BMW E36 Blog

This DIY (Do It Yourself) is for you BMW E36 owners with automatic gearbox. It was contributed by Bernard Gutnick (thanks Bernard). The procedure shows in very simple steps how you can fix the light inside your A/M gearbox switch. I think this same procedure can be used to replace the bulb inside your window switches as well, but I’m not sure if it’s the same bulb. Have fun…

Disclaimer: Use this info at your own risk!! I’m not responsible if this didn’t work for you :-).

If the A light bulb is burned out due to constantly being on, you can replace it rather than spending $70 on a new switch.

1. Gently pry up the window/window lock/window button carefully from the top with a tiny screwdriver.

2. Put hand in and push AM button up until it pops up. Disconnect yellow connector.

3. Put small screwdriver in switch and gently pry up the two side clips. Leave in screwdriver and do same for other side.

4. Light and switch unit can be removed. Gently pull up circuit board.

5. You’ll see the black burned out bulb ( A or M or both ).

6. Now the tricky part. You have to cut the bulb out but only one at a time. Replace it with a Radio Shack RS 272-1092 12vt Micro lamp

7. It’s important to try to get the wires to be the same length as the original and with the lamp in the same position. Take your time. When soldering, only put on a very small drop as it has to fit back into the black housing. 1/16 inch of solder is enough. Use pliers to protect the bulb. Try to get the wire length and shape to be equal to the other one.

8. When you are done, carefully put the wire into the slots of the black housing, and put the cover back on.

9. Reconnect yellow connector. Light will appear when car is started. Congratulations! You just saved $68 in 30 minutes!!

Note: the car will still work with the switch removed. I think it defaults to Automatic, but I am not certain.

Are you looking for more do it yourself procedures (DIY) ? I recommend the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual for you. I got it and I think it’s a gold mine for us -BMW E36 Owners-. If you didn’t grab your copy yet, get it right now! I’m sure you’ll find this book worth every penny you’ve paid for. Get the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.

Well, I had some free time couple days ago and I decided to clean my front pillars because they’ve been annoying me with their dirty look. So, I removed them carefully and took them inside my house and washed them. After that, I left them to dry for an hour or so. When I went to the car to put them back I’ve noticed a very very big difference between the color of the clean pillars and my headliner. Take a look:

It’s shocking how dirty my headliner is compared to my clean pillars.

So, I’ve decided to clean up my headliner as well but I was afraid to make it worse because the fabric has loosened with time and it’s not going to stand up again my cleaning brush. So, I’ve decided to search the web to see if someone tried this before. Luckily I found this which is a DIY for removing your headliner. Well, this is going to make things much easier for me instead of brushing upside down :p

I kept digging for more information about this subject and I found a kit that can help you change your headliner fabric instead of trying to give it a wash and best of all, it’s very cheap. Take a look here.

All you have to do is to glue the new fabric which comes with this kit on your fiberglass panel which you have removed using the DIY provided above. Then put everything back the way it was.

I’m going to order this kit and try it. Hopefully, it will be a success and give my car a very new OEM look again 😀

Are you looking for more do it yourself procedures (DIY) ? I recommend the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual for you. I got it and I think it’s a gold mine for us -BMW E36 Owners-. If you didn’t grab your copy yet, get it right now! I’m sure you’ll find this book worth every penny you’ve paid for. Get the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.

Hi all,

As you may know, I’m still having a problem with my car’s idle. I mainly have 2 problems:

1. When I start my car, the idle bounces for a while and then it becomes stable.

2. While driving, I sometimes notice that the RPM (Rotation Per Minute) moves down until it reaches 200 or maybe less then it comes back again especially when I’m pressing the clutch pedal.

After running an extensive research about these problems, I’ve found many solutions or you may call them suggestions and they’re all over the forums. The solutions for a perfect idle in a BMW E36 are:

1. Cleaning ICV (Idle Control Valve): A very straight forward task. This unfortunately didn’t solve my problem completely but it helped a little bit.

2. Checking/Replacing the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor): I tried to replace it, but nothing has changed.

3. Check for vacuum leaks: Just buy a carborator cleaner can and while the engine is running, spray it around the engine and make sure to listen to the engine sound and see if you can detect any change in the engine’s idle. If anything has changed, it means that you have a vacuum leak. This didn’t result in any problems in my case.

4. Check the ignition coils: I didn’t find any problems with this either.

With these options out of my way, I’m left with a knock sensor error code when I check my car for problems. Actually it’s the 2nd knock sensor which is located in the left side of the cylinder block. For those who don’t know what a knock sensor is, it’s a sensor used to monitor the combustion chamber for engine-damaging knock (according the the Bentley Manual). Unfortunately, the second knock sensor requires removing the upper section of the intake manifold to replace it. So, as you can see, it’s not a very straight forward task, so I took the car to a mechanic and he replaced it (I suggest you do the same if you have the same problem). Now, the knock sensor is working properly. I also asked him about the DISA valve and it turned out that I had a vacuum leak that prevented it from working properly.

Now, after I fixed both problems, I got rid of the second problem completely. Now, I need to do more research about the first problem. I know it’s not going to be that simple and I will need to dig deeper before I have my perfect idle. But I’m not going to despair…

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.

I’m sure this title has caught your eye and now you’re all anxious to know how you can make your car’s interior auto dim with light…The procedure is very simple and all you have to do is to get in your car and turn your lights on, then watch it because you already have it. The BMW E36 keeps amazing me every single day.

Today, I have discovered that there are 2 light sensors in the BMW E36 which are supposed to auto-dim your car’s interior according to the light intesity. I’m not sure if it’s going to work in my car or not. I will have to check it today, but I thought I would post it here first in order to give you something to keep you busy :p

Anyway, that’s enough … let’s give details:

The BMW E36 has 2 interior light sensors. One in the gauge cluster at the end of the speedometer. I’m sure many has wondered what is that thing looking like a lense there. It’s the auto-dim gauge cluster sensor. Take a look:

It’s supposed to make the gauge cluster light become more intense as it becomes darker outside.

Now for the other sensor, it’s located in the Digital climate control unit and it controls the light intensity of the climate control unit and the OBC (On Board Computer). So, if you don’t have the digital climate control (like me)… now it’s a good time to start crying 😈 . Take a look:

For me, as I said before, I didn’t try any of this yet, but I will check it today and make sure it’s working in my car. Please try it in your cars and lets see if it works.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

Today, I’ve learned about the wallet plastic key for the BMW E36 cars. These are some pictures of this emergency key. Take a look:

It’s just awesome. You’re supposed to keep this key in your wallet in case you’ve closed your car with your keys inside. So, this way, you will be able to use the plastic emergency key to solve your problem right away .. smart huh? I also learned that this key is supposed to be used only once, but I’m not sure about that. I mean about the key being disposable. anyone knows if this is true?

So, I looked in the BMW E36 owner’s manual and found that when you buy a brand new BMW E36, which is something I didn’t experience :p you get 4 keys for your car:

And these keys according to the E36 manual are:

1. Master key with battery-powered lamp (switch on by pressing the BMW symbol).

2. Master key without lamp.

3. Spare key to be kept in a safe place e.g. your wallet. This key is not intended for continuous use.

4. Door and ignition key: This key does NOT operate the locks for the glove compartment and the luggage compartment. This is useful e.g. in a hotel. wow! I love that 😀

Isn’t that great? Unfortunately, I only have one key for my car. I don’t have the other three. What about you guys?

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.