Interior Fix on my BMW E30 Build: Wipers, Seat & Odometer

Today we are chasing gremlins on my 1984 BMW E30 318i Build. The wipers don't work, the seat doesn't recline, and the odometer stopped counting. Today we're fixing all that. We're diagnosing the wiper motor circuit, pulling and fixing the driver's seat, and tearing into the gauge cluster to find our odometer issue. I hope you enjoy! Big ol wrenchfest coming soon, just waiting on parts.
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Tools Used:
Plastic Trim Tools:
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Multimeter:
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Power Probe:
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Tri-Flow Lubricant:
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[@veselinmatov]

Hi, you should open the radio and try to clean volume potentiometer with some contact cleaner.

[@93_caddy_boy35]

Good progress on the car, can’t wait for the wrench fest.

[@DayOffDIY]

Great idea! I see a bunch of you guys recommended this, I had no idea you could even clean the volume! Ordered up some contact cleaner so hopefully that fixes it! Thanks for the tip

[@DayOffDIY]

Awesome!

[@michaelwalton3631]

Before even opening up the radio I would turn the knob like 50 times from max to min and back, this often cleans the contact and restores function!

[@DayOffDIY]

Ill have to give that a try!@@michaelwalton3631

[@bogusienombre355]

back problems are so slow to heal but quality family time is a silver lineing. I like your problem solving process. Another quality episode.

[@DayOffDIY]

Thanks Bog! Yeah it’s been a consistent issue in my life, luckily I’m on the mend so just trying to be gentle on it. Quality time with the family is sooo important. Great to see you in the comments as always friend

[@denisemcclafferty3930]

Alec...I should tell you, when the wipers stopped they stopped midway movement. And froze. I took it to BMW and they were able to put them in the resting position and I never touched them since. I can not believe you moved them! Love the pup. And, if you don't take me for a ride after you work your magic on my car (haha) I will not forgive you! Keep doing what you are doing...seems to be working!

[@DayOffDIY]

Thanks for the info Denise! New video is coming out today where I got them to work again, its not perfect but were making lots of good progress. I promise I will give you a ride :) keep an eye out for the newest epsiode !

[@weswest8666]

That first camera angle where you were sitting in the car talking back to the camera looked very professional, like horse power TV back in the day.

[@Mommyhas2smokefirst]

I like it when we get to see him work on it also.

[@DayOffDIY]

Hahah yeah it turned out to be a nice shot! Appreciate the comment my friend

[@ccx91]

Hey man, I had the same problem with the radio in my E30. I took the cover off it and put a few drops of ACF-50 around the potentiometer and the shaft, let it soak in while turning the knob. Works flawlessly now

[@DayOffDIY]

I just ordered up some AC-50 off your recommendation, should be here on Tuesday! Thanks for the tip my friend

[@Luke-san]

@@DayOffDIY hold a sec. might be a cracking potentiometer from the sound of it. I think you guys in the US have a product called Deoxit. Have a google or youtube around before you use oil stuff.

[@DayOffDIY]

good idea, i did order up some product that was recommended but ill try playing with the knob and loosening whatever is in there first@@Luke-san

[@Luke-san]

@@DayOffDIY I wouldn't spray just anything in there, might do more harm than good in the long term. Keep up the impressive channel!

[@DanBuilds]

Sometimes you can fix a static volume knob just by rotating it really quickly back and forth. The other solution is an electrical contact cleaner or a cleaner designed for a potentiometer.

[@DayOffDIY]

im going to try this today! thanks for the tip Dan. Good to see you as always

[@danielgermaine7271]

@@DayOffDIYi would also recommend this, as a guitar player i have this problem ALL THE TIME with old guitars and amps, the adjustment pots and the potentiometers get dirty and usually popping them off, spraying a little bit of electrical contact cleaner, and wiggling and twisting back and forth does the trick

[@robsweekendgarage]

Great vid Alec. Love this build. Lot of nice small projects to make some great content. The odometer issue is pretty common on this gen BMW. Tell tale sign is the all zero trip odo. Failure happens when someone (after years of use?) presses the trip reset while driving. Great electrical diag. Not my strong suit either but you have a good methodical mind set and coupled with your determination will grow your talents.

[@Raven-rl7gj]

Great project!

[@DayOffDIY]

Thanks Rob! It’s coming along slowly, I’m excited to get some fresh parts in this thing, as I think that’s what I’m best at. Yeah sounds like that odometer issue is super common! Can’t believe all the feedback and insight I’ve received for that and the radio issue. Looks like I’ll be trying to clean the contacts in the stereo, I didn’t even know that was a thing!!! So much to learn!!!

