Two of my friends came over today and helped me (ok they did most of it) remove the wiring out of the car. Being seasoned pros, they completely stripped the harness in about 2 hours.

Anyone know what this is? It's right behind the OBC in my 95 M3 (very early prod date). Their best guess was a body control module controlling power windows and other stuff I'd be keeping. What's it do and can I ditch it?

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h136/jclarksince86/IMG_0488.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h136/jclarksince86/IMG_0489.jpg

I believe that is part of the HVAC/climate control system. One thing you can do is unplug it and try the windows. ; )

Yep, AC control module it is.

Don

And if you keep your heater core and defroster vents, you want that puppy. It weighs about 3 oz. (the wiring and heater core is another issue).

-tammer

there are smaller, lighter universal units available.

Thanks. Still havent decided whether or not to keep the heater core.

toss it. several IP guys have made defroster systems that are lighter.

Thanks. Still havent decided whether or not to keep the heater core.

You don't want it. ; ) I'm in the process of finally get my car gutted out really good and the heater core/HVAC is soon to be removed. Course I have no door glass and it's a mod car....but even if I were in prepared I'd ditch it.

Cheers.

Open trailer means door glass stays for the time being.

I only want to keep the core for the early April 30*F Lime Rock mornings. I'm on the fence about it.

Open trailer means door glass stays for the time being.

I only want to keep the core for the early April 30*F Lime Rock mornings. I'm on the fence about it.

[Dr. Evil voice]www.tossit.com[/Dr. Evil voice]

I NO I NO!! a crap load of wiring :D

[Dr. Evil voice]www.tossit.com[/Dr. Evil voice]

You make a very good point.

Ditch it and remove the windows. Fabricate brackets to slip the windows back in for trailering and paddock parking.

Pretty slick setup, thanks for posting. I'll look into that.

And you have good taste in pale ales. :D

There is no better pale ale...IMHO:)

With an OBD1 car you can take out a ton of wiring. If you don't keep your windows, door locks, and HVAC, you can take out the body control module, EWS, cruise control module, AC control unit, and ALL the wiring related to them. You will need a non-EWS chip in your DME. Picture of my before and after firewall wiring shot.

toss it. several IP guys have made defroster systems that are lighter.
Joseph, what are these defroster systems?

Vanderson routed some heater ducting from the exhaust through the floorpan and directed it up to the windshield using an inline fan.

There is no better pale ale...IMHO:)

With an OBD1 car you can take out a ton of wiring. If you don't keep your windows, door locks, and HVAC, you can take out the body control module, EWS, cruise control module, AC control unit, and ALL the wiring related to them. You will need a non-EWS chip in your DME. Picture of my before and after firewall wiring shot.

michael, nice wiring. Anyway I can get you to list out what modules you removed and what you left? Maybe identify by color/position.

There is no better pale ale...IMHO:)

With an OBD1 car you can take out a ton of wiring. If you don't keep your windows, door locks, and HVAC, you can take out the body control module, EWS, cruise control module, AC control unit, and ALL the wiring related to them. You will need a non-EWS chip in your DME. Picture of my before and after firewall wiring shot.

The pale ale hierarchy goes as follows: Smithwicks, Bass, then Sierra Nevada.

I need to keep at least door locks (open trailer). Those pictures are perfect, thanks for posting.

michael, nice wiring. Anyway I can get you to list out what modules you removed and what you left? Maybe identify by color/position.

SG_M3,

I think it's easier to list what stayed:
ABS module, wiper module, exterior light module. That's it.

Behind the glove box you'll find the rack with the modules. The blue connector module is the wiper module. Yellow one is the EWS. Wide one with three connectors is the body control module (ZKE) and the white one is the cruise control module. The Hella light module is to the far left under the dash above the terminal box on the drivers side. You can also remove the AC control module and the multi information display from the center of the dash.

The ABS module is well marked and sits to the right of the others separately. De-wiring the car takes some patience, a good handle on the Bentley wiring diagrams, and more patience. I even removed the wires from the terminal blocks with a terminal pin tool to get a clean look. The only thing I didn't do was get into the power distribution block and fuse block under the hood. This requires removing them from the outside of the firewall and didn't seem worth it. I cut the wires on the inside of the firewall that ran into the power block and capped them off so they can't short. Of course, all stereo wires came out too.

Before you get started, make sure to get a non-EWS performance chip and jump the starter wires that go into the EWS module (yellow/black and green/black heavy gauge wires). Oh, and this is for an OBD1.

I need to take a picture of all the wire that I removed, but it's amazing.

Last picture is the finished product with a very stock look, yet there's nothing behind those dash panels!

Michael9218: Where did you get the diamond plate floor covers? Is that custom or is there someone who makes a kit? Are those rivited down or screwed down?

