HELP ME PLEASE e34 problems

[Bigcul530i]

Hi there everyone, just found this forum and its great but have a few problems I hoped you could help me out with. Firstly my car is a 1993 e34 530i RHD, I am stuck in either sports or winter mode, I cannot select Economy mode. I cleaned my old switch but no joy so bought another switch and still no luck, any ideas? Also I have a sony pop off front stereo in the car, I dont think this is stock but I cant get the bloomin thing out. It doesnt have the usual 2 holes either side any ideas?

Your help is most appreciated.

[632 Regal]

sports or winter mode? is there another choice with the switch?

[Paul in NZ]

the stereo would have been labelled BMW std,if its a SONY its aftermarket.I do have a SONY removeable unit but it is labelled BMW.....

[Bigcul530i]

sorry I can select sports (one push forward) and winter (one push back) but not economy (push straight down).

[zygoteer]

The default when you first start the car should be 'E'conomy mode ... is that what you get ?

If you can't get back to 'E' once you have selected the other modes, then maybe it is the switch that needs replacing or just the contacts cleaning (fairly common).

On my car (UK spec) the winter mode is marked 'M' (... thats manual shift mode = you mess it up in winter snow/ice, not the car!)

[632 Regal]

my switch doesnt push down

sorry I can select sports (one push forward) and winter (one push back) but not economy (push straight down).

[Kalevera]

From what I can tell, it seems that most non US/European market cars have S/E/M switches (or S/A/* switches, in the case of the 5hp trannies, which would apply in this case).

As Zygoteer said, it should default to EP (or AP) when the car is started. If it doesn't do this, reset the car (search "Shogun Reset") and see if it will start in AP or EP.

best, whit

[Bigcul530i]

thanks for the help guys, managed to get the stereo out with a little brute force. Didthe shogun reset and it hasnt helped the problem, does anyone know if there is a relay which controls the economy setting? Another problem I have is that the steering column vibrates and rattles on braking. There is slight play in the steering too, anybody now a resolution to this? Also how easy is it to change the fan belt?

Sorry for all the questions, I value your responses

[632 Regal]

tighten the nut behing the wheel, the belts easy.

[mholbrook]

One thing about those 530 / 540 5 speed auto trannies. They are adaptave. If you drive like a grandma, it will adapt to that style and the whole car will seem slower (because it is lazy). Once every 3 or 4 months, open the box where the computers live and disconnect the computer for the trans for a few minutes. That clears the memory and it starts fresh. You should notice a difference.