Forgetful seat?

This is a little bit of information for anyone with the BMW E46 memory seats.

They are great, very useful if you have more than yourself that drives the car.

I had a couple of settings for getting in and out the car so not to rub the bolsters so much causing unwanted wear.

Now there were a couple of times when I felt that the seats were not functioning right and that it had forgotten the positions.

After posting a question on the Bimmerforums I was informed as to how they actually work!

Saving a setting

To save a setting on them get the mirrors and seat into the position you desire.

Press the big red button and it will light up. Now press the number you want to assign it to (one to three).

To retrieve settings

Either put the key in the ignition and turn to position one then press the number you desire. The seats will automatically move and the mirrors will adjust too.

You can also do this without the key in, however the door MUST be open.

While the engine is running you must hold down the number you want to adjust. I assume this is done so you don't crush yourself with your seatbelt on.

If you go to a BMW dealer you can have it set to go to position one when the car is unlocked.

Faulty wheel speed sensor

BMW E46 DSC, what a wonderful invention. Until it stops working and your light stays permanently on.

One morning I went to the car, turned her on and the light wouldn't go off, for some reason it decided to fail. After some reading on-line I discovered this is a common problem on the E46 where the wheel speed speed sensor can trigger the DSC light due to failing, or being dirty.

Seemed like a pretty straight forward task, so started looking for a replacement.

1st stop was ebay, and £20 later we have a new sensor.

I've taken some pictures below to outline the task in hand.

1) Parked car on flat surface.

2) Jack the car up enough to put on axle stands

3) Soak the bolt in WD-40 or similar. Bear in mind the bolt holding the sensor in has been there for donkeys!

4)Remove the wheel

5)Here is the sensor in situ with the bolt removed.

Here is the offending bolt, please note it is a hex bolt, so ensure you use the correct size as it can easily lose it's head!

This is where it all started to go wrong...

The sensor was stuck firmly in the hub. No amount of persuasion would move it. So the hammer came out to support the cause.

In the end, the sensor broke off inside the hole, which wasn't a bad thing, as it was being replaced anyway. I just had to ensure the sensor left no bits behind in the hub, as this cold cause problems even when the new one is fitted.

So after all of the wheel speed sensor is removed it was then the task of fitting the new one. I must admit I thought this would be the easier side of the task... How wrong was I!?

The new sensor I had seemed to be too large for the hole. Even after light sanding of the hole it didn't want to go in at all. I assumed it was the right sensor as they all seemed to be standard. I even sanded down the sensor unit itself to try to aid it. This still didn't work.

So back to the internet to see if there WERE in fact different units. After some research it appears there are two types. Although the sizes of them seem vague.

On the RealOEM site it states the following:

Up to September 2000 it is part number 34521164651

From September 2000 there are two part numbers. The left hand unit is 34526752681, and the right hand unit is 34526752682.

My car being a 2000 reg model really didn't help matters!

I figured due to it being an eBay item there could be some confusion, so off to GSF to get the right one!

So with a new speed sensor in hand I thought it would be straight forwards. This was still incorrect and the new speed sensor was still too big.

I decided to tap it in with a light hammer. It started to go in which was a good sign. So I bolted it in and hoped the light would go off after a while.

This didn't happen, so I thought the light would need re-setting. I went to the garage to have this done and it still stayed on.

The mechanic tried taking out the sensor I'd fitted but it wouldn't come out.

This unit too broke off in the hole.

After much effort on the mechanics behalf, the old eBay sensor I had was fitted. He had to grind a hell of a lot of rust from the hole in the hub to get it to fit nicely.

Once fitted the light was re-set and we're back to having a functioning DSC system once again.

BMW Signature test

Thought it about time I made a signature to use on the BMW forums.

Testing to see how it comes out :-)

New car...

Bit off topic, but went round to the parents house today and was told they went up in the loft to find something. While up there they found one of my old toy cars.

Here it is, the old Z1. Quality, the doors even go down too!



and

Farewell old friend

Time has come to say good bye to the old "Ultimate Driving Machine". It proved too much hard work to sell so ended up being taken away for much less than it should. Gutted.

Finally.... found one!

After a good few weeks of looking around. Finally I managed to find a Silver 330Ci in very good condition with 75k on the clock.

The car has some nice touches:
- Electric Folding Mirrors
- Electric memory seats with lumbar support
- All the tool kit in place
- BMW Boot protector - handy for putting the shopping in and anything going to the tip

It also has some slight let downs:
- Curbing on the alloy wheels
- Slight scuff on the near side wing mirror

The only things I'd of ideally liked would be the M Sport front bumper and the M Sport steering wheel. These items can be sourced online and fitted.

I think the bumper is about £350 painted and the steering wheel is £150 - ish so not too bad.

Over all I'm happy with it. Very smooth and power there when needed. The cock-pit is more roomy than the old E36 and the build quality seems more sound (however the old E36 320 I had was nearly 18 years old)

I must admit you really can't tell this car is 9 years old. The interior is in really good condition. Leather is almost perfect and all the electrics work as they should.

Here are a few initial pictures after getting it home:

Still the hunt goes on....

Why is it when you look for cars but don't have the cash for it there are LOADS of them... Then when you have the money there are none around!

The hunt still goes on for the right car...

The usual search on Auto Trader, Fish for Cars, Ebay, motors.com and Piston Heads has not turned anything up. I have been to see a Silver one at a dealer in Sheffield and the interior was really worn out!! Must of been a work-mans car, wood shavings in the boot and nicks out of the leather. The worst thing is they wanted nearly £6k for it...

If anyone out there knows of a Silver/Black 330Ci Manual with leather memory seats, black interior and as may toys as possible for sale please let me know :-)