E46: Ridges on wing mirrors

Q: Why do the wing mirrors on the E46 have ridges?

A: The wing mirrors have ridges on top to help reduce wind noise at high speed.

BMW warning light meanings

Q: BMW E46: What do the warning lights mean on the dash?

Battery Charge Indicator
This means the battery is not being
charged. Check the alternator, V Belts and charging circuit

Engine Oil Pressure
If this light comes on red stop your engine straight away! Top up the oil if it is low. If it is correct then take to your nearest garage to get it checked out.
When you turn your car off, if the light comes on amber then it means the oil is running low, ensure you check the level of oil. If correct it could be a faulty oil level sensor.

Tyre Pressure Control
This light will come on with an audio signal too. It indicated a drop in pressure on one of the tyres. Avoid hard braking and pull over at the soonest opportunity.

Brake Indicator
If this light coms on when driving, stop straight away (in a safe place) and check the brake fluid levels. Avoid hard braking situations. If the levels are ok take your car to the closest garage.

E9X dash cam how to

This is a brief how to on installing the E9X dash cam from amazon

Content of the box E9X Dash cam below:

Step 1: Remove light and control panel:

Step 2: It's worth removing the sun visor clip holder to lower the head lining a bit for access:

Step 3: Connect the new cable to the existing cables connector, and plug in the end to the light/control unit 
This will leave the cable and connector which goes in the dash cam unit.

Step 4: I'd advise testing the dash cam powers on etc before the next steps of removing the unit that houses the rain/light sensor!

Step 5: Remove the surround from the light/rain sensor

Step 6: I pulled the cables through to ensure they all went through the rubber grommet WARNING this bit IS annoying and takes time and patience

Step 7: Refit the control/light unit

Step 8: Fully installed E9X dash cam It then a case of carefully clipping in the connector to the dash cam and fit it in place of the old surround. GO CAREFUL as the clips are fragile and the cables can get in the way too:

Step 9: Once connected you just need to download the software and insert and SD card:

Shot of software:

Note:
This is an affiliate link, this means that I get a tiny percentage for making you aware of this product.
In no way does this affect the quality or standard of the product.

Up and coming how to’s

It’s been a while since this blog had any updates on all things BMW related so it’s time to revive it!

Over the next few weeks there will be guides on some simple updates to tidy up and modernise the 335i.

• Stealth dash cam
• Removing the phone connector in the centre console 
• Updated gear stick

Stay tuned!

PA SOFT diagnostic scanner

I have played about with the PA soft bmw scanner and have changed a few options.

would anyone be interested in me posting how to use it and all the different coding options?

Spoiler alert

I've not posted for a while but thought I would add this as there isn't a lot out there about this spoiler!

For a while the spoiler on the 330ci was loose, the bolt had gone inside the boot and I had it stuck on with various bonding agents. This was not a long term solution though.

thought it a good time to fix it long term as it had come off in the snow ( two girls gave it a push when it got stuck, bless them but they held the spoiler! )

Any who..... On to the fix.

I pulled the boot liner off and took out the light, this was the only way to get to the bolt.

It is a single ended bolt with a hex end. This screws in to the spoiler and then pushes in to the boot lid. 

There are two black plastic housings (one on each side).

I thought there might of been a bolt inside but there wasn't. If you removed the bottom of the plastic inside the boot you could add one if wanted.....

It's now on and all secure once again.

Non opening e46 door

After about a year of having the 330, the drivers door got harder to open, more so in the cold.
As many I tried the trick of loosening the Allen bolt at the side of the lock and then re tightened it. It worked a little, but wasn't ideal. Then one day it totally made no difference and the door failed to open from the outside. It still opened from the inside so when I had a passenger I'd Ask them to open it. When I was on my own however, I had to hold the open button on the key to open the windows and put my arm inside to get to the I side handle.

Well mot time is next week so it's an instant fail if you can't get in the door from the outside.. Time to take action.

There are a couple of options,

Take it to the garage to fix.... £££'s
Get a new lock or one of eBay... Not a bad option, about 50 of the queens finest
Take it out and try to fix it... Cost, lots of stress....

I opted for the latter option.

This isn't a walk through guide but how I fixed my door and a few tips.

First of all, remove the door card, there are many a guide for this, one is :

Then remove the bit of sound deadening from around the door lock side of the door.

Unbolt the top and bottom window runner bolts on the right side. Then using a reverse torx or a deep reach 5.5mm socket,  remove the bolt on the bit that holds the window in.

Next I removed the outside lock and handle.

Then I removed the 3 bolts holding it in place.

Keeping hold of the lock, it will drop down. Unplug the electric plug from it.

The next step involved pushing the window runner away from the lock, a lot of swearing, sweat, blood and grazes and finally manovering out the lock from a tight gap.

Now the fun begins.

Straight away I could see the problem..

The famous bolt goes through the two parts and the it had threaded in the hole so wasn't holding it tight in position. This meant when the lever was pulled it didn't actually move enough to activate the unlock feature.

Couple of options that I could see, put something through the little holes where the spring is

Eg.

This worked but it effected the spring and I didn't have anything I felt comfortable fitting and keeping in place.

The next option was to screw and bolt something in place of the Allen bolt to keep it tight. I tried this and it still slipped and left a non function outcome..

The next option was to put something in the hole to keep the travel firm. Que a kitchen blow torch and solder and a small bolt that just fitted in the gap. 

 

I soldered it in place and then fed a screw that was just wide enough and put a panel behind to secure it. Tested it out and it worked.

I then refitted in the reverse. I'd almost recommend putting the internal handle cable on first as this caused a head ache trying to refit afterwards with the lock in situ.

Then connect the plug back on it. 

Ensure the lever bit is in the right place before bolting it back together. I didn't so had to re adjust which was not ideal... 

 Here is it now...