Belt Diagram

[FearsOfWar]

I am trying to replace my alternator & power steering belt for my 1986 325e, and I forgot to mark the pulleys. I had to stop because it got dark, and it rained the next 4 days, so I pretty much have forgotten which belts go where. For the life of me I can't find a diagram, even in the car manual or the Haynes service manual.

Does anyone have a diagram for these? I'm anxious to get her back on the road. It sucks going from a BMW to a borrowed Saturn.

[marti5]

This is for a 1992 dont know but may help:

http://www.bimmerwerkz.com/forum/3-s...ems-59093.html

[FearsOfWar]

I checked, but that's not right. I don't have one large serpentine belt for it, they are 2 individual belts. One for the alternator & one for power steering. Since I had to pull off the power steering belt to take off the alternator belt, I figured I'd replace that one too.

I had the car on a jack, but before I could get the belts back on, it got dark. I left it on the jack, ready to finish up in the morning. Blam.... 4 days of flash flood weather, so now I can't remember which belt goes where. lol

[silversled]

hmm...good memory jogger there...I think it goes from front to back, power steering belt, water pump/altenator belt and then A/C compressor belt. I could be mistaken about the A/C water pump order but it'll be apparent when you try to put the new straps on....good luck

[FearsOfWar]

My sister's fianceé ended up putting them on. He had an old E30 a while ago, so he knew where they went.

One problem down. Now I just have to bleed the brakes & figure out what the idiot who wired the after market audio did wrong.

The Alpines in the back work fine, but the aftermarket tweeters & the front speakers don't work right.

[romeomike]

From the engine forward to the radiator (belt dimensions in mm):

Alternator/water pump (9.5 x 965)
AC (12.5 x 810)
Power Steering (9.5 x 825)

Verified by visual inspection, dimensions from the owner's manual.

Wiring harness colors from an Alpine CDM 7833 that came with the car (full listing)

Red (switched power)

Gray (front right speaker +)
Gray/Black (front right speaker -)
White (front left speaker +)
White/Black (front left speaker -)

Black (ground)
Blue (power antenna)

Violet (rear right speaker +)
Violet/Black (rear right speaker -)
Green (rear left speaker +)
Green/Black (rear left speaker -)

Yellow (battery lead)

Hope this helps.

[FearsOfWar]

I got everything except the wire that powers the antenna up & down. One of the after market Alpines in the back use blue, and those were the only blue wires that came out the dash. I'm not overly concerned with it, due to listening to CD's 95% of the time anyway. Is it going to cause an electrical fire to not have it wired in?

[romeomike]

Originally Posted by FearsOfWar

I got everything except the wire that powers the antenna up & down. One of the after market Alpines in the back use blue, and those were the only blue wires that came out the dash. I'm not overly concerned with it, due to listening to CD's 95% of the time anyway. Is it going to cause an electrical fire to not have it wired in?

One would think not. There just wouldn't be a signal to raise the antenna when the radio is powered on, or lower it when the radio is turned off. Since the blue wire carries power, you would want to tape it off so you wouldn't have metal-to-metal contact.

But if you want to go for it:

In the factory wiring behind the dash, there are four connectors: (2 pin C215, 2 pin C216, 1 pin C233, and a 4-pin C242). You want C233 (a single 20-gauge wire with white insulation to hook the power antenna lead from the stereo unit to. Looking at the E30 radio schematic, you'd have the correct wire if a continuity test from the white wire in the trunk's power antenna connector (C219) succeeded with the C233 wire.

If you had access to a tone generator (aka fox and hound), you could put a tone on the white wire (c219) in the trunk and then find the wire with the loudest tone behind the dash. Just make sure the radio is powered off if you try this approach.

Sources: Chilton E30 wiring schematic, electronic troubleshooting manual from a 1990 E30 convertible, and adapting my experience as a computer technician to this situation.

Hope this helps.

[silversled]

so, somehow this converation drifted from fan belts to electrical? Really

[romeomike]

Originally Posted by romeomike

You want C233 (a single 20-gauge wire with white insulation to hook the power antenna lead from the stereo unit to. Looking at the E30 radio schematic, you'd have the correct wire if a continuity test from the white wire in the trunk's power antenna connector (C219) succeeded with the C233 wire.

If you had access to a tone generator (aka fox and hound), you could put a tone on the white wire (c219) in the trunk and then find the wire with the loudest tone behind the dash. Just make sure the radio is powered off if you try this approach.

For precision, I'd favor the continuity test.

Good luck.