[@lieutenantdan8170]

Rustoleum rust reformer would work great on those seat rails.

[@DayOffDIY]

Great idea! im going to give that a GO for sure

[@buster8295]

About your radio, I concur with CCX91. It's just the volume control potentiometer. Should be fine after a little contact cleaner through it.

[@DayOffDIY]

ill give it a try this week! appreciate all the feedback

[@bluecheese861]

26:16 Your key needs to be in the on position when you install the steering wheel.

[@DayOffDIY]

yeah maybe i didnt have it seated all the way but its working well now

[@bluecheese861]

@@DayOffDIY Good job man. Learning a lot too!

[@JVBNorway]

Great video man, the cars getting better already!

[@DayOffDIY]

glad you enjoyed! shes coming along, just posted a new E46 video today but back to work on the E30 this afternoon

[@xxxxx2147]

Radio amplifier normally fails on BMW that’s why you have got that problem. Any good stereo shop will be able to repair it and it be lot cheaper than replacing it hope you all the best

[@DayOffDIY]

Great info! Thanks! Ordered some contact cleaner, going to try to lube the volume and go from there!

[@xxxxx2147]

@@DayOffDIY Never thought of contact cleaner give it a go if it works it will be a cheap fix hopefully

[@aq043]

Use DeOxit electronic cleaner on the volume knob. It would be a shame to replace that original radio.

[@DayOffDIY]

I agree, I really want to keep it, just ordered some contact cleaner! Hopefully it cleans it up nicely!

[@Astra-rg8hx]

Dude hope your back gets better. When yiu stratred taking the cluster apart it brought back happy memories of when I had to work on my E30 cluster..looking forward to the new vids!!!

[@DayOffDIY]

Appreciate it dude! It’s doin better so far, ready to tear into this thing proper!

[@MLC...]

Thanks for another great video. How about cleaning the volume knob inside with some electrical contact cleaner? The Liqui Moly one works well. May be that some dirt or dust is shorting out the contact surface there? That is actually a beautiful period head unit. Personally I would want to keep it there if it was my car.

[@DayOffDIY]

I agree! I wanna keep it, I just ordered up some contact cleaner “AC-50” so I’ll give that a shot when it comes in this week. Appreciate the comment my friend!

[@MLC...]

@@DayOffDIY Best of success with the project!

[@rossparkes]

Hi Alec, I feel for you with the back pain, I injured myself whilst training a few years back in uni and every now and then it flares up. It's especially annoying working on cars as you put your back in the most stressed positions! Had some difficulty replacing the door mechanism on my E46 a couple weeks ago. More great content mate, keep it up!

[@DayOffDIY]

thank you Ross! Back pain can be a real bummer, like you said, especially working on cars in tough positions. been making some good progress with physical therapy, just need to maintain good form at all times!

[@KhaoticKrozier]

That E30 is super nice! I just picked up an E46 Touring, factory manual & plan on doing a series on that. But, there’s a ZHP 330i in my area with alcantara seats & now I’m debating on selling the touring to buy it or just continue with the touring restoration. Decisions…

[@DayOffDIY]

buy both! hard to decide between a manual touring and a ZHP... both will be valuable for resale! good score dude.

[@hussam842003]

Did you try electric contact cleaner on the radio? it could be only build up and need to be cleaned... it should be easy fix than buying a new /used one... also they used to be coded so installing one from another car might not be the fix for it.

[@DayOffDIY]

good idea, sounds like thats the general idea in the comments, didnt even know I could clean it but will be trying this week

[@whappy212]

Hell yess brother Good work👌😎 Love the vids! Best thing to do on a sunday👌

[@DayOffDIY]

I appreciate it bro! glad you enjoyed. Just posted up a new video today!

[@julioirizarry4262]

What a beauty! A classic for sure. Another great video. Looking forward to seeing this car brought back like the e46. A serious contender to purchase if you decide to sell. Julio

[@DayOffDIY]

thanks Julio! This one will be up for sale after im done with repairs. My plan is to tackle everything but the paint. Make it a dialed reliable driver, and take the money and put it into a project I have in mind for after the E30. Excited to share more details with you guys in the future, but if you are interested ill give you first stab at the E30!

