Hey guys. I'm having an issue with my S50B32 swap that I need help with. Where do I begin? Well, the car started out as a 7/94 325is. The engine in the car was a RHD evo motor produced in November 1997 (from England). The DME is from a 1996 EVO (from England) and the wiring harness is from a LHD MZ3 (year unknown).

I have installed EWS using parts sent to me with the motor (doubtful that they came with that DME). When the ignition is in position 2 and I put the EWS chip on my key, I can hear the EWS box click in response (sounds like a relay). Then the car cranks, fires, and immediately dies.

We spent several hours tonight testing our wiring and the cars wiring to figure out what exactly is going on. We have narrowed it down to one thing: no power to the injectors. The fuel pump works. Crank position sensor works. Main body relay works. All of the grounds connected to the DME work. We can jumper the injectors to fire, but they won't fire on their own. We even got the car to idle on propane for 5-8 seconds, so we know we have spark. The pins on the DME for injectors don't get power at all.

There has to be something simple going on that is prohibiting the injectors from firing. I'm not sure if it is the EWS or not. For example, several people told me that if I taped the chip onto the ignition column (less than 1.5" from the ring), it would work. This was not the case. The car wouldn't even crank unless the chip was on my key (or within the ring). I could tell it had communicated with the EWS box when the box clicked (as mentioned above).

So does anyone have any ideas as to what this might be? I'm so close to the car being running that it's not even funny. :shifty Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

hm.. ill wait for other people's responses first before i make my input :)

I'm gonna look more into the EWS alignment. Maybe it needs to be done? :dunno

It sounds like you have taken into account the MZ3 harness differences.

Have you checked the function of the relays?

Kim,

Before I sent you the dme and ews/key package, I installed them in my car, and it started and ran very nicely.

In the past I have had customers struggle with EWS wire problems and alignment problems.

In one case, I had supplied a "still wrapped from a breaker" computer and ews kit and key that I had not tested, and it was an EWS III kit. In another case, the customer struggled, and we could not solve it. The customer sent back the DME to me, two EWS boxes, and a key. In the second customer's case, it has since been determined that they essentially lost the EWS kit I sent them. Both EWS boxes returned were from US cars, one a 328 another a US M3. The key matched neither of the boxes. I sent them a new EWS box and matched key aligned to the DME.

From these two experiences, I've changed my business practices to ALWAYS start my own personal race car with a dme/ews/key to be 100% sure I'm not sending out something faulty.

********************** How to fix it *******************

In my opinion, this is "binary".

Either the key or EWS box or DME has been damaged since they ran my car.

or

The wiring is not right yet.
************************************************** *

If you don't have a geographically close friend where you can plug your dme/key/ews box into their Euro 3.2 car and see if they run, you can mail them back to me overnight next week, and I can overnight them back when they're confirmed "intact" or, I replace whats not right.

Alternatively, you can return the DME to me, and I can flash out the EWS function altogether.

Short of those two items, you've got to go over the wiring.

Although you found a minor problem with the MZ3 engine harness that you mentioned in a prior thread, the engine harness is not likely to be the source of the EWS problem, it is more likely the key/ews/ring/ wire set up.

Did you remove the chip from the key? Did I send it to you that way? The system is surprisingly sensitive to the orientation of the chip/key within the ring.

Keys can break and go bad. Ring antenna can go bad, but not often. It takes an "electrical event" to burn out the EWS II box or the DME itself, but that can be done too given enough effort. (BTDT, not proud of myself)

Check in the parked thread in eurospec where we list our cars and mods. In there in my entry is a link that will send you to great pdf files for complete wire diagrams.

Alex.

Kim, don't know if it's similar to your problem, but given the similarities in our motors and chassis, it may be worthwhile for you to check this thread:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=911863

Though, I believe my harness came from the same RHD car as my motor.

I may be willing to let you try an test your DME/EWS on my car... unfortunately, it's at JMC right now and the guys are out at a test and tune weekend at Buttonwillow. If you're still having issues on Monday, let me know... I've got to go over there anyway to get my tranny checked out on my other M3, I think it's about to go.

Cheers.

Did you remove the chip from the key? Did I send it to you that way? The system is surprisingly sensitive to the orientation of the chip/key within the ring.

Keys can break and go bad. Ring antenna can go bad, but not often. It takes an "electrical event" to burn out the EWS II box or the DME itself, but that can be done too given enough effort. (BTDT, not proud of myself)

Check in the parked thread in eurospec where we list our cars and mods. In there in my entry is a link that will send you to great pdf files for complete wire diagrams.

Alex.

I didn't get a key with my kit. I got a chip from a key. I also received the 2 ews boxes, and the ring. When I put my key in the ignition and turn it to position 2, I then take the chip and set it on my key, as close to the ring as possible, and I can then hear the EWS box click. At this point, the car will crank and fire. If the box doesn't click, the car won't start. :az

Sounds to me like the EWS is working properly. I know on one of my harnesses I had some wires that didn't have continuity. I would check continuity on all the wires to the injectors. If that checks out I would try to follow the path of electricity. You'll find the problem sooner or later....too bad it is a very tedious job. I got real good at reading electrical diagrams.

