the rear and a wheel alignment. (edited these pics on my phone so the colour is abit weird) Edited May 8, 2021 by adro 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunter 408 Report post Posted May 8, 2021 Yeah man. That cube trim is boss. I had it in my e46 sedan. Cleans up so good. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smiddy 76 Report post Posted May 8, 2021 Nice car indeed. I had a 2004 M sport E46 325 touring, great car. Not sure on your wheel size, but if your looking for a different look.... 19s, $600 set. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GorGasm 563 Report post Posted May 8, 2021 Love that interior colour. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted May 22, 2021 Clocked up a few km’s this week working in Upper Hutt and the Wairarapa. Gave me a chance to stretch its legs and put it through its paces on some twisty backroads. Compliant and comfortable...these sport seats are a treat. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted May 27, 2021 Love the grey interiors in E46s models. A satisfying place it be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted June 14, 2021 215XXXkms Car was feeling a bit sluggish and had a bit of a rough idle that didn’t feel very BMW (esp with new engine mounts) and it had a delayed throttle response. All liveable but had a feeling something wasn’t quite right. Scanned it and it came up with - Current at 2 or more cylinders and all these DME cylinder activation codes + a misfire code on cylinder 3. did some googling and found a thread about the same codes on E46 fanatics. Seemed 1 person swapped new coils which fixed it, others mentioned an issue where the older M54 head with the newer style valve cover can have the coils ground to the head giving the ground wire resistor in the loom a weird reading in turn pinging a code. ( I have older style block/head with my original engines intake mani/valve cover/ignition system) long story short they recommended running coils from the newer engines as they are insulated all the way to the bottom. old and new: I found these on FB market place out of an N54 and the guy reckoned they were running fine so as a bit of cheap test I went for it. Long story long, they work great. No codes. Throttle feels more responsive and the idle is smooth and the engine feels freer. This might all be placebo but posting this up incase anyone else has got the same codes after an engine swap. in other news I also swapped the grilles back to chrome as those double slotted ones interfered with the bonnet leaver meaning the grill would kinda pop out when you opened the hood which felt abit ghetto when filling up the washer system at the petrol station. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted June 23, 2021 (edited) dramatic morning light Edited June 23, 2021 by adro 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted June 23, 2021 saw ya driving thru the mt vic tunnel the other day. looked great! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted June 25, 2021 Remote locking fixed. I followed this thread https://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/threads/2003-e46-320d-se-tourer-remote-key-problem-fzv.73922/ and sure enough no 12V feed. Followed the cable, bit of tugging and found it was loose. Had to dissect the loom cover to access it as it had obviously broken right in the middle of it. Soldered and heat shrinked. Now 12V at the module, still no remote locking. Resynced the key and voila! Happy days. 6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2550 Report post Posted June 25, 2021 Nice work! At least you will have the RF unit - I've got the crappy IR / line of sight / pathetic range one. I'm going to retrofit the IR system in the next month or so. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Sammo said: Nice work! At least you will have the RF unit - I've got the crappy IR / line of sight / pathetic range one. I'm going to retrofit the IR system in the next month or so. Thanks, this was abit of a mystery after buying multiple modules and it still not working. My friend Andy did a good write up on that conversion here if you haven’t found it already. A big box tick of this car was the 2 remote keys plus the valet and wallet keys even though I knew the remote keys weren’t working on purchase. What I didn’t realise was that there is only the barrel lock on the drivers side. So for getting kids in and out and then having to walk around to the drivers side to physical lock it was abit dangerous…not to mention wanting to put the supermarket shopping in the back in the pouring rain and same deal, no lock barrel on the boot! Edited June 25, 2021 by adro 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted June 28, 2021 (edited) 215,500km Added 15mm spring pads to the rear. I felt it had a bit of a saggy bum and looked like it had been lowered (aftermarket) and it was also scraping exiting the driveway. It still scrapes if you go to fast but only just. I think it evens out the height nicely and looks more factory. I came across @Olaf's E46 in the parking building today and was doing abit of comparison. Also thanks Richard for adding my spring pads to your FCP order 🙂 . The style 194's offset look so much stauncher. PS: the mineral oil is for the E30. Edited June 28, 2021 by adro 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3341 Report post Posted June 29, 2021 Damn that's a good looking car! Yours too, @adro😆 I think it's time for a swapping rematch, compare stock springs and shocks (with the big bars and staggered setup) with your Eiback/Billie touring setup. I know your bars are also big - be interesting to see if you still perceive mine as handling really flat after living with yours for a few months. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted July 13, 2021 115,800km Tracked down some style 68's from Weitz. The front left could do with a refurb but it's the daily so not too concerned for now. Front tyres are nothing special but pretty new. Rears might scrape through the next WOF so looking to replace these soon. 10 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leichtbau 525 Report post Posted July 14, 2021 Big improvement! I think 68's are the lightest 17" wheel BMW ever made. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted July 14, 2021 1 hour ago, leichtbau said: Big improvement! I think 68's are the lightest 17" wheel BMW ever made. Thanks, I think so too. they are 1kg lighter per wheel at the front than the ones I took off interestingly. was tempted to go 18” MV2’s or 194’s like Olaf but have always loved the 68’s on the E46 and wanted to stay 17 with a bit more sidewall for comfort factor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3341 Report post Posted July 14, 2021 1 hour ago, adro said: Thanks, I think so too. they are 1kg lighter per wheel at the front than the ones I took off interestingly. was tempted to go 18” MV2’s or 194’s like Olaf but have always loved the 68’s on the E46 and wanted to stay 17 with a bit more sidewall for comfort factor. agree, no need for 18's on an e46 touring. Technical: The advantage of 194's is 20mm additional track at the rear, and an extra half inch on the front rim plus offset, and zero rubbing/clearance issues (on standard e46 staggered msport sizes). Aesthetics: Can't argue with the Style 68's looking the best on e46, they're just right. Nice score! Never looked at the weight, I suspect that the 194's will be heavier as they're made for runflats. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted July 16, 2021 (edited) some more pictures from the local spot. Wet down courtesy of the weather gods. Edited July 16, 2021 by adro 8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1084 Report post Posted August 14, 2021 (edited) Installed some M-Sport sills last week. Some came up locally and I couldn't help myself. I scanned it the other night out of curiosity to see if everything is good and the coils have definitely got rid of the DME negative current at injector code, I did have a IHKA code for the AUC module which I new nothing about. Turns out its the sensor for the auto air function, it senses chemicals in the air and turns the air circulation to cabin air only. Not a big deal but I will replace that in due course. Next things on the list are: Vanos high pressure hose Tyres all around. Despite the fronts being very new they are awful in the wet. Edited August 14, 2021 by adro 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3341 Report post Posted August 14, 2021 RE003's FTW! 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
