1996 BMW 318i Back seat

620-2
INSTRUMENTS

Fig
.1.



Instrument
cluster
retaining
screws
(arrows)
.

INSTRUMENT
CLUSTER

0012562

Fig
.
3
.



Turnbulb
base
45°
in
direction
shown
(arrow)
.

l
v



w
r
v
9



10



11



12



13



14



15



16



)7



18



19



20
y
21

1
.
Temperature
warning



12
.
Brake
fluid
warning

oo13n6



2
.
Right
turn
signal



13
.
Brake
pad
wear
warning
3
.
Instrument
lighting



14
.ABS
warning
Fig
.
2
.



Instrument
cluster
connector
locking
lever
(arrow)
.



4
.
Oil
pressure
warning



15
.
Seat
belt
warning5
.
Highbeam



16
.ASTwarning
6
.
Battery
charging
lamp



17
.Check
control
6
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal,
noting
the
following
:



7
.
Left
turn
signal



18
.Check
engine

"
Instrument
cluster
harness
connector
locking
levers



8
.
Low
fuel
warning



19
.
LCD
lighting

must
be
in
up
position
before
installing
connector
.



9
.
Airbag
warning



20
.
Rear
foglight
(not
used)
10
.
Catalytic
converter
warning



21
.
Front
foglights
"
Install
airbag
to
steering
wheel
as
described
in
721



11
.
Emergency
brake
Airbag
System
(SRS)
.



0012563

"
Reconnect
negative
(-)
cable
to
battery
last,
once
al¡



Fig
.
4
.



Bulb
designation
chart
.

harness
connectors
have
been
reconnected
.

"
Recode
cluster
as
described
in
Instrument
cluster,



CAUTION-
seif-testing
.



Note
wattage
of
bulb
.
Excessive
wattage
could
melt
cluster
housing
.
Replace
defective
bulbs
with

Instrument
cluster
bulbs,
replacing



reptacementbulbs
of
the
same
wattage
.

1
.
Remove
instrument
cluster
as
described
above
.



Odometer
coding
plug,
replacing

2
.
Remove
faulty
bulb
by
turning
bulb
base
45°
inits

mount
and
remove
from
housing
.
See
Fig
.
3
.



The
coding
plug
maintains
a
record
of
thevehicle
mileage
.

The
back
of
the
instrument
cluster
and
its
bulb
locations
are



1
.
Record
vehicle
mileage
.

shown
in
Fig
.
4
.
2
.
Remove
instrument
cluster
as
described
earlier
.

3
.
Break
open
plastic
retainer
in
back
of
instrument
clus-
ter
andremove
coding
plug
.
See
Fig
.
5
.

5
.
Reset
vehicle
mileage
.

1
ILO

NOTE-

Consultan
authorized
BMW
dealer
service
department
about
resetting
vehicle
mileage
using
the
special
BMW
Service
tester
.

Vehicle
speed
sender,
replacing

0

0013029

Fig
.
5
.



Remove
coding
plug
retainer
with
a
screwdriver
(arrow)
.

4
.
Install
coding
plug
and
new
retainer
.
Reinstall
instru-
ment
cluster
.

The
vehicle
speed
sender
supplies
an
electronic
pulsed

speed
signal
to
the
speedometer
.
The
sender
is
mounted
be-

neath
the
rear
of
the
car,
on
the
differential
cover
plate
.

1
.
Locate
vehicle
speed
sender
electrical
connector
at

back
of
differential
.
Depress
retaininglevers
on
con-
nector
and
remove
.
See
Fig
.
6
.

INSTRUMENTS
620-
3

0013180
Fig
.
6
.



Vehicle
speed
sender
harnessconnector
(A)
and
sender
(B)
.

2
.
Remove
vehicle
speed
sender
retaining
screws
and
re-

move
sender
from
differential
cover
.

3
.
On
installation,
replace
O-ring
and
coat
with
oil
(90W)
.
See
Fig
.
7
.

0011755
NOTE-



'

If
the
speedometer
is
malfunctioning,
check
the
vehicle



Fig
.
7,



O-ring
correctly
installed
on
vehicle
speed
sender,
speed
sensor
hamess
connectoron
the
rear
differen-
tial
.
Water
damage,
frayed
wires
and
corrosion
of
the
connectorcontactsareoftenthecause
ofspeedometer



4
.
Insta¡¡
sender
into
differential
and
tighten
mounting
malfunction
.



bolts
evenly
in
stages
until
the
sender
is
firmly
seated
.

