Beiträge von sprucegoose

  • ASC Fault Codes. Suggestions/solutions please ?

    Oh, Tony, Not Again!!


    TT
    If you remember back to when I got more than a little obsessed about this issue, I wrote a post about how to test all the connections to and from the ASC connector, to eliminate whether the wires were running without breaks round the car. I described how you could check the valves directly from the ASC connector to a) test if there was a break in any of the wiring or in the coil inside each valve and b) to power them up to make sure you hear the little click as they operate. I think I even recorded the impedences to expect for each of the ten or so valves in the pump unit.

    Its all there in that post, together with the reference to the correct wiring diagrams to use - yours and mine are identical and whatever diagram I mentioned is the same as yours. I'll have a trawl (don't have time just now as have to go and do a night flight in a mo!) but let us know if you can locate it in the meantime.

    The bad news I have for you is that when my ASC Unit was playing up, it was saying code 34, even after I had replaced the unit that you now have with my recon one - so I know that that valve is fine on your unit. If its not the wires, you know where this leads back again, dont you? But, look on the bright side, even if its the computer, BBJ-Reman will fix it and warrant it for 2 years like mine.

  • Wanted: Entire nose in Arctic silver

    Is it like this?


    I "touched" a kerb which was enough to reveal two old cracks running from the leading edge for about 2 to 3 inches at the positions shown in the photo. Somebody had previously bodged them with filler, crap work, but hidden sufficiently so that I hadn't spotted what was there.


    Anyway my local garage couldn't weld (they said its the wrong type of plastic) and a check on the web parts sites indicated that the part is possibly no longer produced. I asked the garage to do what ever they could. What they came up with was ingenious...


    To restore the structural strength, they rivetted two metal plates to the underside, having first milled a suitable piece of the plastic away so that the plates were flush with the bottom surface. This was then filled and sanded to make a seamless repair, finally a couple of beads of resin were applied to the inside bottom corners, and another standard respray to put it back to original condition.


    The cost was about £200 and I couldn't be more pleased. Seb, its Newdigate Bodyshop (just south of Dorking) on 01306 631777 and you should ask for "Pete" who did the work on mine. I've spoken to him and if you decide to follow it up, he'll know what you're talking about.

  • Wonderful news....for me....I'm finally in the 8 series mob!

    Keep that smile on your face


    Alan,
    I came aboard about a year ago and your initial post almost brought tears to my eyes - I can still remember the buzz of driving away with my prize car. She'll cost you though, maybe more than you budgeted for, but stay the course and that original orgasmic feeling will come back time and time again. I bit the bullet and did all the obvious work within about 2 months. Then I met up with a load of the old sweats on this site (Hi guys) and found there was still some more to do. So now I know its a life project and I've realised that I'm comfortable with that, too. In 10 days the cover's coming off for her (possibly first) trip to France - Le Mans. She's rarin' to go, and so am I. I just can't wait for that dewy June morning when we pull away together, just one man and the ultimate driving machine in perfect harmony.....
    Good luck with your new honey.
    John

  • Autoglym High Definition Wax

    Roger that


    Zitat von sandwich

    Glad to hear it Lloyd. Got a feeling Spruce Goose also ordered. Have taken the plunge and ordered some of the polish that Tony recommended...Better be good Tony!


    That cover plus that polish is the way to go. I polished about 4 months ago, then got the cover a month after that. It still beads like new, just a quick shampoo with Autoglym followed by a quick blow-dry with the leaf-blower (OK, I know, I know...) is all it takes.
    :wink:
    SG

  • CD CHANGER

    Re: CD CHANGER


    Zitat von HD

    I need to replace my boot mounted 6 CD Changer....


    Why not join the 21st century? For the same sort of money the following set-up will give you a hundred times more play-time. Plus you'll be future-proofed.


