Firstfives.org

Solved. I pulled the fuse in and out multiple times to no avail. I also fiddled with the hazard switch and it was working fine and did not affect the clock's situation. I disconnected and reconnected the negative lead a few times, but the clock remained stuck and unresponsive. I then connected the (...

The battery was disconnected for awhile and now the clock is stuck at 1:00 and unresponsive. Other boards (E21) report this problem and suggest pulling the fuse multiple times. Sounds unscientific. Others suggest disconnecting the battery negative terminal and touching it to the positive terminal to...

If you're crossing through the dash anyway, you could use the dummy button where the rear foglight switch goes for your switch. Unless your E12 is euro-spec. My US-spec car has two breakers mounted on the knee panel for the fog lights. You could use push-type mini-switches instead. Another place mig...

I visited the car this weekend and upon closer inspection the number is indeed stamped directly into the sheet metal of the wheel housing. It is not a separate piece after all, it was just evidently painted an aluminum gray at some point and I was deceived. That does raise the possibility, as Mike W...

Under the front right wing I found some rust that was on its way to ugly. We're all friends here, so I'll open the kimono. https://i.ibb.co/6y9zyQP/E12-wheelhouse.jpg My body man says he's seen much worse especially around the strut towers. It wasn't at all obvious while replacing the struts. PS. N...

No rivets visible. Appears to be bonded. It’s 5 3/32 x 11/16 (hat tip JCat). JCat's is the same as mine (also 1981). It’s not like the squarish replacement ones that CoupeKing sells for E3s or E9s with printing on it, which are cooler. This is a screencap from a video, so forgive the quality: https:...

Thanks Mike - the tag is definitely separate from the sheet metal, although it's thin and the stamping may also show up on the sheet metal under the tag. I'm not sure this is true for earlier E12s. I will try to have it cut out as you suggest and see if it can be cleaned up and/or if the tag, which ...

Update for posterity - US front wheelhouse NLA but Walloth Nesch has early E12 wheel housing that is not a direct replacement due to the various mount points etc, but entirely serviceable for the shock tower and upper lip. For the VIN plate I had a seller on Etsy hand-stamp an aluminum blank. It’s n...

Under the front right wing I found some rust that was on its way to ugly. I ordered a new wheel house from ECS Tuning and will have that welded in. The VIN plate is located on that section. That sucks for preserving originality and identity of the chassis. Any suggestions other than a Brother label-...

Hi Dave - maybe this will help, maybe not. Electrical gremlins have myriad causes. The center console plug (8 pins I think, it also connects to the rear defogger switch) has a green wire with a brown stripe that brings power to the blower motor (that's the way it is on the 81 528, and I assume the s...

What are the failure modes of an O2 sensor? Does it die and return 0mv or just sit still at 0.45 mV (or some other value) and not react? This article was really helpful to me, understanding of course that the E12 has only one unheated O2 sensor and no OBDII. So, junk from the exhaust contaminates t...

So this is basically a calibrated voltmeter, correct? What are the failure modes of an O2 sensor? Does it die and return 0mv or just sit still at 0.45 mV (or some other value) and not react? You should be able to verify that the O2 sensor itself is working by inducing a lean and a rich condition. I ...

If I understand the lambda control accurately, the O2 sensor doesn't care about these things individually. The sensor is just measuring O2 content as a proxy for the completeness of the combustion. The intake flow, exhaust resistance and fuel quality all impact what happens inside the cylinder and t...

That sounds right. A failed resistor would mean an open circuit (infinite resistance), so that can’t be it. During start, isn’t the ballast resistor bypassed to get full battery voltage to the coil? This would explain why the car turned over when cranking then dies when the key goes to “on”. This wo...

Hi Cory - Did you check the ballast resistors between the ECU and the starter and in the black/red circuit before the coil? You can do this without energizing the circuit. The green wire goes to the ECU so if the resistors check out, the ECU could be the next place to check if you can swap another o...