E30 -90 technical terms

[E30REDD]

Hello,

I would like to know what some of the terms actually mean:

Static oil level
Dynamic Oil level
Switched power
Fuel rate input (economy gauge?)
Engine speed input
Speed signal out

[b12rlw]

I'd say......

1 - oil level with vehicle/engine not running (static)
2 - oil level at a point in time with the vehicle/engine moving (dynamic)
3 - switched 12v from a relay/ignition key
4 - fuel rate signal from ecu to instrument cluster
5 - tacho signal from cam/ crank speed sensor
6 - signal from diff for road speed (wheel size/tyre choice dependant)

[E30REDD]

I'd say......

1 - oil level with vehicle/engine not running (static)
2 - oil level at a point in time with the vehicle/engine moving (dynamic)
3 - switched 12v from a relay/ignition key
4 - fuel rate signal from ecu to instrument cluster
5 - tacho signal from cam/ crank speed sensor
6 - signal from diff for road speed (wheel size/tyre choice dependant)

E30 -90 318is isn't using 1 and 2, right?

4 - So this is the economy gauge that is located in the tacho meter?
6 - So this is the speedometer?

[Grrrmachine]

Which language is your native? I might be able to translate the terms for you, if that helps.

[E30REDD]

Which language is your native? I might be able to translate the terms for you, if that helps.

My native language is swedish and I do understand english but I need to have the terms explained more accurate.

[b12rlw]

1&2, used for onboard computer and warning lights on instrument cluster.
4 economy gauge
6 speedo.

Also 5 may come from the ignition coil.

Hope this helps.

[E30REDD]

1&2, used for onboard computer and warning lights on instrument cluster.
4 economy gauge
6 speedo.

Also 5 may come from the ignition coil.

Hope this helps.

This is really weird because my oil light, battery charging light, parking break light and ABS light are working.

I have a few wires in the Loom that are cut off right before the C101. It's the following wires:

Green/Yellow..........Static oil level - Do I need this?
Green/White............Oxygen sensor relay - Do I need this?
White/Green............Reset service lights - Can't reset SIL
Black/White.............Speed signal out - Speedometer is working
Green/Purple...........Fuel pump relay - Do I need this?
Brown/Purple..........Temp gauge
Brown/White...........What's this for?
White/Blue..............What's this for?
White.......................What's this for?

Is there any of the wires above that is unused in the E30 318is -90?

[Grrrmachine]

Jag talar inte svenska mycket väl - Talar du tyska? Kanske den här bilden kan hjälpa dig.

http://www.300mm.de/download/motorstecker.jpg

[E30REDD]

Jag talar inte svenska mycket väl - Talar du tyska? Kanske den här bilden kan hjälpa dig.

http://www.300mm.de/download/motorstecker.jpg

Nope, I'm only speaking swedish and english.

Isn't the C101 on E30Zone's Wiki page the same as the one you linked?

For example, according to the Wiki there are no wires that are Brown/White, White/Blue and White.

[Grrrmachine]

What you should note from the German article I linked is that the wires change colours a lot; pin 2 seems to have a different colour for every year.

This means that you shouldn't make your decisions based on wire colour, but on which pin of the C101 is affected. I think I mentioned this in your other thread on E30 Chat; that you need to check which pins are connected.

So, ignoring the colours of the wires:

Green/Yellow..........Static oil level - Do I need this?
Green/White............Oxygen sensor relay - Do I need this?
White/Green............Reset service lights - Can't reset SIL
Black/White.............Speed signal out - Speedometer is working
Green/Purple...........Fuel pump relay - Do I need this?
Brown/Purple..........Temp gauge
Brown/White...........What's this for?
White/Blue..............What's this for?
White.......................What's this for?

You don't NEED any of those to make the car run except for the fuel pump. It's very strange that your fuel pump relay wire is disconnected - are you sure that's Pin 13 of the C101? As for the others - tell me what pin on the C101 they connect to on YOUR car, not based on the Wiki.

I would like to know what some of the terms actually mean:

Static oil level - Oil Pressure (light comes on with IGN on)
Dynamic Oil level - Oil level (for the Check Panel on 6-cylinder cars)
Switched power - Power to the ignition coil to provide spark
Fuel rate input (economy gauge?) - Yes
Engine speed input - drives the Service Interval indicator
Speed signal out - Tachometer

You've asked some of these questions in another thread as well, so maybe a moderator should move that thread to this section too, because otherwise I'm repeating myself. For example, Speed Signal Out is not speedometer, it's tachometer - this is engine speed, not vehicle speed.

