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3 Queries for my 3 Series

5K views 33 replies 7 participants last post by  witeshark 
#1 ·
Silly question time... my reverse lights don't work and I've checked the fuse and the bulbs. Checked the price for a new switch and they're cheap (around $10). If it IS the switch is it located where I can get to it by lifting my car with a floorjack? Or am I gonna need garage lift access? This is the most important item that I'd like to fix.

The L.E.D. clock on the dash is stuck on 1:00 and I've tried to set it with no luck. I really don't care if the clock works or not. But if it's something that cheap/easy to repair or replace, I'll gladly do it. Any experience, out there, regarding this?

The power mirror adjustment (like many cars) doesn't work, either. Again, I don't care if they work or not. But before I spend $40 on a new switch, I'll most likely have to make sure that the wires are still decent on both doors, yes?

Thanks in advance... any positive advice will be appreciated and put to use.
 
#2 ·
with the switch, it is on the side of your tranny. Its really a 5 min fix and i dont think you would have any trouble changing it out. basically unclip the electrical connector and unscrew the old switch, screw in the new one and clip the connector back up.

Not sure on the clock.

With the mirrors does it do anything when you try and do the switch? is it the gearing or is there no power at all going to the mirrors. What i would do is check the connection that hooks up to your motors first to make sure it isnt a blown motor so you wont waste your money on a switch that isnt bad.
 
#3 ·
NICE! Thanks for the quick reply. Yeah, the mirror thing is gonna require some investigation, no doubt. And, no... the mirrors don't do anything.
 
#5 ·
Crispy1st said:
The Clock can be tricky - it only likes to be changed while the key is in the 1st postion. Should be able to change the time now.

PS. my backup lights don't work either, let me know how you get em up and working.
I'll try your advice regarding the clock... thanks! A few days ago, I replaced the reverse light switch for only $8. It was easy and my reverse lights work. Made me one happy camper that night.
 
#6 ·
With my reverse lights, they stopped working but the switch was tested and was in perfect working order....

turns out I had a loose connection under the shift boot....I just uplugged the wire that goes down to the switch and then hooked it back up....they've worked ever since.
 
#7 ·
yammahamma said:
With my reverse lights, they stopped working but the switch was tested and was in perfect working order....

turns out I had a loose connection under the shift boot....I just uplugged the wire that goes down to the switch and then hooked it back up....they've worked ever since.
Cool that you were able to find/fix that reverse light problem.

Well, I tried adjusting my digital clock in the first key position and all of 'em... to no avail. No worries if it works or not. The clock display is stuck on 1.00 which I'm assuming is a factory default. But if it's a cheap fix, and/or something that I can do myself, I'll take care of it. Same goes with the mirrors. The wires look good going out to the mirrors. So I'm guessing that it's most likely the door panel switch. One of these days I might replace it. My local parts shop (Mesa Performance) can get 'em for around $44.
 
#9 ·
Crispy1st said:
Sorry 'bout the clock, thx for the info on the reverse lights!
No worries about the clock. Hey, what kind of wheels do you have on your car, Crispy1st? I normally don't like aftermarket wheels on my cars, but those look pretty nice.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Nice! A rare non-factory wheel that looks good.

By the way, I replaced my reverse light switch and the lights work now. The switch is located on the top of the transmission and easily accessed via the engine compartment. Found a switch for only $8 at Mesa Performance in Costa Mesa. Even got some new center wheel cap logos while I was there. Wheels look like new again.

 
#14 ·
Crispy1st said:
Wheels look good, I think I may have stated the clock fix wrong- try the second position. I know that it took me some trial and error to find the correct spot.

About that switch you got, is it for bimmers only or is it generic?

Thx, Crispy.
I tried the clock adjustment in just about every combo with different ignition positions. No luck. No biggie... besides the power mirror switch, it's the only thing on the car that doesn't work. Which is impressive for how old the car is.

As for the reverse light switch, I'm guessing it's made for that 5spd. transmission only, but it may fit others. I bought it from Mesa Performance in Costa Mesa, CA for only $8. I was happy to see that it fixed my reverse lights. Hopefully, that's all that's wrong with yours. First check your connections at the shifter, the switch, and your lights. Of course, the fuse would be the easiest and first place to check. Good luck.
 
#15 ·
Rennsurfer,
i have a 320i jus like yours except mines safari bage and dosent look ne were near as good as yours does! nice car bro
yea my power mirrors work but the switch for some reason is inverted, meaning up = down, left=right....you get the point. and two questions how did you get your rims and bumpers to look so nice? my rims have shit on them that i could get off and i sat there with a tooth brush for 30 min each. and your bumpers look good redone or original. if original how do you keep them looking clean? i cant get mine to shine up at all
-SNAKE
 
#16 · (Edited)
Thanks for the kind words regarding my car. By the time I was six years of age, my Dad had taught me the fine art of car detailing. Since I was a teenager, I've been detailing mostly European cars. Hence why all of mine are kept so clean.