[@thornboroughhomes7953]

Hey Alec! So happy I found your channel! You're a lifesaver man! These m10's seem to be a rare variety in the e30 chassis. e21 guys all have carbureted and later model 318i's had the m42. So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to document everything!! I bought an '84 318i 5 or 6 months ago and its been sitting in my garage ever since... Had no idea what I was getting into... I NEED to get this car going again! I noticed you said you're in the PNW, what area exactly? I'm in Washington State. Would be amazing if you were local!! Currently, im trying to fix/diagnose this misfire/idle issue. Already did new fuel filter, injectors, spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor, deleted ICV (might undo that lol), full exhaust, and just did leak down testing on vacuum system. Thinking it's either fuel pump or timing. Possibly faulty coolant temp sensor but man is this driving me crazy!

[@DayOffDIY]

Hey! Glad you find me! My E30 is making me beat my head against the wall with a high idle issue too. I try to document as much as I can for comments like this. Im in Humboldt County at the very north end of California, so were kinda close but still pretty far away

[@thornboroughhomes7953]

​@@DayOffDIY Yes! Well I appreciate the documentation! Especially when the quality of commentary, mechanical inclination and recording is on your level! People like you really do make youtube invaluable! Lol, yeah, you're a ways away... If I ever visit my sister in SD with the e30 id pass right through. Would be awesome to cross paths. Anyhow, I was rewatching every video you had on yours and noticed youve never done a fuel pressure test on it. It runs so smooth I understand why not. but I could really use the help trying to diagnose mine and without the bently or OE counterpart manual im having a hard time finding out the fuel pressure spec's. When you get s second (and I know this is a big ask) would you be willing to check the manual for the proper fuel pressure spec's? That would be life saving info! If not, no worries I should just try to find one online and order it sooner than later...

[@thornboroughhomes7953]

@@DayOffDIY Found my issue... Cylinder #4 is 25% psi lower than the others... 1, 2 & 3 pulled 150psi - #4 was 120psi... RIP. Kind of figured my idle issue was a bit different since I was dealing with misfires not high idle... Not exactly sure where to go from here... Dont really want to rebuild it... Either way super sucky situation after doing all that work! Lesson learned though. Always comp test before anything else...

[@mauriciocoura4167]

Great video! I enjoyed!

[@DayOffDIY]

Thanks Mauricio!

[@Thomas-fc6gf]

how do you find the time to tend to the chickens and your dog while still maintaining hobbies/work/ social life? Just curious because i would like to have a few chickens and a dog when i get my first house.

[@DayOffDIY]

Great question Thomas! Well, without quitting the fire service and doing KZbin full time it would be very difficult, no way id be able to take care of Sage and the chickens if I had to leave for 2-3 weeks for out of county assignments. Its been a challenge so far, giving the chickens attention, exercising sage, etc... Im learning to find the balance, but all of these things make my life richer and more full so at the end of the day its worth it. TBH the chickens are relatively low maintanence, make sure they have enough food and water and that covers it most days. as far as hobbies and work go, finding that balance has been tough too, because I work from home so its hard to switch modes sometimes. Its only been about 9-10 months with this journey but its getting more refined day by day. Hope that helps some!

[@tahirrana6875]

Hi Bud, few months back you had a ISTA issue. I am having same issue with my ISTA its not reading my VIN and populating E70 info. wondering, what was your fix for that issue? thanks

[@DayOffDIY]

Hey! I had a remote coder take a look at it, and there was a setting that was set to remote, not ICOM or Ethernet, so we changed that to ENET and it works so far! Haven’t tested it in a few weeks

[@jhncvngh]

My man loves his tacos

[@DayOffDIY]

its kinda my thing, especially during garage days, makes for an easy, cheap lunch

[@Mommyhas2smokefirst]

Ima watch it only 3️⃣✖️2️⃣🌞🌬️🥦🥦🥦😂😂😂

[@staleyexplores]

[@DayOffDIY]

Yo! Thanks for the comment

[@armenianman5826]

why you need carpet?

[@DayOffDIY]

I thought about replacing, but I heard fitment on aftermarket carpet is terrible so I’m going to clean this one up

[@Mommyhas2smokefirst]

Alec. IS. THE. 💣❤ please don’t hurt yourself for us. We will wait as long as you need to heal 🍎🍏🍎🍏🚑🚙🏩🧰🧰🧰🛠️🛠️🩻🧸🧸

[@DayOffDIY]

Thanks Brandi! Im doin pretty good now, new video out today just for you!

[@Mommyhas2smokefirst]

@@DayOffDIY I already watched it all🤣😆👩🏻‍🔧thank u so much. I seen a real smile when your girl was filming at the end. That was adorable and real. Have a great day.