M50 Intake mod - NEED HELP!!!

[gasolina]

I'm doing the M50 install, half way through right now. Everything is going ok, except i have 2 questions regarding wires/connectors. My digi-camera does not work with this pc, so i can't post pics.

1) The Fuel Rail connectors: The fuel rail has a bunch of connectors. I'm looking at two on the end towards the front of the engine. There are 2 connectors there. One hangs off a rubber-shrouded wire, and comes out of the plastic part of the fuel rail about 2 to 3 inches from the end of the fuel rail. The other looks like an integral part of the plastic part of the fuel rail (harness cover?), and is oriented looking towards the #1 intake runner at a 45 degree angle down. I have one wire with conector that goes up to that general area, and will fit both connectors on the fuel rail. WHICH ONE DO I CONNECT TO!?? I've looked for hours for a missing wire/connector everywhere and found none. So one must go without a connection. Please advise!

2) In the following picture (from the MNA site), the black plastic "thing" with the black/blue stripe hose going in and black/white stripe hose going out, see in the upper left of picture, seems to connect to the vanos actuator somehow, an has connection for a 2-wire connector. The problem is, again, there are no extra wires, and what i belive to be the IAT sensor connector fits either. This IAT connector has grey and grey with a stripe wire colors. So does the vanos "thing" go unconnected? And what the hell is that thing?


All help is greatly appreciated, as I am in the midst of this install and I would like to button it up tonight if possible..

[gasolina]

OK, i figured out my problem. That plastic "thing" actually goes to the hanging connector from the fuel rail, filling both empty connectors!

But now I have another. The round plastic "thing #2" you can see in the upper right part of the following picture, has hoses going in and out, and has a funky connector that makes kinda a 180 degree bend. One end of the hose used to go into the M52 intake manifold. In the writeups, they mention "T-ing" the two 1/8" dia hoses into the M50 connector small nipple, but I'm not sure where I should put this larger diameter hose.

[jworms]

hey, i don't mean to take away from your thread/question but it says you have an estoril m3, why is the engine bay area white?

[gasolina]

hey, i don't mean to take away from your thread/question but it says you have an estoril m3, why is the engine bay area white?

LOL, i took those pics from some of the existing writeups on the web, like the mna site, etc. They aren't my car

i can't take pics cause i can't connect the camera to the pc im using

[jworms]

LOL, i took those pics from some of the existing writeups on the web, like the mna site, etc. They aren't my car

i can't take pics cause i can't connect the camera to the pc im using

ahhh ok. good luck with the install, i had a friend helping me with mine, who is much more mechanically inclined than i am. as it is now i need to redo some things that were left kind of 'unfinished', but i keep putting it off because of the trouble it is to remove/reinstall the manifold.

[Jean-Claude]

lol I thought that was the pics from the site I did my install from. lol

teambar, right?

[prznmafia]

clean ur icv while its off

[slytherin]

ummm... im at work and trying to read this post and im tired, but i do know that you have a solenoid with a 2 prong connector that goes to your fuel rail, then you have a 3 prong that goes to the ICV then a 3 prong that goes to the top of your TB then you have a 2 prong that goes to the IAT sensor. Did i answer your questions? if you could circle the wires on the pics that you posted up top and i will help further

[E36M3E]

thing number 2 (fuel evap shutoff I think) goes onto the large connector that plugs into the OBDI manifold. you can see it T'ed in on the pic you posted from John's DIY website. you need some 1/4" vac hose to connect it. at least thats what I used. the nipple on the OBDI connector is too small for the hose that is on there now.

you should also look into replacing all the 3.5mm vac line that connects to the airpump system. mine was all cracked and coming apart. I also moved the check valve (black and white thingy that connects to that Y connector) up close to the front of the underside of the manifold.

I have some pretty good suggestions on this install if your interested...but it sounds like you are in a hurry.

[E36M3E]

oh...and DO this before you bolt the manifold down...there is a wire loom down by the crank case that has the IAT sensor wire zip tied to it...cut that zip tie and get the sensor wire out of it and re zip tie the rest back together.

youll need that extra length to get up to the intake elbow...I installed my IAT sensor on the top of the elbow neer the ASC TB and at about 1 oclock on the elbow. and zip tied the wire to the ASC TB. works and looks good.

[gasolina]

Thanks E36M3E

I put the evap shutoff hose to the obd1 conector like you said. I had an adapter and some smaller hose, and it worked well. Those 3.5mm hoses were ok on mine, but i know they will fail right at the boot pretty soon - they felt weak. But yeah, for now its good. I was in a hurry, trying to do this late at night within a couple hours each night.

There was an AIT sensor already screwed into the obd1 manifold where most porple use a plug, so i just connected it back up (shit, now that i think of it, i HOPE its a AIT sensor ). Oh well. I got everything back hooked up i think. I even managed to get the supprt brakets to line up and bolt down the mani.

