OK, so I've started on this and ran into a few issues. First the damn started bolt was a b!tch to get to. Damn thing was on the wrong side of some contraption (cold start valve?), and that contraption was VERY grimey. Finally got that off, and the other nut/bolt holding the possitive wire to the fuel block was a pain to remove. This is all just me trying to undo the oringinal wiring, I haven't even RUN the new stuff yet.

But so, as I'm taking out the old possitive wire, I notice (sorta hard not to) that there is something else attached to the possitive terminal's connection. It is in THIS (http://e21.tricord.cjb.net/members/uberpanzer/wireclose.JPG) pic. This looks almost like it might have enough length to get over to the starter without being in the way. Is running it there and attaching it to the starter bolt a good idea? BTW, THIS (http://e21.tricord.cjb.net/members/uberpanzer/wiresplice.JPG) is where it goes. It splices into these wires going into the fuse box.

Also, take a look at THIS (http://e21.tricord.cjb.net/members/uberpanzer/wirefar.JPG) pic. Pardon the condition of the old battery tray. Is that the charcoal canister below it? It is attached to the bottom of the tray....is that normal? What EXACTLY does this thing do? Can I remove it? Oh, and the ground bolt is bolted TO the battery tray. Not good to me, but oh well, I can ground all those other wires someplace else in a few when I (hopefully) get to remove the tray.

Sorry for some of these questions. I let Joey hang onto the manual I've got after we did the control arms last weekend, since I didn't THINK I was going to need it any time soon. DOH!!!!!!

That is the Charcol canister under the tray. It collects fumes from the fuel and directs it back to the lines. Not a great technical explanation but u get the idea. There should be 2 soft lines running to the top of the canister and 1 soft line mated to a fuel line on the bottom, that the return line.

You can do wut i did and leave the exsiting + cable in the bay and fasten it to the sidewall so it can be jumped if need be inside the engine bay. I have found this method to be rather usefull. I used the same setup that is on my dad 91 735il, in which the battey is under a cover box and the + terminal is to the side away from the battery and just find a ground to clamp to if it ever needed a jump.

K, I'll bolt the canister to the side somewhere.

But what about the SMALLER wire attached to the possitive terminal wire here?

I should go take a pic of how NASTY my + wire is. I'm just going to leave it out. I'll get the new wire going, and it should be fine. If I need to jump the car from under the hood I'll figure something out....

When I did the battery relocation, I got a positive junction block and mounted next to where the barometric sensor is. That way I could run the Positive wire from the battery to that location, then run the Fuse box wire and the Starter wire to that junction. That way I didn't have to cut the harness apart or rewire a lot of things.

OK. Those are sounding a bit better ideas. I can mount something like that on the firewall (e30 style) and then run to stock locations from there.

BTW, again due to my wonderful organization skills and thus misplacing the paperwork that came with the TEP stuff....

How do I wire up the battery kill swicth from TEP? It is one of those red 'key' jobs, typical on most track cars. Does it do on the possitve wire or the ground? I can't remember....

I did exactly what BMW club racer did. It is way easier to do, you can just cut those 2 wires off the post clamp and strip them. Stick em in the dist block you mounted on the inside of the engine compartment ( i mounted mine on the drivers side wheel well. Next just run your new wire from the battery in the rear of the car to the other side of the distribution block. Look at my gallery if you need to see a pic.

How do I wire up the battery kill swicth from TEP? It is one of those red 'key' jobs, typical on most track cars. Does it do on the possitve wire or the ground? I can't remember....

You always want to disconnect the battery from the Negative Side First! Its really just a matter of preference as to where you want to run the switch. One thing to take into consideration is that a 4 guage cable weighs quite a bit, so if you are planning on making a race car out of this, you would want to make the wire as short as possible.

I ~KNEW~ there was some reason I was always taking off the negative first, just never knew why. It was something that I guess I had heard somewhere and just was always in the back of my mind. I think at this point that I'm going to try and get a power block from an e30 (great BMW wrecking yard nearby), mount that on the fender near the fuse box (as 81bimmerguy did), and make the neg cable JUST long enough to mount the kill switch someplace easy to reach in the trunk.

Off to do more work!!!

if you cant find anything at the junk yard, go to a stereo shop. for about 10 to 15 bucks you should be able to get a nice gold plated distribution block with cover.

OK, so after taking the weekend off from working on the car I'll be back at it in the morning if all goes as planned. I should be able to get off work, call the BMW yard to see if I can get the power block, and if not head to a stereo shop for one.

I have also realized that in order to put the charcoal canister where I want it (bolted to the fenderwell below where the battery used to be), I will have to remove the bumper shocks. This means pulling the front bumper. No biggie, I was going to do that anyway. I guess it actually gets me motivated to DO a bunch of this stuff I was wanting to do with the car, but had been putting off. But it also makes the entire process that much longer to complete. Hell, I may start in the morning with the bumper and the canister BEFORE doing more with the battery. That way I can make sure I have enough room for the power block thingy where I want it before I go and get it.

.....plans are for wussies.....

if I remember correctly you will have to relocate some ground wires as well. i think they are mounted on the battery tray, i just drilled a hole below the charcoal cannister, sanded off the paint to bare metal, got a nut to fit the old bolt, and bolted it through the sheet metal.

Yup. I was planning on using the nut off of the battery tray, if I can remove it. If not, I'll be looking for nuts to fit the canister's bolts anyway, although I'm not sure if the wires in question will reach the place I'm mounting the canister.