[E30REDD]

What you should note from the German article I linked is that the wires change colours a lot; pin 2 seems to have a different colour for every year.

This means that you shouldn't make your decisions based on wire colour, but on which pin of the C101 is affected. I think I mentioned this in your other thread on E30 Chat; that you need to check which pins are connected.

So, ignoring the colours of the wires:

Green/Yellow..........Static oil level - Do I need this?
Green/White............Oxygen sensor relay - Do I need this?
White/Green............Reset service lights - Can't reset SIL
Black/White.............Speed signal out - Speedometer is working
Green/Purple...........Fuel pump relay - Do I need this?
Brown/Purple..........Temp gauge
Brown/White...........What's this for?
White/Blue..............What's this for?
White.......................What's this for?

You don't NEED any of those to make the car run except for the fuel pump. It's very strange that your fuel pump relay wire is disconnected - are you sure that's Pin 13 of the C101? As for the others - tell me what pin on the C101 they connect to on YOUR car, not based on the Wiki.

I would like to know what some of the terms actually mean:

Static oil level - Oil Pressure (light comes on with IGN on)
Dynamic Oil level - Oil level (for the Check Panel on 6-cylinder cars)
Switched power - Power to the ignition coil to provide spark
Fuel rate input (economy gauge?) - Yes
Engine speed input - drives the Service Interval indicator
Speed signal out - Tachometer

You've asked some of these questions in another thread as well, so maybe a moderator should move that thread to this section too, because otherwise I'm repeating myself. For example, Speed Signal Out is not speedometer, it's tachometer - this is engine speed, not vehicle speed.

I get what you say and you told me before to make a list of all the wires that are connected to the C101, instead of relying on the Wiki because it may differ from my car.

When I made the list I didn't know that it was any difference between Black/White and White/Black. I thought it was the same color, therefore the colors may be switched incorrectly in the list:

1 Blue
2
3
4 Brown/Purple
5 Brown/Green
6 White/Green x2
7 Green
8 White/Black
9 Black
10
11 White/Green
12 Brown
13 Green/Purple x2
14 Black/White
15 Black/Green
16 White/Black
17
18 Black/Yellow
19
20

The oil level light didn't work before but I fixed it by connecting Brown/Green to the C101. So I'm still confused about what the Static oil level (Pin 2) does.
I'm also confused because the tachometer works fine even if the cable seems to be cut off.

I have a problem with identifying a wire aswell. The wire comming from the Loom is Black/White but then it's soldered with another cable that is White/Black, then it goes into the C101.

I'm going to make a new list for the C101.

[E30REDD]

Okay, here's the new list:

1. Blue
2.
3.
4. Brown/Purple (cut)
5. Brown/Green
6. Green/White x2 (cut)
7. Green
8. White/Black -> Black/White
9. Black
10.
11. White/Green (cut)
12. Brown
13. Green/Purple x2
14. Black/White (cut)
15. Black/Green
16. White/Black
17.
18. Black/Yellow
19.
20.

[gromgsxr]

I think the speed out comes out of the clocks to the ecu and its black and white

[gromgsxr]

I think the speed out comes out of the clocks to the ecu and its black and white

[E30REDD]

I think the speed out comes out of the clocks to the ecu and its black and white

That wire is going to Pin 8 (Fuel rate input), but it should go to pin 14 (Tacho meter).

But there is no wire going to Pin 14 (Tachometer) but it does work! :S

[Brianmoooore]

14, black/white, is the road speed signal going FROM the instrument cluster TO the engine ECU. It tells the engine ECU when the car is actually moving with the throttle closed, rather than moving on over run.
Pin 9, a plain black wire, carries the engine speed signal from the ECU to the tachometer.

[Grrrmachine]

My mistake then, sorry for that. Read the Wiring Diagrams wrong

Brian, what docs have you got for the wire colours for the C101? I've got a few and they've got all sorts of conflicting info.

[E30REDD]

14, black/white, is the road speed signal going FROM the instrument cluster TO the engine ECU. It tells the engine ECU when the car is actually moving with the throttle closed, rather than moving on over run.
Pin 9, a plain black wire, carries the engine speed signal from the ECU to the tachometer.