    Itunes 7.6 (free)
    Ipod Nano 8GB player (circa £119.99)
    Belkin Tunebase F8Z176eaB LK (circa £49.99) (FM transmitter)


    This is what I am using and it works brilliantly in the 8, almost imperceptible hiss, even on quiet tracks. The E34 is much noisier, so the suppression on the E31 must be better, or maybe its the Bavarian Business radio. Anyway, the point is it works great, and looks quite stylish mounted in the standard cigar lighter socket. I just checked my library to give you an accurate figure - I've got 52 hours of music recorded and thats 75% of capacity - 698 songs. The 6-track changer is just taking up boot space!


    SG

  • ASC + ABS Lights on

    Testing the sensors


    Arnie
    Sorry to hear you've had a recurrence. For what its worth, my BBA-Reman unit hasn't skipped a beat since I reported installing it as above. Not a single light!


    To test the wheel sensors, I would heartily recommend the method as demonstrated in Zeals. It's fairly well documented above but if you need more information I'd be happy to enhance the instructions with digital images of the kit that was used. Once we had figured out that you don't need to jack the car- just drive it slowly backwards and forwards - we were able to test all 4 sensors on TT's car in less than 10 minutes.


    I think the diagnostics is telling you LF wheel sensor or LF inlet valve. All the inlet and outlet valves can also be tested for continuity between the positive supply to the pump unit and the individual ECU earths. (It appears that the ECU completes the circuit to activate an individual valve by making the earth, whilst the positive is "hot at all times" with the ignition on). You can then go a step further and test the operation of the suspect valve as well if you have the wiring diagram.


    My logic was that, if the system says the fault is X, and you can then eliminate X including all of its wiring back to the ECU plug, then there's only one mug-shot left in the suspect list....

  • As patient as a caged lioness

    The cover


    I took their recommendation over the phone and I'd suggest that you phone them before making your order. I seem to remember that the difference was whether you needed a temporary cover (like you might use the car every 2 to 3 weeks, i.e. me) or wanted a virtual semi-permanent. all-winter jobbie that would protect the car for the whole of the season. Like you I was in doubt at the time. I went for the custom lightweight outdoor one. It keeps out the water, bird-shit and tree-droppings, which is what I needed. As the sales-lady said, it will also provide an indoor cover when I build my garage. So far I have no complaiints - look at my 2nd picture!
    SG

  • As patient as a caged lioness

    Ah, Beauty...


    Imbatman, it came from http://www.classicadditions.co.uk, recommended by someone on this site who knows the owner. It really is great for my needs. It cost £170 and is fully weatherproof, 95% dry, 5% permeable so the car can be wet, or dry when applied. If wet, it dries out - if dry, lets just the right amount of water in and out. The interior of the car is never wet or even moist. Hasn't spoiled my pre-winter coats of paint treatment, either. Had to wait 5 weeks for delivery as I specified the custom-fit.


    Sandwich, we are staying at Blue Nord camp site, travelling on the Thursday, coming back Sunday. If that's the girlie week-end, yes, we'll be there. This website has some good maps... http://www.beermountain.com/


    Hope to see some British owners there or en-route.


    SpruceGoose

  • As patient as a caged lioness

    Without a decent dwelling and surrounded by filthy salt-ridden roads, she sits there lonely and cowled, waiting for the winter to end. Today, like every third week, we met for a little intimate automotive intercourse. Willingly starting on the first tentative twist of my anxious fingers, I returned the favour with promises of her being able to meet her German friends again soon. She blew hot, then cold, all on schedule. The touch of her skin and the way she moved, all as lovely as I remembered from last summer. As we parted, I confirmed that we will have our holiday in Le Mans, long promised but now confirmed....

  • Milky rear screen

    Seal It...


    See this thread on the subject of rear glass.
    http://www.clube31.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4394


    The comments about water getting in are correct. But many cars have laminated windows and don't suffer from this problem. So why us? The main cause is the inadequate design of the rubber seal on the outside edges. It barely covers the edge of the glass and, worse, its not bonded in the standard BMW application. This encourages primary capillary action to saturate the edge of the glass. Then a secondary capillary process pulls the water into the glass, attacking the fine filaments as it goes. Apart from the unsightly mess, you'll probably have significant sections of the screen that no longer work. There is only one solution - as already said: change the glass.


