| Ive gone ahead and purchased a 1985 318i 2 door a couple of weeks ago. Quite low milage, good body and engine, but very tired.
One of the biggest problems im having at the moment is the electronics system.
I can understand a few things being wrong with a 20 year old car, but its becoming just a little bit crazy at the moment.
My biggest problem at the moment is the temperature guage. It just stays on cold the whole time and doesnt respond at all. I really cant figure out the the temp sender unit, and i cant figure out what im meant to do with it. The BMW mechanic wants $390 to go on a fishing trip in the wiring harness. I only paid $2000 for the car, and if I have to, ill use a computer thermal probe mounted in the dash, but i want to get this thing working properly. All my other guages work correctly including fuel, so im thinking it could be just the sender unit, however i dont know how to locate it in any case, so if anyone has some directions or a picture it would be helpfull.
The other problem I have is with the equipment in the doors. The power mirrors switch does nothing. I dont even get a sound out of it when i move the switch around. The door activated interior lights work sometimes and dont others but i think its just some WD-40 needed on the switch. I dont have any working central locking in the car. Its a january 1985 2 door Australian 318i, so i think central locking is meant to come as standard equipment, but its long gone if it is there.
The car has obviously had an owner that didnt love it very much. The thing is mechanically and visually perfect, but honestly it was a mess when i got it. On the day of delivery, i had to empty about a foot of Mcdonalds leftovers, empty beer cans, condom wrappers, porno magazines, pheramone wipes, and general gorilla type garbage out of the back seat and rear foot well. The interior looks nice now, but still stinks like a bin liner but thats something i can put up with. The lack of central locking, working interior lights, and power mirrors however is something that i just cant put up with at the moment.
Any help, with any of these problems would be greatly apreciated, as it is likely that this car is going to have to last me up to five years through university.
Thanks in advance. | 
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