Funny cable found in engine bay

[makeapullup]

Hi there,

I'm pretty new to E30's and cars in general. I have a 1986 325i Cabrio. Been an interesting 2 months of ownership with plenty of things replaced.

Today I found a hanging cable in the engine area. The plug is pretty greasy so was once attached to something.

I have attached pictures of the cable and the plug as well as a pic from my Bentley book where the cable is located. In fact i think next to the reference sensor.

Any ideas? or help?

Thanks







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[BenHar]

Cabriolets weren't introduced until 1987.

Pre 1987 cars had jetronic engine management which did not have the sensor on the front of the crank.

This makes it tricky to answer your question.

But I would say that that is not the "reference sensor".

Ben

[e30topless]

that's for either the external temp sender (6 button OBC ) or a pre-face foglamp

[gooner1]

Cabriolets weren't introduced until 1987.

Pre 1987 cars had jetronic engine management which did not have the sensor on the front of the crank.

This makes it tricky to answer your question.

But I would say that that is not the "reference sensor".

Ben

Wrong. I have (the remains) of a 1986 Cab.
Had the car for 6 years and it was running 1.1 Motronic whilst in service.

Can,t recall exactly what the part is called but pretty sure
it,s something to with the revs of the toothed wheel at the front of the block.

[gooner1]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=12&fg=05
Part NO 7, pulse generator, makeapullup ?

[makeapullup]

Did I mention the car originates from France and that I live in the Netherlands. Thanks for the replies so far...

[Grrrmachine]

Did I mention the car originates from France

Ahhh, I think that market had a special sensor to detect the German border (now NLA). If the car approached the autobahn, the engine surrendered.

[makeapullup]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=12&fg=05
Part NO 7, pulse generator, makeapullup ?

Problem with this is the shape of the plug, also the cable as far as I can trace it goes pretty far back, therefore much longer than the pic.

[gooner1]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=11&fg=10


Part No 11 look more like it?

[BenHar]

Cabriolets weren't introduced until 1987.

Pre 1987 cars had jetronic engine management which did not have the sensor on the front of the crank.

This makes it tricky to answer your question.

But I would say that that is not the "reference sensor".

Ben

Wrong. I have (the remains) of a 1986 Cab.
Had the car for 6 years and it was running 1.1 Motronic whilst in service.

Got that from the wiki:
http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Cabriolet

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... rol_Module

If it's wrong maybe you could tell Grrrmachine and he will correct it.

Ben

[clipper]

As far as I know there was never a 325i with Jetronic.
Mine is from July 86 and is, of course on Motronic 1.0 (not 1.1).

[gooner1]

As far as I know there was never a 325i with Jetronic.
Mine is from July 86 and is, of course on Motronic 1.0 (not 1.1).

Motronic 1.0, that,s the one mate.
You wouldn,t believe the times I,ve confused that with 1.1

[makeapullup]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=11&fg=10


Part No 11 look more like it?

Now that does like similar...

[makeapullup]

Do the cable colours give a clue?

[gooner1]

Cabriolets weren't introduced until 1987.

Pre 1987 cars had jetronic engine management which did not have the sensor on the front of the crank.

This makes it tricky to answer your question.

But I would say that that is not the "reference sensor".

Ben

Wrong. I have (the remains) of a 1986 Cab.
Had the car for 6 years and it was running 1.1 Motronic whilst in service.

Got that from the wiki:
http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Cabriolet

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... rol_Module

If it's wrong maybe you could tell Grrrmachine and he will correct it.

Ben

Ben, think the Wiki article is talking about early E30,S there,
not 325i,s.

Ignition Control Module

On early (pre-87) models equipped with Jetronic engine management, an Ignition Control Module was fitted to control the ignition. Since this unit is an integrated unit, it requires dedicated testing equipment to check; however, they very rarely fail and therefore should not be considered suspect in the event of ignition failure.

The only checks you can do to the control unit are to ensure that it is getting a supply. On the Siemens unit, remove the large round 8 pin plug and check for voltage (ign on) between pins 3(+) and 6(-). Pins should be numbered inside the plug. On the Bosch unit, check between pins 4(+) and 2(-).

If you dont get voltage, you need to check your wiring. The negative pin ( 6/Siemens or 2/Bosch) should show continuity to ground and the positive pin (3/Siemens or 4/Bosch) should show continuity to the 15 (green wire) on the coil.
HT Leads

[BenHar]

Cabriolets weren't introduced until 1987.

I've done a bit of research and according to "BMW 3 Series: A Collector's Guide. Generations 1 and 2 including M3" By Jeremy Walton the first RHD convertibles came out of the factory in June 1986.

So the wiki is a bit out.

Sorry for the confusion.

Ben

[Brianmoooore]

ETK gives the earliest build date for European spec., RH drive 325i cabs as July '85.
Wire colours needed to identify the mystery plug.

[Quaser]

its not the connector for the abs sensor or the brake pad sensor is it??

[makeapullup]

The car doesn't have ABS, will look into the brake wear sensor.

[mcbonio]

It seems this weeks 'Where does this plug go?' is an interesting one..

[Quaser]

where does it connect to on the other end??

[Quaser]

Im probably wrong here, but didn't all 325i's have abs and an oil cooler? From the pic, I can see that the oil filter is sitting perpendicular to the engine suggesting there is no oil cooler!

[makeapullup]

I also thought all 325 Convertibles had ABS but I have seen a few without, maybe in France it was an option.

The cable I don't think goes to the brakes as it isn't long enough. Following the cable the other way doesn't help as it disappears into the housing (1st picture about an inch above the arrow you can see the cable going up.)

Maybe it fits into the non-existant oil cooler?

[clipper]

I wouldn't worry about the car not having an oil cooler, it probably just started leaking at some time in the past and got binned. Not exactly a difficult mod...

And no, all 325i s did not come with ABS, mine didn't. It was an option in the "early" years.

[makeapullup]

Ok, solved. It's apparently a plug in preparation for a lambda sensor in the exhaust.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

Later