Love the car, some questions.

C

ckrop

Member
Messages
42
Reaction score
0
I really enjoy my new 2800CS, I cant believe what a good compromise between ride and handleing it has. Gotten a lot of thumbs up. I do have a couple of technical questions that I would appreciate some help with.

-Gas gauge not working
-no signal indicator lamp on dash and no return on the signal switch.
-Idles at about 1100rpm
-Of course clock doesnt work.

How do you get to clock and dash turn signal indicator lamp?
Thanks
 
all good questions - some easier than others.

1st check your fuses - fuse 7 (from the left) powers most of the gauges. fuse 4 powers the clock ... sometimes these fuses become unseated during shipment of a car across the country.

clock - good luck, probably need to get it redone. i have 3 clocks - none work.

signal indicator - sounds like a burned out bulb, but before you pull the speedo to get to the bulb, do the blinkers work (outside the car) ... if no, check the hazard switch.

turn signal cancel - what kind of steering wheel / hub do you have? when you pull the steering wheel there should be a canceling button underneath the wheel - look at #5 on this chart - http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=3435&mospid=47811&btnr=32_1007&hg=32&fg=30

to get to the clock and speedo (turn signal indicator lamp), you have to pull the gauges. there is a good article in the archives on gauge removal.

forgot the gas gauge - more than likely you need to replace or rebuild the sender in the gas tank. take a test light and check the brown / yellow plug on top of the sender - with the key on ... does the test light light up? if no, there is probably something wrong between the gauge and the tank. if you have power there, in all likelihood the sender is toast.

good luck
 
Congratulations.
Looks like you have three good reasons to remove some instruments. There are lots of threads on that on this site. On my car what works for me is to remove the kick panels
and reach from below while seating on the driver's seat rather than lying on my back on the
floor looking up. I start with the clock, loosen the two nuts that hold it in place in the back,
then rotate the clock and should get free. There is a thread on clock repair once it is out.

You can now test the gas gauge, but it is probably a sender side or cabling problem. Good chance to go to 4W light bulbs, I can post later the part number that fits fine.

The signal indicator can be just the bulb. Does it work when you use the hazard light?

For the idle I defer to our carburetor experts.
 
The turn indicator lamp is fairly easy to get to without removing the speedo. Reach up through the left compartment. You should be able to feel the rim of the lamp holder at the base and back of the speedo. Use a small screw driver to pry it straight out of the speedo housing. Twist out lamp from the now hanging socket....

I have a used sender from a 72 CS if you are looking for one.
 
Here's a link to check the sender guages:
http://www.gilmoredist.com/howto_guides/instruction_sheets/VDO_Sheets/TroubleshootingGuide.pdf

Chances are that the wire is loose at the tank, so check that first and clean it up.

The carbs and idle:

First, at least do a tuneup or check everything out. Points, plugs, timing, etc. to make sure that everything is up to speed so to speak. One at a time, methodically.

Note the color of the spark plugs like Goldilocks- too dark, too light, just right- tanish/ light grey. ( It helps to know which carb might have an issue.)

Then check the linkage to make sure nothing is bent, loose, or hanging up that prevents the carbs from returning to idle. ( A quick way would be to pop off the two connecting links which is easy with an open end wrench inserted between.)

Also check the routing of you vacuum to the distributer. It should be ported vacuum, meaning it comes from the connection by the screw desribed below. If hooked up to manifold, the advance will be more and the idle will be higher.

There is fast idle screw and plate near the front carb used to set timing at 1700 rpm. Make sure the screw is not touching the plate which could raise the idle speed.

On the rocker cover side of the carbs at the base of the manifold is an idle mixture screw. Tighten ( turn in ) each by the same amount, 1/4 turn at a time till you get where you want to go with the idle speed. ( Assuming you have Zeniths.)

If you run a/c you want the idle higher than normal.
 
Timing question... Are the distributors vacuum advance or vacuum retard? I always thought the lack of vacuum advanced the timing.

You might also check the timing itself for high idle.
 
Vacuum advance adds about 5 degrees; more vacuum, more advance. Mechanical advance adds 30 degrees.

The retard distributer can take away up to 5 degrees. But that assumes all the solenoids are working.

For best response with say triples, all mechanical that's recurved for all in for no more than 35 degrees at 3500rpm. That's what Korman used to do. But you should really find TDC since M30s are chain driven, balancers, etc. can be off quite a bit.

But with today's gas, a street setup should pull back 2-3 degrees total with a little faster curve based on what I've seen.:)
 
Thanks

Thanks for all of the help. I will get on it as soon as I get my e-type engine in and running.
 
rsporsche said:
all good questions - some easier than others.

