BMW E36 Blog

Hi,

Check this video for the Kenwood KVT-512, it’s pretty cool huh? The only problem is in the price. It’s $506 !!!

This is a big photo of it:

This is the video of it in action

BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate E36 Information Source.

Hi all, I found a post on the bimmer forum made by MParallel from the Netherlands. In that post, he took some great photos of the interior of his car at night. I have to say, these photos made me speechless. They’re just great!. Take a look at the CD player, the Phone and the illuminated M3 shift knob. Also take a look at the HIFI switch. This is the first time I see that switch. It seem when you turn it on, it separates the frequencies better and sends a more clear signal to the speakers. Overall, this is one of the best illuminated interiors that I’ve ever seen. What do you guys think? Do you have the HIFI switch?

Take a look:-

It seems that I have a weakness towards head units that will look and act great inside a BMW E36. I’m sure that by now, every BMW E36 owner here knows that if you don’t like the original BMW head unit or you just need a little bit more options inside your head unit, that you will have to sacrifice the look of the car to get these options. In my "quest" to find the best head unit for the BMW E36, I wrote about the Bluetooth Ready Headunits For Your BMW and the Bluetooth Ready Headunits For Your BMW . . . Revisited! which were very good choices indeed. The problem with all these great head units was that they will not fit into your dashboard 100%. It will always look a little bit different than its surroundings.

Today, I’ve found a new head unit which is the Blaupunkt Bahamas MP46. This unit is great and will blend nicely inside your BMW E36. Take a look at these photos of the head unit:

Now for the best part. This head unit can be set to illuminate amber which will match your BMW dash 100%. I saw a picture of this head unit with the Amber color somewhere, but now, I can’t find it. Sorry about this guys, if you saw that photo, you would know what I’m talking about.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

I was really excited to find out that there are xenon lights that can be used to change the yellow interior lighting for your BMW E36. I’m sure that many BMW owners don’t think the yellow look that great on E36 interior especially if you have a black or other dark  interior leather.

In almost all cases white will look better for your car’s interior, but what if you could get the xenon bright white? It would look even better inside your car. take a look at the photo below:-

The Xenon Interior Lights Kit can be bought from Umnitza for a very good price $34.99 and it has 16 bulbs that can be used to replace the bulbs in:

1. Dome lights.
2. Reading Light.
3. Rear Pillars.
4. Both in License Plate.
5. The Trunk.
6. Glove Compartment.
7. Both lights that come on when the mirrors are opened.
8. Foot well if you have one.

I hope you like this kit. This is the first time I hear about it 🙂

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

As I promised in my previous post, Top Gear BMW M5 Review, I prepared a DIY (Do It Yourself) to show you how to fix your BMW E36 light switch illumination. This is a very very common problem in BMW E36 cars and it always goes unnoticed. Having illumination in the BMW E36 light switch looks great and if you can’t see that illumination in your dashboard, this means that this DIY is for YOU. I hope you enjoy it and find the information provided below useful.

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

The illumination of your light switch can be fixed easily and it costs nothing. Well, only a dollar to buy the correct light bulb to use for replacement. To start, take a look at this:

Now, at the bottom of this is a screw that you will need to remove. After that, you can remove the light switch and the air vent easily. Take a look at the screw here:

After you remove that screw, you will need to use a flat screw driver to push the whole light switch + air vent out. Be careful with this to avoid breaking anything. The whole part should be removed by pulling a little bit. You can pull it by hand by grabbing the light switch and the air vent opening. Just apply a little effort and it should come lose. After you remove the switch and the air vent, you will not be able to remove it totally out of its place. That’s because it’s connected by two wires that will need to be disconnected first. Take a look at the connectors that need to be removed:

To remove the light connecter you should turn it anti-clockwise (from your point of view). Be careful with this, the wires are very short and you will need to use your fingers to turn the connector. It’s a little bit tight place to work with. After you finish it, you will have the whole part (light switch + air vent) out like this:

This is where you will find the pin that is holding the light bulb that needs to be replaced. Take a look:

You will need to use a flat screw driver to remove the pin out of its place. Pay attention not to break anything ok? After you remove the pin, it should look something like this:

This is the light bulb that needs to be replaced. I brought another type of bulb by mistake thinking that these small bulbs are all of standard size. It turned out that I was wrong, so I had to go and get a different one. Take a look:

After you replace the bulb, put everything back the way your removed them. It’s going to be a little bit hard to reconnect the wires to the light switch, but don’t worry, you will be able to do it with a little patience and concentration.

After you connect the wires, you should try to place the air vent + the light switch back and you will notice that it’s not fitting exactly. That’s because you will need to make sure the opening of the air vent will slide in its place correctly. Just keep moving it a little bit up and down while pushing it gently. It will slide in and everything should look good now. Now turn your lights on and see if it’s working. If you’ve successfully accomplished the task, your light switch should look like this at night 😆

So, what do you think? Isn’t that a cool fix or what?

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.