BMW E36 Blog

Hi Guys,

Willy Moore, a reader of this blog, has sent me some photos of his 318is. The car looks amazing and I have to admit it’s one of the best looking E36’s I’ve seen. However, I thought of some changes that may enhance the look of the car and I’ve already sent these to Willy. My notes about his car are:

1. The 318is sign: I think this should be removed as it will make the car look better. Besides, you don’t need to tell ppl what engine you have under the hood 😈

2. The rear led lights: well, we’ve disagreed, Willy and I about this, but I think that these do NOT fit in his E36 perfectly. So, I suggested that he should remove them, and he argued that they look awesome at night. I agree that led rear lights look great at night, but they don’t look that good in daylight (at least on his car). Anyway, of course it’s his car and he can do whatever he thinks right.

So, I asked him to publish a post about his car asking you for your opinions and about how you can make this car look even better. So, do you think you can make this car look better? How?

Take a look at the photos first, then let’s hear your opinions…

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate 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.

I’ve found these photos of a BMW E36 painted with 2 colors, Red & Black. So, I thought I should post about it here to get some opinions about how it looks. Of course, the paint job is not complete yet, but what I’m interested in is the way of the 2 color tone. What do you think of that? For me, I guess it would be better if the side skirts were painted in red too and the toning line was moved up a little bit to the trunk level. What do you guys think?

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.