E30 Zone

Say you had a car with a totally fubar main part of the loom behind the dash... the way forward would obviously be to shut it in the garage and ignore it for the best part of a year.

But once you decided to sort it out, how much of the loom would you replace? What actually unplugs from that main lump, & what would need to be chopped? I'm sure all will become clear(er) once I start pulling it out, but perhaps some ideas now might actually encourage me to get on with it!

a standard E30 Loom is in 3 parts,
there's the car loom which starts at the fusebox feeds the front and rear of the car and the central locking elec windows ect, and then there's a dash loom which basically does all the switches,
the 3rd loom is for the engine..

it really is quite simple even for a guy like me who is hopeless with electrics !

Put "Loom" into the Wiki, and you know what you get?

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Loom

All good points. Cheers chaps. I really should just start ripping it apart! It's just my tiny garage that puts me off - still, if I just shove the interior in the shed...


Yup, it's an E30 - a certain 325i cab with an M30 in it. Does it have to be a chromie 325i cab loom?? I can manage anything off of a 316i touring...!

Grrrmachine wrote:Put "Loom" into the Wiki, and you know what you get?

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Loom

Well, I never...

e30topless wrote:a standard E30 Loom is in 3 parts,
there's the car loom which starts at the fusebox feeds the front and rear of the car and the central locking elec windows ect, and then there's a dash loom which basically does all the switches,
the 3rd loom is for the engine..

it really is quite simple even for a guy like me who is hopeless with electrics !

Elec windows and C locking section can be removed separately very easily, only a few wires join it to the main loom.

The connectors on the doors are thoroughly b***ered on mine, so it'd be nice to have a general sort out... & a new dash wouldn't hurt either!

So, from where do I need to get a loom? Does it have to be a pre-facelift 325i cab? Any 6-pot cab? Any cab??

If your door plugs are buggered, you can order new ones and fit them to your existing loom:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/C40x

That way, you don't have to look for specifically a prefacelift M20 cab loom, which is what you need according to the Wiki, which says:

"The same loom was used in all cars for any specific year, but there are small differences between years. The biggest difference is between facelift (1987-94) and pre-facelift (82-87) cars, when a large number of modifications were made to various systems throughout the vehicle. There are also important differences to Touring and Cabriolet models, since they have features not fitted to standard saloons. "

What's the build date of this cab? Although the 'facelift' version of the cab didn't appear until long after the saloon, that really only applies to the bodywork. Apart fro the rear light clusters, the rest of the car was updated largely at the same time as the rest of the range.
It's possible to fit any E30 loom into your cab with enough effort, but i wouldn't start with a four pot (no 'check' control and single horn wiring), and a touring loom adds complications around the rear seat area, where the earthing point is in a different place, and the section that goes across from the LH side to the fuel pump, etc. is a different length and position.
The easiest loom to fit would obviously be the correct one, but (guessing!) I wouldn't expect too many problems fitting a facelift 320 or 325 saloon loom.

'87... it was a high comp / 073 325i.

I'm guessing all pre-facelift 6-pot cabs are going to be the same? I'm not in a massive rush (it's been off the road long enough already!), so I might as well try and find one that's the same.

this is what im gonna replace mine with
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/connector-other/3014478/

Do you want to swap my loom while you're at it Dave?!

Hi Jon, If you want i have a complete uncut loom from a '89 touring 325 (Shame Brian mentioned they are not the best loom to start with!)

I've listed it on ebay this afternoon, but it's yours if you want it, otherwise I'll weigh it in

Cheers Mark! See if it sells, but I'll have it if it's going to end up in the bin... not sure how long I might be waiting for the 'correct' one...

It's been off the road about a year now!

Ziggy wrote:Cheers Mark! See if it sells, but I'll have it if it's going to end up in the bin... not sure how long I might be waiting for the 'correct' one...

It's been off the road about a year now!

Its yours if you want it, I can drop it off at your Mums if your coming down this way soon if were not in.

Hope you & Hannah are both well

Much appreciated!

Now I think about it, it's not like I'll need to figure out any differences with it in the car - I 'just' need to get round to ripping the old loom out, then I can make any adjustments before I re-fit...


We're both well, although she's getting rather large!

Ziggy wrote:We're both well, although she's getting rather large!

I guess by that comment your going to be a dad! Large & Hannah don't usually go together in the same sentence, unless she's let her self go now she's got a ring on her finger.

Ziggy wrote:Much appreciated!

Now I think about it, it's not like I'll need to figure out any differences with it in the car - I 'just' need to get round to ripping the old loom out, then I can make any adjustments before I re-fit...


We're both well, although she's getting rather large!

That's Ginsters Arseholes and Eyeballs pasties for you.

I would put a facelift 320i/325i saloon loom in. That way you can plug a set of smileys straight in and grafting the exitsing loom for the rear lights could be done so it joins under the carpet with a nice block connector.

E30Mark wrote:
I guess by that comment your going to be a dad! Large & Hannah don't usually go together in the same sentence, unless she's let her self go now she's got a ring on her finger.

Yeah, she's let herself go a bit.


2 months left to catch up on my sleep (/fix the E30)...

Sorry to revive an old thread but can we conclude that a facelift loom will fit in a pre-facelift car? Specifically a facelift 2dr 325 in a pre-face 2dr 325. Expected benefits are to remove Clifford bodgery and update the C101 plug for M1.3.

I assume the headlight/fogs/taillight plugs are different, that right? And how hard is it to pass the wiring up to the check panel, that goes up the passenger A-pillar right?

billcarr182 wrote:
I assume the headlight/fogs/taillight plugs are different, that right? And how hard is it to pass the wiring up to the check panel, that goes up the passenger A-pillar right?

Yes,I think the plugs are different.

Remove the A pillar trim(you will have to have the dash out anyway!)if you have the black trim panel forward of your sunroof you will now see how the check panel wiring runs,if you have headlining,them you will have to take the windscreen out as well to release the fabric from under the seal.

Deffo old thread alert,seen nothing from Ziggy or Mark in a while!