On the 320i, the wheel and bumper finishes are original. I was very lucky because the previous owners of this car kept it garaged since it was new. Which saved the clear anodizing on the bumpers. But the rear one is showing signs of weather checking in some spots on the top side. If your clear coating is too far gone, you have a few options. Two of them are to paint them either the matching body color (which looks great) or silver. Another way is to remove the bumper rubber or mask it off really good. Then, spray Easy-Off Oven Cleaner on the top side. Let it bubble then rinse off. That will remove the clear anodizing and leave the bare raw aluminum exposed. It'll look horrible at first and dark gray. But with some Mother's Aluminum Polish (or Blue Magic or any other decent brand), you'll be able to buff the bumpers to a state that's actually better looking than new and to the point of looking like chrome. One of my friends did that in the early '80s with his 5-series Bimmer. Turned out quite nice. The only downside to that is the constant polishing of the bumpers to retain that look. Or, you can coat them in clear again. The choice is yours. In a perfect world, I'd replace mine with Euro spec bumpers. But I can't afford 'em because I'm on a shoestring budget. So I keep them original and clean. I tucked in the front bumper a few inches, cut the side bellows, and painted the side reflectors satin black. If your clear coat isn't too worn, you could also try bringing it back to life using 000 or 0000 grade steel wool. Stuff is great for bringing back metal surfaces and won't scratch. That's what I used to bring my engine components back to looking new.



Fine grade steel wool is also good for restoring the finish on any other raw metal surfaces throughout the car. Like the differential cover on the rear axle.



The wheels were extremely dirty with brake dust build up and road grime when I acquired the car. For that, I used a concentrated degreaser that I get from Smart & Final. I dilute it down with water and put it in a spray bottle. Works great for keeping tires black and cleaning alloy wheels. The initial cleaning was like you posted... a few minutes per wheel. After that, it's been easy to keep them maintained.


Same degreaser helped me get most of the car cleaned, like the trunk area.



My car was all original except for having the wrong shift knob and an incorrect homemade (lame looking) exhaust outlet. I replaced the knob with a more era correct model and had my local muffler shop cut off the previous outlet pipe and we made a custom one that exits the bodywork much better. Then, I ordered a factory chrome tip from my local BMW dealer for $12 and had it spot welded on the pipe.

The rest of the car had stickers on the bumpers and windows. And was not really kept clean to my liking. So, after a week of degreasing and detailing everything, I was able to bring the car back to a presentable state of being. It's now being used as one of my two daily drivers. So far, it's been a great car. Very easy to work on and I was able to replace the reverse light switch, converted the headlights to Hella H1 & H4 beams, added fresh metal BMW logos to the wheel center caps, repainted the wheel wells and rocker panels black, and replaced the rear center BMW badge on the trunklid.



Good luck with your car and post up some pics when you get it all dialed in. Or any further questions on keeping it cleaned/detailed.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Thanks, Witeshark. What I don't get is where did all of the E21 cars go? Up to the early '90s, they were everywhere on the roads of So Cal. Now, I never see them. Mine is literally the only daily driver that I see. I've only seen three on the road in the last year. One was a really worn out '83 white S model and the other two were just as beat. I was able to talk to the guy with the S. I wish there were more of 'em in my area. I see E30 cars from beaters to really nice ones all day. Nothing wrong with that, as I like all Bimmers. I just can't believe that no one drives E21s anymore. Plenty of 2002 cars on the road here. Even when I display my E21 at the Cars & Coffee events on Saturday mornings, I'm the only E21 owner present. Lots of other exotic and rare Bimmers show up. Weird stuff.

I'll take photos of some of the cool cars at that C&C event. The images can be seen on their site: Cars and Coffee™ Forum go to the Irvine Pictures & Video forum, then scroll down till you see the threads started with my screen name (Rennsurfer). Some sweet old and new Bimmers show up there. I either show my E21 or my '67 Volkswagen Beetle.
 
#19 ·
i have to agree with white shark!!!! thanks for the help....oh what is the degresser called? do yout hink **** and span would work? the original trunk gasket on my car was trashed and it caused the tools in the kit to rust and that foam gasket is totallt shot and disgusting. i can get all the tools off of bavauto.com but i am having trouble finding the gasket.
oh you kno that black trim piece that covers the windshield wiper motors. i painted mine black also and i hit the rustyish screws and the minor rust on the panel with some naval jelly, which is great by the way...... and i paintedthe screws black to match and the ones that were silver i painted more of a creme to match my paint since they were sitting on top of it. yes ill wash my e21 then put some pix up. might b a while i have to get it running again it waont start at the moment:(:mad:emo
 
#21 ·
Sorry... but I just now saw your post/question. The black caps, like most the car, are original. I got lucky when I found this E21... hence why I bought it about a year ago.

Hope that you're able to find some caps. I'd check all of the usual online BMW sites. If you're in So Cal, try Mesa Performance in Costa Mesa, CA. They stock a lot of hard to find stuff for BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes Benz cars.
 
#23 ·
No mods at all... been using Hella lighting since my first car in 1979. The only time you'll need to alter wiring and add a relay is when you're going with higher wattage bulbs and/or extra lighting.
 
#31 ·
That's what I suspected. I've never noticed them checking anything other than the headlights being operational anyway.

On another note, is there anywhere I can check online to see if a certain recall was done on my 325i? I noticed the other day that I have an anti-freeze smell in the car when I turn the heat on. Now, I know this could mean a problem with the heater core (I'm hoping not), but could it possibly mean a problem with the thermostatic bypass valve? I know there was a recall on that, and the local BMW dealer isn't open today.

Also, what aftermarket manual would you recommend? Bentley's?

Thanks!
 
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