Before you get started, make sure to get a non-EWS performance chip and jump the starter wires that go into the EWS module (yellow/black and green/black heavy gauge wires). Oh, and this is for an OBD1.
can you tell me why i need to do this. i have pulled my wiring as you have....and have yet to do what you mentioned above. should i be worried....i have obd-II does it still apply to me or that only a disclaimer for wires.
Michael9218: Where did you get the diamond plate floor covers? Is that custom or is there someone who makes a kit? Are those rivited down or screwed down?
+!
do you have templates on those floor panels.....i know vac motor sports sells some for like 200. i have access to a shop that i can make with some time for like 50 bucks. but i need to know how they attach to the floor. a template if they are indeed your owns would help but the important thing is how are they mounted to the floor....could you take pictures of hardware...please:D

Floor pans are VAC Motorsport's. They are $200, but I looked at blank stock at Lowes and it was $100 per sheet, so this is a good deal if you want the bling of diamond plate. They did require a bit of trimming to fit (luckily I have a table top band saw) and I screwed then down. They come with tall spacers, but these didn't do it for me, so I fabricated brackets out of 1/8 aluminum strapping to get the floor level. The finished product came out very nice. You could easily fabricate your own out of simple sheet aluminum. Metal Express sells this stuff in blank stock. Just depends on the value of your time.:)

can you tell me why i need to do this. i have pulled my wiring as you have....and have yet to do what you mentioned above. should i be worried....i have obd-II does it still apply to me or that only a disclaimer for wires.


Can't say on the OBDII. On the OBDI, you need to jump the starter wires for your starter to get the juice. My car would also not start without the non-EWS chip. The DME is looking for the go ahead from the EWS otherwise.

With OBDII, I have no idea what you may be dealing with. Are you at least starting the car after each step of disconnect to know when you cause a fault? I heeded this advise and knew that the multi info display caused my first default. On OBD1, windows and door locks did not trip the default.

You may be able to get a flash for the OBDII that omits the EWS dependency. Look/ask around.

thanks mike
looks like i have a new project this week. ill post a thread when im done.
as for the ews...i never pulled any boxes yet just cut most of my wires...so i should have no worries.

i never pulled any boxes yet just cut most of my wires...so i should have no worries.

Um...not sure how pulling boxes is going to matter if you've already cut wires?!:eek:

Michael9218: Where did you get the diamond plate floor covers? Is that custom or is there someone who makes a kit? Are those rivited down or screwed down?

Take a floor mat and trim it down to size for yoiur template. If you don't want to trash a floor mat, trash the outline of the floormate to cardboard or paper for your template.

Mine is attached (driver side only as it is a racecar) with some giant rivets. Also to make up for the difference in floor height, I have a small 2X4 which gives me a flat serface for both sides of the plate to mount to.

Vince

Um...not sure how pulling boxes is going to matter if you've already cut wires?!:eek:
only the ones that have come from things i have removed....i have done no guessing

De-wiring the car takes some patience, a good handle on the Bentley wiring diagrams, and more patience.

Agreed!! it took me about 7 hours going through all my wiring wire-by-wire and removing it all the way into the fuse box under the hood. i removed all the unneeded relays and fuses, and this was after i had already removed most of the wiring for the windows, doors, etc.

nice job.

There is no better pale ale...IMHO:)

With an OBD1 car you can take out a ton of wiring. If you don't keep your windows, door locks, and HVAC, you can take out the body control module, EWS, cruise control module, AC control unit, and ALL the wiring related to them. You will need a non-EWS chip in your DME. Picture of my before and after firewall wiring shot.

Michael, that looks great. What an awesome job. Max is working on his e46 wiring harness today and I plan to stop by. I wish you were around to help out. :)

do you have templates on those floor panels.....i know vac motor sports sells some for like 200. i have access to a shop that i can make with some time for like 50 bucks. but i need to know how they attach to the floor. a template if they are indeed your owns would help but the important thing is how are they mounted to the floor....could you take pictures of hardware...please:D

Free materials courtesy of my local DOT depot recycling dumpster.

http://www.altechcorp.com/users/mario/materials.jpg


Cut panels to size, using a cardboard template. Took some measurements, screwed some 3/4 L shaped aluminum to the inside rocker panels and screwed panels down. Afterward I applied some 3M grip tape stripes.

Total cost, under 25 bux.

http://www.dtmotorsports.com/~tiato/nint1.jpg

That's been my laptop background for a week while I'm tearing everything out.

Sound deadening is gone on the driver's side and I hope to do the passenger's tomorrow. Little bit of wiring cleanup, dash goes back in, and it's time to swap the new motor in, then off to the cage builder, then paint, then buy and install new steering wheel, then make the aluminum panels, then do wheel bearings and brakes, then mount new tires.....

Okay, so I was bored and snapped a picture finally of the wire that came out of the car, 26.5 lbs...now that's a pile.:cool

Free materials courtesy of my local DOT depot recycling dumpster.

Cut panels to size, using a cardboard template. Took some measurements, screwed some 3/4 L shaped aluminum to the inside rocker panels and screwed panels down. Afterward I applied some 3M grip tape stripes.

Total cost, under 25 bux.

Dude, I love the use of road signs, that rules. ; ) Hey do you think they might have those infamous street signs, Banger/Lehver? ; ) Nice work dude, seriously. Oh, and that grip tape rules. I'm glad to see it has great uses after skateboarding. ; )

Okay, so I was bored and snapped a picture finally of the wire that came out of the car, 26.5 lbs...now that's a pile.:cool

Nice, now pull that HVAC unit and weigh that sucker. ; ) I did a bunch of work on my car this weekend. Got ~85% of the roll cage cut out, pretty easy actually. Pulled the dash, the headliner, misc bits famunda the dash, etc. I've still got a lot to go though, I'm gonna strip it down to nearly nothing. Likely won't dip it, more likely mediablast but we'll see.

Man, April is coming up quick, wish I didn't have so many other things to do....

hvac is about 25