Tightening
Torque

"
Vehicle
speed
sender

to
differential
cover
...
.
.....
6
.6-8
.4
Nm
(53-74
in-lb)

INSTRUMENT
CLUSTER

640-10



HEATING
AND
AIR
CONDITIONING

i

El
Radio

Antenna

Rear



.
,



si,-
Left
side



I
d

1
.
Rear
vents
2
.
Fresh
air
3
.
Face-level
vents
4
.
Recirculation
5
.
Footwell
vents
0013017

Fig
.
28
.
Location
oflate
production
air
distribution
motors
in
heater
box(shown
in
rear,
side
and
top
views)
.

Heater
andA/C
air
distribution
motor,

replacing
(rotary-knob)

1
.
Toaccess
left
side
motors
(dash
vent
mixing
or
recircu-

lation
flap),
remove
lower
dash
panel
and
knee
bolster

on
driver
side
.
See
513
Interior
Trim
.

2
.
To
access
right
side
motor
(fresh
air
flap),
remove
glove

compartment
.
See513
Interior
Trim
.

3
.
Each
motor
can
be
removed
after
its
electrical
wiring

harness
connector
has
been
removed
.
Squeeze
plastic

clip
to
release
motor
.
See
Fig
.
29
.

Fig
.
29
.
A/
C
air
distribution
motor
plastic
retaíning
clip
(arrow)
.
Re-
lease
clip
and
tilt
motor
out
of
housing
.

Rear
Window
Defogger

0011877

The
rear
window
defogger
switch
is
integrated
with
the
heating
andA/C
control
head
.

HEATER
AND
CONTROLS

Fig
.
30
.
Wiring
diagram
of
rear
window
defogger
and
radio
antenna
.

Rear
Window
Blower
(Convertible
Models)

A
blower
fan,
fitted
into
the
rear
seatback,
defogs
therear

window
.
It
will
only
operate
with
the
engine
nunning
and
the

top
raised
.
A
microswitch
behindthe
rear
seats
provides
the

signal
that
thetop
is
raised
.

To
access
the
blower
fan
motor,
it
is
necessary
to
remove

four
screwsfrom
the
center
seat
back
.
Remove
the
wiring
har-

ness
connector
and
motor
mounting
boits,
then
remove
motor

by
pulling
it
down
and
forward
.
See
Fig
.
31
.

ri

Suppressor
filter

1
0013005

Fig
.
31
.
Rear
window
blower
in
center
of
rear
seat
back
(arrow)
.

The
electric
rear
window
defogger
is
integrated
with
the
ra-

dio
antenna
.
See
Fig
.
30
.



y



/f



0013014

GENERAL
.
.
.....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
............
720-1



REAR
SEATBELT
ASSEMBLY
...
.
....
.
.
720-4

Rear
seat
belt,
removing
and
installing
FRONT
SEATBELT
ASSEMBLY
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
720-2



(fixed
seat
back
models)
..
.
......
.
....
.
.720-4
Automatic
Front
Seat
Belt
Lock
Tensioners
.
.
720-2



Rear
seat
belt,
removing
and
installing

Mechanical
spring
tensioner,
disarming
.
...
.
720-2



(fold-downseat
back
models)
.
...
.
...
.
.
.
.
720-5

Front
seat
belt
reel,
removing
and
installing
.
.
720-3



Center
rear
lap-belt,
removing
and
installing
.
.720-5

GENERAL

All
E36
models
are
equipped
with
3-point
shoulder
belts
at



tract
and
tension
the
seat
belt
by
55
mm
(approximately
2
four
seating
positions
.
On
4-doormodels,
there
is
an
addition-



inches)
in
the
event
of
an
accident
.
a
l
lap
belt
in
thecenter
of
the
rear
seat
.