OTOH, like Alex said....the key is VERY sensitive to orientation to the ring.

This sounds to me like an EWS problem for sure. That is exactly what happens when it is an EWS problem, and always turns out to be one. You can be sure about that.
IIRC the EWS box must have 5 wires connected to it for it to work, one of which is connected to the smaller box (which in turn is connected to the antennae ring). I can check tomorrow morning and get you the exact wire colors if you'd like, my harness is from a Z3 as well.

So we got the car running tonight. :redspot Here is how we hooked up the EWS. The red portions are the deviations that were made from GoBuffs' write-up. I can't really explain why it works, but it does.

Grey box
-EWS 1 (black/yellow) to black/yellow on ignition switch
-EWS pin 3 (big black/green) to large green wire on ignition switch
-EWS 4 (green) to X20 #7 & #8
-EWS 5 (red/yellow) to +12V power (hot all the time)
-EWS 7 (brown) to ground
-EWS 12 (black) to X20 #20
-EWS 13 (light blue) to EWS transmit box wire #1 (blue)


EWS transmit box
-1 to EWS 13
-2 to +12V power (hot position 2)
-3 to ground

Hey guys,

Im new in this forum.. Just signed up today.. Im hoping I could meet great ppl and learn alot about bimmer's. I recently bought a 95 M3 and a s50b32 euro(321hp) engine. I am trying to figure out what are the things Im going to need to make this swap possible and if I could still use my OBD1 stock . If you guys could help me out, it would be HIGHLY appreciated. Thanks, Tony

you better check you engine first because there was no 3.2 engine in 95....they were all 3.0

Hey guys,

Im new in this forum.. Just signed up today.. Im hoping I could meet great ppl and learn alot about bimmer's. I recently bought a 95 M3 and a s50b32 euro(321hp) engine. I am trying to figure out what are the things Im going to need to make this swap possible and if I could still use my OBD1 stock . If you guys could help me out, it would be HIGHLY appreciated. Thanks, Tony

I hate to be that guy, but a search on the topic would be your best bet. I'd be sure to look at a few of the threads Kim (member name 94is) has started.

Cheers.

So we got the car running tonight. :redspot Here is how we hooked up the EWS. The red portions are the deviations that were made from GoBuffs' write-up. I can't really explain why it works, but it does.

Grey box
-EWS 1 (black/yellow) to black/yellow on ignition switch
-EWS pin 3 (big black/green) to large green wire on ignition switch
-EWS 4 (green) to X20 #7 & #8
-EWS 5 (red/yellow) to +12V power (hot all the time)
-EWS 7 (brown) to ground
-EWS 12 (black) to X20 #20
-EWS 13 (light blue) to EWS transmit box wire #1 (blue)


EWS transmit box
-1 to EWS 13
-2 to +12V power (hot position 2)
-3 to ground

updated my sig to point to this post as an alternative

Very odd kim.

On the MZ3 and coupe/sedan, Pin 8 X20 goes to pin 8 dme, labeled Fault Lamp, and "unused".

Wonder if you really need that, or, if its a "dud", and something else fixed it.

Have you tried removing it and testing? or, is it a kluge in the harness that pin 7 X20 perhaps doesn't feed the line to PIN 66 as its supposed to and the harness X20 pin 8 is tied into that feed to PIN 66 on the dme to get around a cut line that is direct?

(that is my hunch!)

Alex.

Very odd kim.

On the MZ3 and coupe/sedan, Pin 8 X20 goes to pin 8 dme, labelled Fault Lamp, and "unused".

Wonder if you really need that, or, if its a "dud", and something else fixed it.

Have you tried removing it and testing? or, is it a kluge in the harness that pin 7 X20 perhaps doesn't feet the line to PIN 66 as its supposed to and the harness X20 pin 8 is tied into that feed to PIN 66 on the dme to get around a cut line that is direct?

(that is my hunch!)

Alex.
The pin 8 I referred to was on the X20 connector, not the DME. When I removed the pin 8 from the equation, it wouldn't start. Once it was hooked up, the car started. If you download the Z3 wiring diagram, and look at page 1210.21-08 (the same one you mentioned in the ews II and ews III thread), you can see a correlation between pin 7 and pin 8 on the x20 connector. This is what gave us the idea that they may be related. :dunno

I suspect, but without checking, can't prove that you lacked continuity from pin 7 dme out to the X20.....rather, it was spliced to come out on 8....jumpered if you will on the engine side of X20.

I still have issues with this pin 7/8 issue.

I suspect rather that there is something different on pin 7 for 325is cars or pin 8 on 325is cars that are 94, pre EWS II cars... vs later EWS II cars, or even 95 plus in general. Haven not tracked down the difference.

The diagram on 1210.21-08 that you refer to as having something tying in pin 7 and 8 also ties in pins 20 and 24....ALL that line between them means is that they are all found on X20.....not that they are related.

What we really need to see is what your original car had going through pin 8.......on the car's side of X20

Trying to help a customer brought me back to this...he's working on an early 94 production US spec M3, trying to put in a euro.

going to do my swap soon may use this info