Behind the glovebox...

[mcspike]

Had the car for about 6 weeks now and have been slowly finding and fixing things that have been molested by previous owners. Been investigating behind my glovebox today to find this



I had removed the poorly attached cover before to get to the speakers and was trying to attach it back on but with all the cables in the way it doesnt seem to get close enough to the holes on the side for me to try and attach it with anything (original clip/screw was missing)

What's worrying me slightly is the connector (red&orange/brown cables) just below to the right of centre frame was tucked up in to top left where the radio antenna cable goes not connected to anything and the strange black cable just to the left of it that's taped just seems to disappear into the back. Can anyone identify any blatant problems you can see here and how I'd go about tidying it up. My first E30 and I don't know what it should look like :/


Also, whoever has had it before has also made a bit of a mess behind the head unit in fitting a 3rd party one. I'm not the best with electrics but have a friend who has set up sound systems in cars for me before but he doesn't like the hassle of taking the car apart beforehand, how would be best to prepare it for him to tackle it with ease?

Cheers

[JF008]

Mine looks a bit messy too can't help but you need 2-3 of those to secure the black plastic covers in place
[/img]

[Brianmoooore]

Loose socket is for the torch, and should be clipped into the hole in the front right of the glovebox lid. The metal clip in the inset corner of the lid in the pic, just to the right, is one of the clips that the cable fits into.
Rest of the mess is fairly typical after the average alarm and ICE fitters have done their stuff. Seen far worse!
Only serious cause for concern is the yellow and green single wires which appear tobe unfixed and far too close to the brake servo bell crank.

[Brianmoooore]

Just noticed the cable ties holding the lid to its hinge!!! This should be three spire clips and self tapping screws, which are adjusted to align the catch at the front properly.
This kind of thing is not good to find on a car, and is the sort of thing that would deter me from buying it. If little things like this are bodged, what more important things have also received similar treatment?

[pacerpete]

I got all excited thinking there was going to be a 'gape' shot of the passenger front wheel as seen through the glovebox !

As Brian says, this sort of carelessness is endemic on E30s and most older cars and is worrying , as where else have the craftsmen been ?

While you are there, you may as well remove the glovebox by removing the two 10 mm nuts that attach it to the bulkhead, this will make it easier to reattach the mounting bracket to the glovebox and will allow you to have a good look in the vicinity for rust and water leaks. Pay particular attention to the main wiring loom grommet and where it passes through the bulkhead. Looking at the handiwork in the picture , I would not be suprised if the grommet is not fitted correctly.

[mcspike]

Thanks, JF. I actually have one of those knocking about in the boot which fits although not very well. I'll order some bits and tackle this another day.

Gotcha on the torch spot and the clip for the cable and I have done my best to move the wires from the brake thingy, thanks Brian.

And pretty spot on with the hinge comment, there are a few spots which are missing clips ( had the skirts off today which were missing numerous D: ) and a few nuts which were rolling about in the car when I picked it up.

But I love the car and will persevere.

On a side note the fuel remaining, range average mpg, all functions related to fuel do not work on my OBC, it's been really getting on my nerves. I've had a bit of a search and look through the wiki to no avail, any ideas?