General Forum : Added an E30 M3 / iS map light intside mirror

BarryA	Posted Wednesday, Apr 23rd 10:14pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member Post nr. 217 Sacramento CA 81 320	to the 320 last weekend (one more step in the process of converting the interior to M3 specs). Found that a straightened-out wire coat hanger could be threaded through under the headliner between the mirror mounting hole and left side sunvisor mounting hole, making it possible to pull the wires through without removing the windshield or damaging the headliner. There's a small opening between the front of the visor bracket and the inner roof structure that the wires can be threaded through (add a couple of layers of shrink tube or tape to protect against chafing), then removing the door seal and peeling back the vinyl on the left "A" piller will allow the wires to be run next to the foam pad where they don't show when the vinyl is put back in place. There's a convenient chassis ground under the left side of the dash pad & a nearby grommet in the firewall to take the hot lead forward into the engine compartment - still have to connect the hot lead to power (will probably tap into the radio fuse so the power goes off with the ignition). Mirror's a bit larger than the original E21 unit, fits like it was intended to be there.... Update: Finished wiring in the lights yesterday - took the power lead forward through the firewall at the speedo cable grommet, then up along the harness (friction tape was disintegrating anyway, so I unwrapped the harness, added the new lead and rewrapped it) and into the fuse box. Luck was on my side this time - there's a spare male spade clip inside the fuse box on the underside of the "fused" end of the radio fuse. The map lights don't draw many amps, so I just plugged the lead in - works fine. One other minor modification needed - there's a "brace" on the mirror strut with an adjustable foot that's supposed to rest on the windshield glass and keep the mirror head from vibrating. Unfortunately, the foot doesn't line up with the E21 glass, so a small pad had to be fabricated from ABS plastic to provide a contact spot for the foot. Without it, the mirror head DOES vibrate a bit. Map lights are bright enough to read the newspaper by - pretty cool. Will post a couple of photos when I get a chance.

JJG323	Posted Thursday, Apr 24th 12:54pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member Post nr. 1353 Reading MA USA 1979 BMW 323i	Post pics, please

MayanArch	Posted Thursday, Apr 24th 2:55pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member Post nr. 1542 Florida, USA Baur E21 2.7 1982, Baur E30 318i 1985, 323i 1978	I am using E30 sun visors on my Baur. Much better, and no sag or warping.