98. Installing sport seats in my E36

I have been searching for sport seats for a very long time. Vader seats are a bit too expensive for me, and electrical seats as well. But, I did manage to find a cheap set for my E36. I paid 100$ for the whole interior.

Take  a quick peek at the next photo - you'll find out why I wanted new seats:

This is how the 'new' seats looked when I brought them home.

Believe it or not, you can pack the complete interior into your E36. And you'll still have room for one passenger. :) Well, the first thing was to take out the old interior. The front seats are held in place with 2 16 mm bolts and two 16 mm nuts each. You have to slide the seat forward, and then backward to take them out. Before that, take off the plastic covering caps with a small flat screwdriver. Seat belts are fixed to the seat with one torx screw on each side. And, the passenger seat has a passenger occupancy sensor which has to be disconnected. Note: Disconnect your car's battery before disconnecting this sensor. Wait about 15 minutes for the system to discharge.

After that, you can pull out your rear bench. And, I really mean 'pull out'. Pull the bottom part upwards, and then pull the backrest towards the front of the car. Open both rear doors to pull it out.

How to remove rear headrests on a BMW E36?

This was the most tricky part of the job. I tried to pull them out, pry them out with a crowbar, and I tried to knock them out from underneath. And they didn't pop out. Well, the trick is to raise your rear shelf for just a couple of centimeters. Under it, you'll find safety pins that hold the headrests in place. Take them out, and that's it. Take a look at the picture to see what I mean:

And that's pretty much that. Install everything back in the reverse order, and you're done. You should finish the job in under an hour. I also vacuumed my car, since it was like it has seen a world war or something. :)

Here are some more pictures...

97. E36 18 Button OBC Unlocking Secret Codes and Functions

Unlocking secret codes on the BMW E36 18 button OBC is simple, and very useful. With it, you can disable your Check Control (If your car isn't equipped with one), you can adjust your fuel consumption readout, change the language of the module and see additional real-time data about your car. And more...

How to unlock 18 button OBC board computer

1. Press 1000 and 10.
2. At the TEST prompt, enter 19.
3. Press SET/RES, and you should see LOCK:ON.
4. Press the DATE key.
5. Add the two date numbers (month and day) together (Example - today is April 9th, so you add April (04) and 9th (09) - that gives us 13.
6. Enter the number you've calculated (13), and press SET/RES.
7. That should unlock the OBC :)

How to turn off Check Control Inactive message on the 18 button OBC

1. Hold down 1000 and 10 to access hidden menu.
2. At the TEST prompt, enter 11 and press SET/RES.
3. You should get EINHEIT 1: ## readout.
4. Change the EINHEIT value to 75 using 10 and 1 buttons.
5. Press SET/RES.
6. Change to EINHEIT 2: ## using 1000 and 100 buttons.
7. Set EINHEIT 2 value to FF using 10 and 1 buttons.
8. Press SET/RES and you're done.

BMW E36 OBC Menu List

1. Display test
2. Current consumption L/100km
3. Current consumption L/h
4. Average Consumption
5. Current range
7. Average Fuel in Tank (L)
8. Current Speed (km/h)
9. System Voltage
10. Country - Language setting
11. Check control setting
12. Average Speed (km/h)
13. ETA
14. OBC Software date 
15. Production diagnosis
16. Production diagnosis
17. Display vehicle specific data
18. Alarm setting
19. OBC Lock & Unlock
20. Correction factor for consumption
21. OBC Reset

Well, that's most of it - please note, that some versions have different codes. If this doesn't work for you, leave a comment, and we'll try to figure something out.

1. 
   

96. BMW E36 18 Button OBC Retrofit

18 button on board computer (18 button OBC) is a great toy that you can easily install into your BMW E36. It doesn't really matter if you've already got another OBC, or you have the analog clock. As well, it really doesn't matter if you have a 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder engine. First thing's first - what kind of BMW on board computers are available?

Note: Click on the image for a larger view

1: 18 button on board computer (OBC)
 

2: Check control module with outside temperature and clock:
 

3: Check control module with digital clock:


4: Outside temperature and clock display:


All of the above listed units use special connectors. Units with less functionality have one connector. 18 button OBC has two connectors. Hopefully, you've bought these connectors (with some wire) together with the big OBC. If you don't have the connectors, you can build your own. (More on this later.)