Okay, but shouldn't the engine run like crap if the 14, Black/White cable is cut off?

Pin 9 = Tachometer? It's working and is NOT cut

[Brianmoooore]

This is the diagram I drew up when I did my first M50 into E30 conversion, about eight years ago. Ignore the M50 stuff on the left, and just look at the use, E30 pin number and E30 colours.
There are a couple of pins that can occasionally have alternative colours, and a couple have different colours on the body side of the C101.


M50 1/ blue/white (dynamic oil level) E30 2/green/yellow
M50 2/ blue/yellw (static oil level) E30 10/blue
M50 /3 red/white (ABS) E30 20/ red/yellow
M50 4/ black/blue (aircon) E30 not used
M50 5/ black/grey (aircon) E30 not used
M50 6/ purple/grey (aircon) E30 not used
M50 7/ black/purple (drive away) E30 not used
M50 8/ grey (engine check light) E30 12/ grey
M50 9/ NC
M50 10/ NC
M50 11/ brown/yellow (water temp) E30 not used
M50 12/ brown/purple (water temp) E30 4/ brown/purple
M50 13/ green/purple(fuel pump) E30 13/ green/purple
M50 14/ black/white (speed) E30 14/ black/white
M50 15/ black/green ( unloader relays) E30 15/ black/green
M50 16/ white/yellow (Rx data) E30 not used
M50 17/ white purple (Tx data) E30 not used
M50 18/ black/yellow (starter) E30 18/ black/yellow
M50 19/ white/green (service reset) E30 11/ white/green
M50 20/ black (engine speed) E30 9/ black
M50 21/ green (ignition) E30 7 green
M50 22/ green/white E30 6/ green/white
M50 23/ brown/grey (oil pressure) E30 5/ brown/green
M50 24/ white/black (fuel rate) E30 8/ white/black
M50 25/ blue (ignition warning) E30 1/ blue

[Grrrmachine]

Yep, those numbers and colours all match the Wiki, so I won't change anything there.

[gromgsxr]

Sorry to hijack but does anyone know what sorta signal the ecu sends out on the fuel rate wire by any chance would love to get the obc and econometer working properly with a stand alone ecu

[Grrrmachine]

Sorry to hijack but does anyone know what sorta signal the ecu sends out on the fuel rate wire by any chance would love to get the obc and econometer working properly with a stand alone ecu

I'll move this conversation here so that the current issue doesn't get confused:

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=226864

[E30REDD]

I'm so extremely confused in my head right now.

I have the following wires connected to the C101:

Pin 8 - Black/White - Economy meter doesn't work, it's always on 0. I tried to shortcut pin 8 with ground in the diagnostic connector, but the economy meter was still stuck at 0.

Pin 16 - White/Black - Diagnostic connector. How do I know if the diagnostic connector is "working"?

[Grrrmachine]

Your Pin 16 wire is useless. It goes to the Diagnostic plug, but has no function there. It was designed to work with the Airbag system, but I know nothing about them and there's zero documentation around for it.

Pin 8 for the econometer won't supply a voltage or varied resistance, so grounding the pin won't do anything. It's a frequency, and the signal is coming from the ECU. If you want to test the condition of the wire, you're going to have to uplug the ECU and measure for continuity from the Black/White wire to Pin 17 of your ECU plug, as seen here:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... tronic_1.7

If that works, you'll then need to remove the instrument cluster and check for continuity at pin 11 of the blue connector on the back of the instrument cluster.

[E30REDD]

Your Pin 16 wire is useless. It goes to the Diagnostic plug, but has no function there. It was designed to work with the Airbag system, but I know nothing about them and there's zero documentation around for it.

Pin 8 for the econometer won't supply a voltage or varied resistance, so grounding the pin won't do anything. It's a frequency, and the signal is coming from the ECU. If you want to test the condition of the wire, you're going to have to uplug the ECU and measure for continuity from the Black/White wire to Pin 17 of your ECU plug, as seen here:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... tronic_1.7

If that works, you'll then need to remove the instrument cluster and check for continuity at pin 11 of the blue connector on the back of the instrument cluster.

Could I damage something if I try to connect all of the loose wires (Brown/White, White/Blue and White) to pin 8?

[E30REDD]

White/Black was the temp sensor! Does this mean I have the newest Loom (88-94)?

[Grrrmachine]

It may be that this engine comes from an E36 and therefore has different wire colours. But congratulations on finding your solution