The
seat
beltreel
should
lock
when
driving
quickly
through
Automatic
seat
belt
tensioners
are
integrated
into
the
front



curves,
during
severe
braking
or
in
case
of
a
collision
.
The
au-
seat
belt
locks
.
Through
the
1996
model
year
cars,
a
mechan-



tomatic
reel
does
not
require
any
servicing
and
should
never
¡cal
spring
tensioner
is
used
.
See
Fig
.
1.
On
1997
and
later



be
opened
.
Belts
that
do
not
retract
and/or
lockproperly
cars,
a
pyrotechnic
(explosive
charge)
tensioner
is
used
.
Au-



should
be
replaced
promptly
.
tomatic
seat
belt
tensioners
aredesigned
to
automatically
re-

1
.
Seat
belt
lock
boft
2
.
Seat
belt
lockwith
mechanical
spring
tensioner
3
.
Seat
belt
anchor
bar
(two-door
models)
4
.
Seat
belt
anchor
bolt
5
.
Seat
belt
reelbolt
6
.
Seat
belt
reel
7
.
B-pillar
guide
nut
8
.
B-pillar
sliding
guide
9
.
Convertible
seat
beltreel
10
.Convertible
B-pillar
guide

Fig
.
1
.



Front
seat
belt
components
.

720
Seat
Belts

SEAT
BELTS



720-1

GENERAL

720-2



SEAT
BELTS

WARNING
-

"
For
maximum
protection
from
injury,
seat
belts

should
be
replaced
as
a
set
(including
all
hard-

ware),
if
they
are
subject
to
occupant
loading
in
a

collision
.
"
Seat
belts
should
not
be
modified
or
repaired
.

The
seat
belt
anchorage
points
should
not
be

changed
or
modified
.

"
Do
notbleach
or
dye
seat
belt
webbing
.
Webbing
that
is
severely
fadedor
re-dyed
will
not
meet
the

strength
requirements
of
a
collision
and
must
be

replaced
.

"
Seat
belts
shouldbe
periodically
inspected
for
webbing
defects
suchas
cuts
or
pulled
threads
.

FRONT
SEATBELT
ASSEMBLY

Automatic
Front
Seat
Belt

Lock
Tensioners

The
procedure
for
disabling
the
mechanical
spring
tension-

er
used
on
early
cars
is
covered
below
.
On
cars
with
thepyro-
technic(explosive
device)
tensioners,
the
orange
harness

connectorshould
be
removed
from
the
tensioner
any
time
the

seat
is
removed
.

WARNING
-

Both
the
mechanical
and
the
pyrotechnictensioners
are
powerful
devíces
and
shouldbehandled
with
extreme
care
.

Mechanical
spring
tensioner,
disarming

1
.
Remove
front
seat
.
See
520
Seats
.

2
.
Disarm
tensioner-electrically
adjustableseats
:

"
Working
at
side
of
seat,
turn
activating/deactivating

screw
clockwise
until
display
changes
from
green
to

red
.
See
Fig
.
2
.

"
Before
reinstalling
seat,
turn
screw
until
display
chang-
esback
to
green
.

NOTE-

Green
is
armed
.
Red
is
disarmed
.

3
.
Disarm
tensioner-manually
adjustable
seats
:

"
Cut
wíre
tie
next
to
tab
on
bowden
cable
.
See
Fig
.
3
.

"
Turn
and
lift
tabto
disengage
cable
housing
from
seat
bracket
.

"
Disconnect
cable
end
from
seat
lever
.
"
When
reinstalling,
correctly
engage
tab
end
of
cable

into
seat
bracket
and
fasten
in
position
using
new
wíre

tie
.

FRONT
SEATBELT
ASSEMBLY

0012737

Fig
.
2
.



Electrically
adjustable
front
seat
.
Turn
screw
(A)
to
disarm
me-

chanical
tensioner
.
Display
B
tucos
from
green
to
red
.

F19
.3
.
Manuallyadjustablefrontseat
.Turnandlifttab(arrow)todis-

720-
4



SEAT
BELTS

REAR
SEAT
BELT
ASSEMBLY

On
4-door
E36
models,
there
are
two
3-point
shoulder
belts

and
a
center
lap
beltin
back
.
On
2-doormodels,
there
is
no

center
rear
lap-belt
.

In
models
with
the
stationary
rear
seat
back,
the
shoulder

belt
reels
are
bolted
to
themiddle
of
the
parcel
shelf
.
In
modeis

with
fold-down
rearseat
back,
the
shoulder
belt
reels
are
at-

tached
to
the
folding
seat
back
.

The
rearseat
belt
assemblies
are
shown
in
Fig
.
7
.

Fig
.
7
.