Warning!

Read the whole article before starting any work on your car.

Before working on your car, disconnect your battery. Wait for about 30 minutes for the system to discharge. You don't want your airbag light to go on, or even worse, the airbag itself. All information provided here worked for me, on my own car - 1996 316i sedan. Wire colors and component locations may vary according to model year and car specification. I do not take any responsibility for damages to your car and/or injuries you suffered following this DIY. Do It Yourself at your own risk.

List of components needed for 18 button OBC retrofit:

• 18 button OBC unit
• 2 connectors with some wire (one black, one white)
• External temperature sensor
• Gong (buzzer, chime)
• Turn signal leaver with BC button (OBC Stalk)
• Wires - a lot of them

Note, that only the actual 18 button display unit is really necessary. Everything else is optional.
If you need additional reference, original BMW parts are listed at the end of the article.

List of tools needed for the job:

• Shrinking thermo tubes
• Wire cutters
• Wire strippers
• Insulation tape
• Screwdrivers
• 16mm socket wrench
• Torx 30

You'll need about 4 hours for the job. Beer breaks included. A quick summary of the tasks: Removing the steering wheel (and airbag, if necessary), taking out the instrument cluster, putting in new wires, replacing the turn signal leaver, connecting everything up, and putting the car back together...

Here's an photo of my new 18 button OBC vs. my old analog clock:

(The clock is upside-down... I know.)

List of connectors with codes

• X1070 - Black connector on the OBC
• X1071 - White connector on the OBC
• X16 - White connector on the Instrument Cluster
• X17 - Blue connector on the Instrument Cluster

So, let's get down to business.

DIY - Step by step

1. Remove your steering wheel.
There's some more information and pictures on removing the steering wheel in one of my older posts:

81. E39 to E36 Steering wheel retrofit DIY

2. Remove your instrument cluster.  There are two bolts at the top of the cluster. Remove the dashboard lower cover (under the steering wheel), and the plastic steering column covers.

3. If you have EWS, and want to use the CODE function of the OBC, then remove the glove box compartment.

4. Remove the analog clock (or the 'smaller' OBC unit), and the plastic panel under it - the one holding additional buttons (seat heating, asc, hi-fi...) and cigarette lighter.

So, by now, your car should look like it's ready for the junkyard. Here's a couple of photos for reference:


5. Prepare your OBC connectors. If you're lucky, you are doing an upgrade, and you already have one of those connectors. Since I was replacing my analog clock, I didn't have them. And to make things a bit more complicated, I only had one connector for my OBC. So, I had to make the other one. Here's how the back of the 18 button OBC looks:

According to the list of connectors, the black one is X1070, and the white one is X1071. They look similar to the ones behind the instrument cluster, but they are smaller. But, that's a good start - if you can't find the right connectors, you can source two connectors from an instrument cluster, and modify them. It might be a good idea to get a couple of extras, since you'll probably need some additional pins from them. So, a couple of images, so you can see what I'm talking about:

a) Rear of the instrument cluster - note the blue X17 and white X16 connectors:

b) The white connector from the instrument cluster - take it apart, and cut it to fit your OBC:



6. Replace your turn signal leaver with the OBC stalk. A fairly straight forward process. The old one just unclips from the steering column, and the new one snaps in.

7. Mount the gong (chime, speaker). It has five wires. They should be connected like this:

• (blue/white) --> [X1070] Pin #10 (note: you can do this later)
• (red/white) --> [X1070] Pin #11 (note: you can do this later)
• (black/red) --> [X17] Pin #09
• (brown) --> Earth (any brown wire)
• (red/yellow) --> Old clock (red/yellow)

8. Mount the outside temperature sensor - it's usually mounted on the front bumper, in the left air duct. There are only two wires for the sensor. One that goes to the OBC, and ground. There should be a ground connection behind the headlamps.