1st check your fuses - fuse 7 (from the left) powers most of the gauges. fuse 4 powers the clock ... sometimes these fuses become unseated during shipment of a car across the country.

clock - good luck, probably need to get it redone. i have 3 clocks - none work.

signal indicator - sounds like a burned out bulb, but before you pull the speedo to get to the bulb, do the blinkers work (outside the car) ... if no, check the hazard switch.

turn signal cancel - what kind of steering wheel / hub do you have? when you pull the steering wheel there should be a canceling button underneath the wheel - look at #5 on this chart - http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=3435&mospid=47811&btnr=32_1007&hg=32&fg=30

to get to the clock and speedo (turn signal indicator lamp), you have to pull the gauges. there is a good article in the archives on gauge removal.

forgot the gas gauge - more than likely you need to replace or rebuild the sender in the gas tank. take a test light and check the brown / yellow plug on top of the sender - with the key on ... does the test light light up? if no, there is probably something wrong between the gauge and the tank. if you have power there, in all likelihood the sender is toast.

good luck
Click to expand...

The outside turn signals do work just not the dashe lights.
I have the stock wooden steering wheel
 
Brown and yellow wire or brown and black

rsporsche said:
all good questions - some easier than others.


forgot the gas gauge - more than likely you need to replace or rebuild the sender in the gas tank. take a test light and check the brown / yellow plug on top of the sender - with the key on ... does the test light light up? if no, there is probably something wrong between the gauge and the tank. if you have power there, in all likelihood the sender is toast.

good luck
Click to expand...

I checked the wires on the sending unit. The brown and yellow wire shows no 12v but the brown and b lack wire does. Is there a mix up in the wiring?
 
my guess, is that since the blinkers work, you just have a bulb out. follow the advice of the person who said to take the bulb out with a small screwdriver. it is at the bottom of the tach so it shouldn't be hard to find.

in regard to the gas gauge. look at the gas tank and see if the sender has any markings on it. the "g" should have a brown / yellow on it ... and the "w" should have a brown / black.

these two wires hook to different things in the gauges - the brown / black hooks to the low fuel light. (is it on?) the brown / yellow hooks to the fuel gauge. make sure there is no corrosion. the solid brown wire goes to ground - check to make sure it is grounded - you can hook a wire with alligator clips to the connector and a good ground location and see if it changes your gauge readings.

if there is no power on the brown / yellow (at the sender), it seems like you might not have power to the gauge (green / white wire) check fuse 7 - do you have power there (test light should light up on both sides of the fuse). if you have power there, and your other gauges / gauge lights are working, (such as the temperature gauge) then there is a problem either in the gauge itself or the wiring between the gauge and the sender

hope this helps
scott
 
gas gauge sending unit

rsporsche said:
my guess, is that since the blinkers work, you just have a bulb out. follow the advice of the person who said to take the bulb out with a small screwdriver. it is at the bottom of the tach so it shouldn't be hard to find.

in regard to the gas gauge. look at the gas tank and see if the sender has any markings on it. the "g" should have a brown / yellow on it ... and the "w" should have a brown / black.

these two wires hook to different things in the gauges - the brown / black hooks to the low fuel light. (is it on?) the brown / yellow hooks to the fuel gauge. make sure there is no corrosion. the solid brown wire goes to ground - check to make sure it is grounded - you can hook a wire with alligator clips to the connector and a good ground location and see if it changes your gauge readings.

If I ground the bn/blk wire the gauge goes to full. I pulled the sending unit and it is a mess of thin wires and separate from the thin outer tube. I asked Sven about the one he said he had.
Click to expand...
 
The mess of thin wires- are they continuous or broken? The wire guage, length, and float create a resistance that varies by level. That resistance is read by the guage. There are posts here that describe how to repair. Senders are still available too.

Sometimes the wire comes unsoldered, broken, etc. It is delicate so be careful.

Your guage is working.

http://www.lesliewong.us/blog/2009/07/26/bmw-fuel-sender-repair/
 
Last edited:
Turn Signal Indicator

I'm not sure if someone suggested this but you might also try removing the turn signal relay. Take the cover off the relay, use 400 or 600 grit sandpaper and dress the contacts in the relay, it worked for me

DougE
 
DougE said:
I'm not sure if someone suggested this but you might also try removing the turn signal relay. Take the cover off the relay, use 400 or 600 grit sandpaper and dress the contacts in the relay, it worked for me

DougE
Click to expand...

Thanks, where is the relay located?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top