AustrianVespaGuy

Hello, I have a complete set of late-model (squarie) beltline trim in fair shape. It all has some pitting but is pretty straight with no big dents/dings. Email me at ceichel 02 at gmail if you would like some pictures. -Carl

If anyone in the SE area is interested in caravanning, I'm planning on departing from the Greenville, SC area Friday morning around 10. Email me at ceichel 02 at gmail if you'd like to join in! -Carl

I had this problem in my car too after installing megasquirt (but not before megasquirt, even with the 80-amp alternator) and I have a slightly different theory on why this happens. When we install megasquirt, we are all usually wise and use a relay to power MS and the ignition circuit (EDIS/etc). However in the original 2002 electrical system, the ignition coil was powered DIRECTLY via the ignition switch (key), and NOT via a relay! The coil is a big load, and in the factory setup when you cut out the battery by turning off the key, the little bit of juice from the alternator at idle isn't enough to power the coil. There is enough juice at idle though (especially with the bigger alternator), to keep the RELAY energized! So while the relay stays energized from the little trickle from the alternator, your ignition circuit is still being fully fed from the battery. My solution was to use a 15W light bulb as a load in series with the relay so that there is enough voltage drop that the relay will switch off when you turn the key off. You could also use a power resistor, but I like the added light in my engine bay from the light bulb! (Remember though, you need a load to dissipate the extra power from the alternator, so a regular low wattage resistor won't cut it. Load is the key here, not resistance.) All that being said, I'm sure a diode would work fine as well if it's in the right spot and doesn't get burned up. I didn't use a diode because I never figured out through what path the relay was staying supplied, but that dash light does sound the likely culprit. Hope this helps some people! -Carl

More discussion and some nice diagrams on this subject here: http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,322909/highlight,edis+tach/ Most popular solution seems to be to use a 100K resistor in parallel with one of the two coil diodes. -Carl

Ah, good suggestion, thanks Mike. I suppose that would avoid both the extra mass and any slight drag from the other side. I'll give it a whirl this evening, thanks! -Carl

Can anyone recommend a good way to adjust my rear brake shoes now that I have a limited slip in there? I'm kind of getting by jacking up the whole rear end, but it's difficult to feel when the shoes start to engage because you have to turn the whole mass of the other halfshaft/wheel and driveshaft. Any suggestions to make the job easier? -Carl

Just wanted to make a quick post to tip my hat to Megasquirt and also to Tom at 02Again.com, since he makes such great Megasquirt parts! Thanks to his Jeep stepper motor adapter and the MSQ stepper controller program and EDIS, the ol' 2002 fired right up at 38deg. (thermometer in my garage) this morning and hovered at a smooth 1200rpm idle. No lurchy or stuttering starts while it was getting warmed up either, and when I got to work my trip OD read 220 miles with 1/4 tank of gas left! Now if I could just get the doors to seal properly. . . -Carl

Just wanted to add this to this thread. I had a problem with my hood not staying up because there was no spring force being exerted by the torsion bar to help hold it up. Turns out the bent ends of the torsion rod had worn out the inside of the blocks that hold them to the inside of the hood side skirts. I was able to fix this by remove the torsion bar/hinge arms and swapping the these two mounting blocks across to the opposite sides, so that ends of the torsion rod now rest against the opposite (un-worn) faces in the slot of the blocks. Now works great, once lifted the hood springs up nicely into place and needs to be pushed closed, instead of falling down. I hope this can also be helpful for someone else too! -Carl

My hood doesn't really stay open on it's own anymore; a little vibration and it likes to fall closed (obviously not a good thing when it happens). Is there any adjustment I can make to it to help this problem, or do I maybe need to bite the bullet and get a new spring/linkage/hinge/thingys for it? Anybody ever have a similar problem and make a decent prop-rod? Any thoughts appreciated! -Carl Ok, I got this solved. The problem was that the slot in the 'blocks' (that the ends of the torsion bar go into and mount to the inside of the hood side skirts) were worn, so that the torsion bar ends could rotate some inside the blocks. So, when I opened the hood, the torsion bar end slipped and there was essentially no spring force to help hold the hood open. I fixed this by swapping the two blocks across, so that the worn side now faces away and the torsion bar ends now rest properly against the fresh, non-worn slot face. My hood now stays properly 'erect,' although I might try feeding it some cialis anyway for an increase in 'stamina' That was sort of tough to describe, but hopefully this will help somebody else. -Carl

Hello, I'm in need of an upper timing chain cover (so that I can get it match-milled with the head I'm rebuilding while still leaving the car driveable.) I'm also having issues with my accelerator pedal coming off of the two pivot studs on the floor, so I'm interested in anyone that has an extra one with good, non-torn rubber cups on the bottom. Thanks! ceichel at gmail dot edu -Carl *Found both parts, thanks Shawn!*

Well, I got the old hydraulic line out with a crowfoot, but my problem now is that I can't get the new line started into the fitting threads! I could get it tight with a crowfoot if I could only get it started in there. I also tried taking the slave out, but I just can't seem to get the upper nut off. I can get a stubby wrench on it, but I can't get enough strength to it to break it free. I guess I need to disconnect the driveshaft and try to lower the back end of the transmixer down enough to get a socket on it from underneath, right? -Carl

I need some quick advice. After relocating my battery to under the back seat, I forgot to run a good high current ground between the motor and the body. First time I tried to crank it, the current chose a path along my braided SS clutch line, which burned up the inside and now it's leaking. New part is on order from Ireland, but trouble is, I can't figure out how I'm supposed to access the fitting on the top of the slave cylinder to get the old line out or the new line tightened back in. Any way to do this without having to drop the transmission to get to it? Thanks! -Carl

Maybe 51245476138? 'Rubber buffer,' Position 7 in the diagram: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=2213&mospid=47140&btnr=41_1164&hg=41&fg=60 -Carl

It does indeed make sense, Tommy, thanks. I think I'll take the advice for the most part and go the more 'leisurely' route. Thanks again. -Carl