e36 electric window switches

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bazcoupe
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Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:39 pm

been meaning to do this for a while now as one of my e30 switches is broke so i just nipped to the scrappy near me got all the parts needed then to the local motor factors for some solder and spare fuses :P .

i can honestly say to anyone thinking of doing this it is extremely easy to do, it only took me an hour and thats including getting the parts.

all you need to get is

2 x rear electric switches from a saloon inc enough wire (ones in the front)
2 x window surrounds from the rear doors

(solder, connectors or cellotape if you are a bit rough )

this is a quick wire guide for the switches i used

i had the large white backed ones

e30 to e36

brown to brown
black/white to black/yellow
purple/lilac to green/black
green/purple to red

please note there is two brown(earth) wires on the e30 just connect these both to the one brown on the e36 wiring

this information will only be relavant if you use the large white backed switches

the only other switches i know of that you can use are the large blue backed ones

the small white, yellow green or any other colour are from a car with power windows and will not work

the only other thing you will need to do is file the exsisting hole so the slightly larger e36 switches will fit

i know this may have been covered in the past but the most recent post i could find on it was early 2007 so i thought i would do a brief write up for any newbies
:cool:
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siddiqi1
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Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:04 pm

do the switches light up as well?

Justo ut of interest, yu did put the E36 switches where they are orignally positioned, near the gearstick yea?

Im gana go do that mod my self too!!!

Do you need the wires from the back of the E36 switch, or do you need to solder them to the actual switch?
bazcoupe
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Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:10 pm

you need the wires from the e36 switches or at least 2-3 inches of it then you solder the wires to the exsisting wires and bobs your uncle

you just fit them where the origional switches are but just need to make the holes bigger.

not sure if they light up though give me 5 mins :?
bazcoupe
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Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:11 pm

no they dont light up i, not sure these ones ever did though.
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siddiqi1
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Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:22 pm

thanks so much for your help buddy

will go scrappy and see what they have
smithy318i
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Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:06 pm

Are they the one touch green switches ?
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bazcoupe
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Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:07 pm

no the one touch green ones wont work unless you do a lot more very complicated work. :)
Dave_M3
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Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:26 am

You can buy a kit from Autoloc for one touch function :wink:
M42 rightness above 6500rpm, nobody can hear you scream
bazcoupe
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Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:17 am

yeah looks goos that autolock system

:cool:

http://www.autothisworld.com/Autoloc/de ... mid=WC1000
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siddiqi1
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Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:39 am

that autoloc looks the business!

And its remote closure aswell as a bonus! superb piece of kit!
smithy318i
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Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:49 am

A 'HOW2' guide for anyone wanting to retrofit E36 switches...

http://www.strictlyeta.net/technical/e36switches.html
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siddiqi1
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Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:11 pm

superb additon to the thread mateY!!! :D
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Brianmoooore
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Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:25 am

Only thing with that link, is the guy has no idea how to join wires together!
The wires should most definitely be tinned first (not unless you're doing this mod at least forty years ago!)
The ends of the wires should be bared off for about 15mm, the bared off ends overlapped from different directions, and twisted together, so that they form a reasonably strong mechanical joint before the application of any solder.
I also recommend joining and heat shrinking the wires one at a time, as heat from the soldering iron in a confined space can 'preshrink' any heat shrink sleeving on an adjacent wire waiting to be soldered.
Andy325i
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Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:28 am

bazcoupe wrote:
(solder, connectors or cellotape if you are a bit rough )
Good writeup, but CELLOTAPE connectors!!!!!!!! what ever next!!!!!

Andy
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Brianmoooore
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Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:36 am

Andy325i wrote:Good writeup, but CELLOTAPE connectors!!!!!!!! what ever next!!!!!
Nothing I haven't come across many times!
Andy325i
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Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:40 am

Brianmoooore wrote:
Andy325i wrote:Good writeup, but CELLOTAPE connectors!!!!!!!! what ever next!!!!!
Nothing I haven't come across many times!
I thought electrical tape was bad enough!

Never forget mate who had a Citroen dash pulled out to do a heater matrix. I asked him wtf had been done to the wiring, he said thats how they are made!

Another mate had a set of 6x9's installed in a Bug, nice heavy speaker cable running them, soldered to speakers. One touch and they fell off! Kind of defeting the point :lol:

Bad wiring is deffo a possible cause for a car fire!
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Dave_M3
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Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:26 am

I don't really like that write up to be honest...

Probably beacause I was first linked to it when I actually wanted to know how to do the one touch kit :roll:
It's easy enough to do it with the normal switches once you have the right ones.

Another reason I don't like it is beacause, he seems to be the only person that got the switches to light up :mad:

I must get one of those Autoloc kits soon before that offer runs out! I am Irish in fairness winkeye
M42 rightness above 6500rpm, nobody can hear you scream
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Beemer323
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Fri Mar 21, 2008 5:03 am

Yeah...but postage is a KILLER from that autolock site...
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