    I'd then urge you to consider a investing in a generous 'non-standard' application of rubber sealant under the side edges. Autoglass were quite happy to include this process within the lifetime warranty provided wih the new glass.

  • Advice sought (2) - Exhaust pipes.

    SS exhausts


    Happy New Year everyone. For what its worth, with a standard BMW exhaust and OEM chrome pipe ends plus maybe a dozen "cycles", I am still happy, no sloppiness and no staining. Moving on....


    Seb, I read with interest your article about the team that fitted your new thru' exhaust and I definitely would be prepared to spend that sort of money if and when the current set-up expires. Nice job! But as I don't really want the noise that comes with that extra performance, so do you happen to know if would they be a suitable place to go for something like a standard back pressure, or maybe a bit inbetweenie?


    BTW I've finally got the wi-fi working so this is a real multi-media pleasure - writing this on the old laptop and simultaneously watching The Best of Top Gear (20.45 Sunday BBC2). Oh, and some Grolsh to hand as well! We took the 840 out today (A24 from Horsham to Worthing, such a great bit of road, and only 2 cameras) and I was just listening to Clarkson describing the ride in some generic Audi at 100MPH as being the same as being sat in a church. But then 'e don't know nuffink about fast, quiet cars, does he!! Got to go now as Jennifer Saunders just came on to drive as the star in a reasonably-priced car.


    Nice to be back on line. TT, hows that pump?


    JFS

  • URGENT HELP REQUIRED BY ALL

    Octavian?


    congratrulations!


    What about "Octavian", better known as Augustus, first Emperor of Rome from 27BC. I believe he was a nephew of Julius Caesar.


    Don't know what you'd call him on a daily basis, though... :D


    Ian, perhaps?

  • Advice sought (1) - Washer Bottle

    More confused than even....


    Guys thanks for all the replies. So, er..... am I to understand that my car should have another water bottle in the boot??? :?
    For completeness, this is a UK-registered RHD 840Ci, VIN 66548, and the build sheet shows the headlamp washer option was not ordered - born out by absence of jets on the nose cone. From some of the above posts it seems that, even if I were to decide to get another bottle, I might be in for another nasty surprise when I come to fit it.... oo-er.
    SG

  • Advice sought (1) - Washer Bottle

    Still strange though...


    Alex, thanks for the .png photo link. I have made the bottle water-tight by seating the grommets with Araldite and I'm going to take your advice that there's no point fixing something that ain't broke. (Too many other jobs need the cash). It's also cleaner now. :D But, there's an interesting academic point here and, since its Saturday afternoon and I've nothing better to do, here goes....


    Picture 1 shows the parts diagram.... picture 2 shows my bottle, with the offending studs/grommets arrowed.


    Looking inside the bottle at the actual holes, they appear to have been cut out with a circular saw-bit, and the circular piece of the bottle casing thus removed is still attached by an edge inside the bottle - imagine a hinge on an inward-opening circular door. Examination of the "door" piece ought to show evidence of the nylon studs which were once part of the standard bottle, but no trace exists, just plain "bottle-wall" material. I am fairly certain that this bottle never had studs in the positions shown by the arrows. So what vehicle is this part from? Whoever cut these holes must have done so for a reason. Was it the manufacturer who did it because this is not really a proper E31 part and in the correct application the holes are meant to be there? Or were they cut out afterwards by someone trying to adapt a part for the E31 who just got it hopelessly wrong?


    Either way, the holes are in the exact position where the studs should go and, therefore, I cannot contemplate fitting a protection plate because it would be left swinging on just the top two mountings with nothing to secure it at the bottom. As I say, the bottle is now water-tight, so I shall leave it until it becomes unmanageable, at which point I'll change the whole lot. Or, more likely, sooner, if I get to the stage where I can't bear to look at it!


    Its merely academic, but I am still curious to know why I have this particular set-up. A pint of the finest Sussex ale for the provider of the most compelling explanation... :)