9. Here's a list of the pins that you need to connect, for the 18 button OBC to work:

• [X1070] Pin #06  --> [X17] Pin #26
• [X1070] Pin #09  --> [X17] Pin #04
• [X1070] Pin #10  --> Gong (blue/white)
• [X1070] Pin #11  --> Gong (red/white)
• [X1070] Pin #12  --> Temperature sensor
• [X1070] Pin #13  --> [X17] Pin #02
• [X1070] Pin #14  --> Wire under steering wheel (violet/white)
• [X1070] Pin #15  --> [X17] Pin #24 
• [X1070] Pin #16  --> Old clock (grey/red) 
• [X1070] Pin #17  --> Old clock (brown)
• [X1070] Pin #18  --> Old clock (red/yellow)

95. Happy New Year

Hi guys'n'girls!

This is my last post for this year. So, I just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year!

So, what can you expect from this blog in 2012 ?

1. I'll redesign it - current template decided it's time for retirement... huh
2. I'll try to organize posts trough tags, for easier browsing
3. I'll refresh (and reupload) the Downloads section
4.  New posts:
1. DIY installation of a 18 button OBC
2. My suspension upgrade - 5000km report
3. I'll show our 'new' 1996 E36 compact (316i)
4. Last photos from our drift car project...
5. A general post about all stuff related to our cars... mostly, what went wrong

Thank you all for following, and especially thank you all for commenting!

Until the new posts are up, you can visit my BMW related Squidoo Lenses:

DIY Installing BMW Angel Eyes

BMW M3 CRT

10 fun facts: BMW

Best gifts for BMW drivers

BMW M3 GTS

Quiz: BMW E36 - Ultimate quiz

94. Installing angel eyes on BMW E36

Well, this weekend I installed angel eyes on my friends 323ti Compact. (Check out my last post)

I was skeptical about those add-on angel eyes rings, but, I must admit that I was wrong. Installation is extremely easy and quick, and the AE rings look completely stock. My main concern was fixing the rings on the head lamps. BMW angel eyes kits are often sold with a 'No need to drill/glue/hokus-pokus' lines... Well - it's true. No need to do anything horrible to your headlights. The installation is 100% reversible. And, best part is - they are really fixed in their places when you're done.

So, here's a quick step by step:

1. Disconnect and take off your headlamps.
2. Take them apart:

3. Take off the round inner lenses from the headlight cover (As pictured, I had to use a screwdriver to undo the screws - 3 per lens. Some headlights have the lenses glued with silicone, so you must use a thin knife to take them off)
4. Insert Angel eyes rings into the headlight cover. Try to be gentle as possible.
5. Put the inner lenses back on. It'll probably go harder back in...

6. Put the headlight back together (route the wires to the rear of the light - to the bulb socket cover)
7. Connect the rings to the supplied inverters (one inverter per headlight)
8. Connect the two wires from the inverter to your parking light bulb.
9. Glue the inverter with a two-side adhesive tape inside your headlight. (There's a lot of space, don't worry)
10. Put the lights back on your car, connect them, and adjust the height.

That's it. Took me 30 minutes for both headlights.

Here's a few photos of the car with angel eyes:
(The rest are in the post before this one.)

Where can you buy BMW E36 Angel Eyes ???
Try Amazon! :)

93. E36 323ti Compact - A few photos

It's been a while since my last post. Sorry for that. I'll try to bring you all up to speed in the next couple of days.

For now, I'll share a couple of photographs I took yesterday.

The car pictured above is my friends E36 323ti Compact. (You might remember his 323 Coupe in Dakar Yellow...) He bought the Compact about two weeks ago. The car was already on M-Tech suspension, it has a M50B52 engine, and a couple of other modifications. Oh, the car's actually from the BMW Individual line, so, that explains the unusual interior color combination.

Here's a list of things he modified in the last week or so...
1. Replaced complete brake system (was modified for drift use)
2. Had front seats re-upholstered (were totally torn)
3. Retrofitted the ///M steering wheel (it had a regular 4 spoke item)
4. Installed angel eyes kit
5. Fitted BBS 17" rims and winter tires (was sitting on some 15" steel rims, with wrong tire size)
6. Installed new speakers and head-unit (there was none)
7. Fitted the mesh in the M bumper (again, there was none)
8. Complete engine service (that's normal)
9. New alternator (the old one was squeaking)
10. (and probably a lot more stuff I don't really know about) :)

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the car when he bought it.

Update

This Compact was upgraded to 328ti - I'll post a few pictures soon :)
The car was then sold, and now it serves as a track-tool/drift machine.