I got the ICV to be pretty "solidly zip tied" (oxymoron?) to the rear support bracket, just right so I could use a hole in the ICV metal plate to bolt the dipstick to it nice and tight.

I noticed when i went to put the fuel rail back in that on 2 injectors I lost the green plastic nozzle covers. The orings are there, they seat ok in the mani (not sure if under pressure yet). I'm going to try to find some extras at teh dealer tomorow, hopefully i don't have to buy new injectors...

Tomorow I'll cut the TB gaskets and make up some small brakets for the fuel rail attach, and hopefully turn her on by the end of the night

[E36M3E]

do you think those green injector pintal covers went through your engine? I had 1 break when I pulled them out but I found the piece to it. there is no lip in there to retain the injector o-ring. it prob wont come off and go through the engine but you better think about getting your injectors rebuilt soon. RC Engineering, 24$/each. They will give you a before and affter flow chart and balance them to boot.

that OBDI IAT sensor won't work. it'll plug the hole though. different element and voltages. youll need to pop your OBDII sensor into the intake elbow. just take the o-ring off of it, drill the hole the same size or smaller than the sensors probe. it takes a little messaging (use some rubber lube) to get the thick rubber to pop over into the oring area but it will. or the cool fix is to drill out that OBDI sensor and epoxy the OBDII one in its place and screw it into that hole in the manifold.

you could also use the bracket off of your other manifold to mount the ICV, crank case vent, dip stick, and evap solenoid just like it was before...it takes a little modification but works bitchen. the manifold would also bolt up to this new bracket system. no zip ties.

sheesh, I should right a DIY for this. I have a cool way to cut the TB gasket perfectly straight too.

[slytherin]

take the IAT out of the manifold, then tap your obd2 to a 12x1.5 and screw it into the obd1 port then you have not intake elbow to drill

[EEEEeeee36]

take the IAT out of the manifold, then tap your obd2 to a 12x1.5 and screw it into the obd1 port then you have not intake elbow to drill

Did you figure out the fuel rail plug? You plug it into the one that is NOT at the very end - that is used on the 5er IIRC. When I did mine I freaked out the same as you, but then after it fired up right then I knew it was extra. You should also be able to tell by how clean the inside of the receptacle is - the one that was used before you took it apart should be free of dust/dirt - the one that was NOT used should be very dusty/dirty. My brother pointed that out to me like "Uh, duh, look at this one it looks like it was never even used" and then it hit me.

Let me know if you need help - I did quite a few mods that made it way simpler than any of the write ups and I liked it.

[E36M3E]

Did you figure out the fuel rail plug? You plug it into the one that is NOT at the very end - that is used on the 5er IIRC. When I did mine I freaked out the same as you, but then after it fired up right then I knew it was extra. You should also be able to tell by how clean the inside of the receptacle is - the one that was used before you took it apart should be free of dust/dirt - the one that was NOT used should be very dusty/dirty. My brother pointed that out to me like "Uh, duh, look at this one it looks like it was never even used" and then it hit me.

Let me know if you need help - I did quite a few mods that made it way simpler than any of the write ups and I liked it.

what are you talking about...that plug on the end of the fuel rail has a mate.

the aux air pump solenoid (the one with the 3.5mm vac hose connected to it) does plug into the one that is not at the very end. the 3 inch pig tail.

[EEEEeeee36]

what are you talking about...that plug on the end of the fuel rail has a mate.

the aux air pump solenoid (the one with the 3.5mm vac hose connected to it) does plug into the one that is not at the very end. the 3 inch pig tail.

Yeah, well if I was talking about the 3" pig tail then I guess you would be right, but I'm not. The 3" pigtail is the one that you use. Go look at your fuel rail. There is the '3" pigtail' coming off of it that you plug in; then there is the OTHER receptacle that is on the VERY END of the fuel rail. It is not on a pigtail, it is integrated into the actual fuel rail wiring harness cover. It faces down at a 45deg angle and you can hardly see it's there when the fuel rail is all buttoned down. If you don't notice it with our eyes at first then feel it with your fingers and you can see it's there.

It confused me at first also because you don't notice it when you are taking stuff apart (because nothing is plugged into it), but when it's up in the air and you start plugging stuff back in you notice you all of a sudden have an extra receptacle that wasn't there before/you don't remember.

[E36M3E]

Yeah, well if I was talking about the 3" pig tail then I guess you would be right, but I'm not. The 3" pigtail is the one that you use. Go look at your fuel rail. There is the '3" pigtail' coming off of it that you plug in; then there is the OTHER receptacle that is on the VERY END of the fuel rail. It is not on a pigtail, it is integrated into the actual fuel rail wiring harness cover. It faces down at a 45deg angle and you can hardly see it's there when the fuel rail is all buttoned down. If you don't notice it with our eyes at first then feel it with your fingers and you can see it's there.

