BMW E30 325i Noobie Questions

[Gouki]

Hi, just bought a E30 325i Convertible and have to say is a nice car to drive. Just got a couple of things I want to find out.

As shown in the pic, car is lowered and I dont know by how much but its far too low to take over humps comfortably so can anyone have a guess as to how many mm approx its been dropped and recommend some spring kits which would lower my 325i to a reasonable level as opposed to what I got here!


Reverse Lights don't seem to work, I checked the bulbs and fuses and its all ok so what could be causing it not too work?

ABS light stays on while I'm driving whats the possible cause of this?

There's another light which always stays on the dash, its a Circle with 3 small dashes either side how do I get rid of that one?

And sometimes on the On Board Comuputer, Brake Lights sometimes illuminates and stays on even though they work!

Any help very much appreciated!

[keith52]

Hi , brake lights normally thats poor contact on the multipin socket going into the rear light cluster also clean up the earth point at the same location , reversing lights could be a u/s switch located on one side of the gearbox or loose connection going into the switch Hope its some help

[Taylor325i]

I reckon your car has been lowered by about 60mm which normally wouldn't be too much of a problem but that deep front spoiler obviously is the cause. You could try fitting springs that give a 40mm drop but I think you would still run the risk of damage to the front.
BTW very nice car - I think you should keep it as it is and avoid speed bumps if poss.
Oh nearly forgot - welcome to the zone!

[TOURINGDADDY]

First off big welcome to the Zone, again i concurr that about 60mm drop but the kit is ur prob not the lowerin
ABS could b a number of things u reall need it pluggin in (dianogistic)
could b abs ecu, wheel sensor, abs ring , pump
The other dash light sounds like the pad linein wear indicators ( pads r low or no sensors plugged in or connection brocken if u can post pic of the offendin light would b sweet
Oh and that is 1 sweet e-dirty, not sure on the Z3 grills though

[orangecurry]

if you want to try something higher than won't cost too much, I've tried
http://www.avouk.com/pm/89
AVO springs, 70GBP which give a Hartge (nose down) attitude, alleged 25mm drop over standard, but it's more at the front

however this might not fit the 'look' of your car, though it will handle significantly better

but you could probably sell the body kit on Ebay (or here) for hundreds of pounds, and end up with a car that goes round corners again

[orangecurry]

the broken-dotted light is the pad wear indicators

does the ABS come on immediately, or after a few miles?

if the previous owner has let the pads wear down, the ABS sensors might be overheating / broken; impossible to tell...
as the good advice suggests above, you need to take it to a diagnostic or brake specialist; brakes are quite important, so I'd do it soon

[Gouki]

cheers for that guys, the ABS light comes on after about a minute of driving.

60mm is very low! The front bumper is not too much of a problem but its the rear that keeps catching the ground. What if I were to say get 40mm springs just for the rear, would that have an adverse affect on handling? or just get 40mm all round? Problem I have is I can't avoid speed humps where I live because there everywhere!

Thanx!

[Brianmoooore]

Does the ABS light come on after about a minute, or after the first time you exceed 5 MPH? You need to get the ABS sorted, as it's a MOT fail, and technically illegal for you to drive the car now.
If its the latter, then you probably have a wheel sensor problem. Disconnect the ABS sensors at their plugs, and measure their DC resistances. Should be just under 1000 ohms each, but any that is significantly different from the others indicates a faulty sensor.
For reverse lights, pull up the gearlever gaiter, and dig out a two pin plug and socket that lives in there on the right hand side. Wires are green/white and blue/white. Pullout the plug and short the two pins in the socket together with a small piece of wire.
Switch the ignition on, and the reverse lights should light. If they do, then the reverse light switch on the gearbox is faulty.
Brake light warning - as Kieth52 says, plus a bulb of dubious origin that is out of spec. can also give the same symptoms.
Brake pad warning light - pad wear sensor worn out or just not fitted, poor connections in their plugs and sockets, or "220 ohm resistor" in the instrument cluster ( do a search).

[Gouki]

Does the ABS light come on after about a minute, or after the first time you exceed 5 MPH? You need to get the ABS sorted, as it's a MOT fail, and technically illegal for you to drive the car now.
If its the latter, then you probably have a wheel sensor problem. Disconnect the ABS sensors at their plugs, and measure their DC resistances. Should be just under 1000 ohms each, but any that is significantly different from the others indicates a faulty sensor.
For reverse lights, pull up the gearlever gaiter, and dig out a two pin plug and socket that lives in there on the right hand side. Wires are green/white and blue/white. Pullout the plug and short the two pins in the socket together with a small piece of wire.
Switch the ignition on, and the reverse lights should light. If they do, then the reverse light switch on the gearbox is faulty.
Brake light warning - as Kieth52 says, plus a bulb of dubious origin that is out of spec. can also give the same symptoms.
Brake pad warning light - pad wear sensor worn out or just not fitted, poor connections in their plugs and sockets, or "220 ohm resistor" in the instrument cluster ( do a search).

Sorted more or less, reverse lights took the gaiter out the wires for the reverse lights had been but in half so all sorted now, brake light on the onboard computer checked the wires going to the brake pad seems to be a bit faulty, moved it round and now the light goes off as well as the dash light, also when you start the car and the check light flashes it now turns off when I press the brake, didn't happen before. ABS light seems to be off now but will monitor it and have to get the sensor sorted!

Thanx for the info guys very helpful.