Introduction and moved post

[marc]

Hi everyone,
my names marc and I just acquired a '98 323 convertible, private sale.
I was surfing the 'net looking for e36 stuff and found this blog!
I am involved with some other forums and this one's layout is way different so I think I posted a question in the subject comment section, not knowing the lay of the land so to speak....
Anyway, glad to be here, now I don't feel so alone (or at the mercy of the local dealership for repairs)
I'm a shade tree mechanic, mostly vintage Italian two wheelers, so doing basic stuff I'm quite comfortable with, as long as I know what I'm looking at

Here's my post, copy and pasted from the comments section of the 'Reset your oil light' DIY.

thanks!

[color=#0040FF]Hi Tony!
I’m the new owner of a sweet 98 323 convertible and found your blog today.

I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into when this car became available and I’m just amazed at the owner participation when it comes to these machines!

It’s like the biggest suprise and has made my decision to buy the car a total delight.

Please bear with me as I’m a total noob to the world of BMW and have only had the car since last Wednesday, I’m a shade tree mechanic, but mostly Italian two wheelers lately.

Try as I might I can’t get the oil change service thing to change on the dash following your instruction.

I’ve used copper wire instead of a paper clip, I’ve held it for 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 seconds, nada.

I’ve tried it with the key in position 1 (my 323 is a May 98 build, I tried it in case it had ‘newer’ parts).

I’ve tried it by putting the wire in, turning the ignition to position 2 and getting the wife to pull the wire at 5 seconds…nought.

O.K. so maybe I’m such a noob that I don’t even know what I am looking at….

I have ‘OIL SERVICE’ at the left side of the lit bracket and then a yellow and a red lit square with ‘INSPECTION’ above it on the right hand side….

The only thing I am thinking at the moment is either pin 19 or pin 7 have become disconnected underneath….?

Oh yeah and somewhere up there in the replies to this someone spoke of a rattling in the rear right that can’t be found, I am not sure if this is the place to post this but I have the same thing, I got under the car today and could not find it, do the shocks rattle when they are shot?

I mean this sounds like a tinny heat shield type of rattle.

Oh, BTW, great blog and thanks in advance for the passing of any profound knowledge!

-marc[/color][img]http://scoot.net/gallery/bbs/bmwbrow.jpg[/img]
[img]http://scoot.net/gallery/bbs/bmw3.jpg[/img]

[sach767]

nice ride... clean

[Javier]

What a beauty! Congratulations

And yes, DIY FTW!

You get things fixed and have fun at the same time

[tonysticks]

Wow! I'm speechless. This car is awesome! Congratulations man, it's really sweet. Now, about your problem, are you sure you've followed the instructions carefully? It should work on your car AFAIK.

[marc]

Thanks for the welcome sach767, Javier and Tony!

I can see a lot of fun in the future here!

Tony, I have tried that trick every which way, but, here goes

1.turn the ignition to position 2 (this is where all the dash lights come on just before the spring-loaded starter engagement isn't it?)

2. put wire, pin, etc, in hole #7,

3. put other end of pin in hole #19.

4. count 4 seconds (on my watch).

5. remove pin.......

Oh well.

I have found a local guy who comes recommended that specialises in German cars especially BMW.

I am thinking of taking it to him for an initial 'going over'.

He has all the gear so maybe he can fix it.

Another thing, the temp guage, actually running temperature is more accurate.

My temp guage fluctuates.

It gets up to about dead-on half way and stays there around town.

If I get out on the highway and cruise for a while the temp drops to just above the quarter mark...

Is this normal or indicative of a stuck thermostat?

If you think it may be the thermostat which one would you replace it with, the 92c or the 87c?

thanks again!

-marc

[marc]

[quote="tonysticks"]Wow! I'm speechless. This car is awesome! Congratulations man, it's really sweet. Now, about your problem, are you sure you've followed the instructions carefully? It should work on your car AFAIK.

[tonysticks]

Hi Marc,

Unfortunately, the information about the SI board (Service Information board) which is the board inside your cluster is a little bit rare. If you like reading, I suggest you check this link out:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh ... ?t=1098570

but it's for the E30 cars, not ours.

I'm guessing the $700 is too much for the SI board. I tried to find some alternatives for you but couldn't. Sorry.

[marc]

Thanks again Tony, I'll read that link when I get a spare moment.

The car runs like a dream, I'm banking on keeping it for a long while so one day I may get to the board.

Was it here I saw where someone took the cluster out, cut a section out and re-floated all the solder joints to fix a half-out odometer?

Maybe that is all it needs.

I did notice that the 'socket' for pin 19 rotated (I was trying to get a good connection with the paperclip)
where the socket for pin 7 did not.

When my paperclip fix did not work it made me wonder if the 19 socket wire had become detached underneath.

I'll check that out one evening, never know, I'll post results.

[tonysticks]

You mean this http://www.bmwe36blog.com/2008/08/28/fi ... r-lcd-diy/ ?

I've read somewhere that you can reset the oil service light without using pin 19. Just connect pin 7 with the ground (-). But to be honest, I never tried this before. I tried the 7-19 trick only.