It confused me at first also because you don't notice it when you are taking stuff apart (because nothing is plugged into it), but when it's up in the air and you start plugging stuff back in you notice you all of a sudden have an extra receptacle that wasn't there before/you don't remember.

I did go look at my fuel rail before I posted that last msg...mine is very happily plugged in. I have 3 plugs on the end of my fuel rail, one for the last injector, one for the aux air solenoid (pig tail), and one for the end loop of the injector service (the 1 on a 45 that you have not plugged in). I cant explain this...but thats the way mine is.

[E36M3E]

Ill look at the wiring diagrams in the bently tomorrow...but my M3 fuel rail has no widowed plug sonnectors.

[EEEEeeee36]

Ill look at the wiring diagrams in the bently tomorrow...but my M3 fuel rail has no widowed plug sonnectors.

That is weird. I looked for a long-ass time just like the OP did, and I never found anything to plug there. Can you just take a picture of what you plugged in there? Where does the loop injector service connector come from?

[EEEEeeee36]

That is weird. I looked for a long-ass time just like the OP did, and I never found anything to plug there. Can you just take a picture of what you plugged in there? Where does the loop injector service connector come from?

Okay now I'M panicking. Now I'M the one who needs HELP!! What does the loop injector service connector do? Could I be running severely lean because I didn't plug that thing in? Where the uckf is that thing? Do I even have it? I would kick my own ass if I paid $75 for a Dyno Session just to show that I have less torque when really a lot of it was due to me not plugging in an important item to my fuel injector harness.

The only thing that has me thinking that I really don't have anything to plug in there is the fact that when I look in the Bentley under the Wiring Diagrams, there is actually a different wiring map for 1996-1997 2.8L and the 1998-1999 2.8/3.2L.... a funny coincidence because my car is a 1997 and every single other person who posted in this thread has either a 98 or 99 M3... I looked but could not find anything about the 'loop injector service connector' or anything close to it. I NEED HELP TOO!!

[gasolina]

i belive the pigtail connector goes to what seems to be called the LISC, which used to bolt up to the front mount for the fuel rail. The pigtail just went down between runner 1 and runner 2 of the intake. The long connector at the front of the engine goes to the fuel rail front terminal, looks down onto runner 1. Look at this pic of the OBD2 manifold. You can see the pigtail dipping down between the runners...


Hey E36M3E, I'd definetly take the thing off again IF I could use no zip ties! I've been thinking about it and the hose from the OBD1 mani to the 3/4" "T" is a bit too long i consider. Might as well do the OBD2 IAT into the manifold or the elbow while I'm at it. So what is the mod needed for the bracket to fit?

Thanks, guys!!

[E36M3E]

untill I can get to the wiring diagrams in my manual all I can tell you about the wire that connects to the very front terminal on the fuel rail goes down under the manifold and joins up with the wire that comes out of the top of the vanos cover (this is a single wire). it doesnt connect to that wire they just meet and are tied together and go down the same direction.

[E36M3E]

Hey E36M3E, I'd definetly take the thing off again IF I could use no zip ties! I've been thinking about it and the hose from the OBD1 mani to the 3/4" "T" is a bit too long i consider. Might as well do the OBD2 IAT into the manifold or the elbow while I'm at it. So what is the mod needed for the bracket to fit?

Thanks, guys!!

I know this sounds silly, but Im gonna have to figure out how to post pictures so I can show you the bracket that I made in order to use the OBDII bracket. and you guys post pictures with such aplomb, maybe you can help me out with this.

I'll also post a pic of the wire to the front terminal of my fuel rail. gonna be a couple hours though before I can get around to it.

[EEEEeeee36]

I know this sounds silly, but Im gonna have to figure out how to post pictures so I can show you the bracket that I made in order to use the OBDII bracket. and you guys post pictures with such aplomb, maybe you can help me out with this.

I'll also post a pic of the wire to the front terminal of my fuel rail. gonna be a couple hours though before I can get around to it.

That would be friggin awesome, thanks for your help!

[gasolina]

That would be friggin awesome, thanks for your help!

+1

!!!


also, what is your trick to cut the TB gasket straight down the middle?

To post pics, I just use pics that are already in the web somewhere (i load mine to imagestation and wee-todd-did), right click on the picture, copy the address or location link. Back here on the forum, when you are composing a post, look at the box with mountains. One will say "insert image". Click on that, and a box pops up where you write the address where the picture is located. Paste the address there, and bingo, the picture shows up.
I never found out how to upload pics from your hard drive directly to the forum.


Now on the topic of those green caps on the fuel injector points, what are they for? The dealer says they don't have a p/n (and don't show up in the exploded views in their systems). Is there a way I can get these things seperatley? Would RC Engineering have these, say, if I sent my injectors out for rebuilding? The new injectors are 141 bucks a peice, and I'm not sure if I could get a used set with the plastic caps. This is really a PITA to have to buy injectors just because some plastic POS cap!!