Detafs
of
rearseat
belt
assembly
.

Seats
.

REAR
SEA
T
BELT
ASSEMBLY

1
.
Remove
rear
seat
cushion
and
backrest
.
See
520

2
.
Remove
plastictrim
cover
over
shoulder
belt
reels
from
rear
window
shelf
.
See
Fig
.
8
.

3
.
Remove
rear
window
shelf
.
See
Fig
.
9
.

4
.
Unbolt
andremove
shoulder
belt
reels
.

NOTE-

The
shoulder
belt
anchor
belts
also
hold
thecenter
lap-
belt
in
place(where
applicable)
.
Be
sure
to
note
relative
positions
of
metal
belt-end
anchors
in
order
to
reas-
semble
correctly
.

body
next
to
rear
door
frame
.

8
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

5
.
Remove
shoulder
belt
anchor
bolt
frombeneath
rear
seat
.



WARNING
-

Alignment
tabs
on
seat
belt
reels
must
be
rein-
stalled
in
their
original
positions

Fig
.
8
.



Remove
rear
shoulder
belt
reel
trim
cover
from
rear
window
shelf
.
Unclip
plastic,
then
slide
off
shoulder
belts
as
shown
by
arrows
.

Rear
seat
belt,
removing
and
installing



Fig
.
9
.
Remove
rear
window
shelf
.
Speaker
grilles
and
third
brake

(fixed
seat
back
modeis)



light
socket
will
have
to
be
removed
.
The
front
of
the
shelf
lifts
offits
clips
(black
arrows)
before
the
shelf
slides
forward
.

6
.
On
4-door
models
:
Unbolt
shoulder
belt
lock
bolt
from

7
.
On
2-door
models
:
Remove
rearside
panel
asde-
scribed
in
411
Doors
.
Unbolt
shoulder
belt
lock
bolt
from
body
nextto
quarter
panel
.

Tightening
Torques

"
Rear
seat
belt
reelbolt,
anchor
bolt,
or
lock
boltto
body
.
.
.....
.
...
...
.
48
Nm
(36
ft-Ib)

Rear
seat
belt,
removing
and
installing

(foid-down
seat
back
modeis)

1
.
Remove
rear
seat
cushion
.
See
520
Seats
.

2
.
Remove
shoulder
belt
anchor
bolt
from
beneath
rear

seat
.

NOTE
-

The
shoulder
belt
anchor
bolts
alsohold
the
center
lap-belt
in
place
(where
applicable)
.
Be
sure
to
note
relative
positions
of
metal
belt-end
anchors
in
order
to
reas-
semble
correctly
.

3
.
On
4-door
models
:
Unbolt
shoulder
belt
lock
bolt
from

body
nextto
rear
door
frame
.

4
.
On
2-door
models
:
Remove
rearside
panel
as
de-

scribed
in
411
Doors
.
Unbolt
shoulder
belt
lock
bolt

from
body
next
to
quarter
panel
.

5
.
Unlock
and
flip
down
folding
rear
seat
backrest
.
Re-

move
trim
plug
from
back
of
cushion
(luggage
compart-

ment
side)
.

6
.
Remove
seat
beltreelbolt
andwasher
.
See
Fig
.
10
.

Fig
.
10
.
Rear
seat
beltreelbolt
(arrow)
.

0012676

7
.
Gently
pry
off
plastic
trim
at
top
of
backrest
and
pull
out

seat
beltreel
from
seat
.

NOTE-

The
seat
beltreel
is
held
snugly
by
the
backrest
cush-
ion
.
Moderate
force
will
be
needed
to
pulí
ít
out
.

8
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

Tightening
Torques

"
Rear
seat
beltreel
bolt,
anchor
bolt,

or
lock
boltto
body
...............
48
Nm
(36
ft-Ib)

Center
rear
lap-belt,

removing
and
installing

1
.
Remove
rear
seat
cushion
.
See520
Seats
.

2
.
Remove
shoulder
belt
anchor
bolts
from
beneath
rear

seat
.

3
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

SEAT
BELTS



720-
5

NOTE-

The
shoulderbeltanchorbolts
also
hold
the
centerlap-
belt
in
place
.
Be
sure
to
note
relative
positions
of
metal
belt-end
anchors
in
order
to
reassemble
correctly
.

WARNING
-

Alignment
tabs
on
seat
belt
reels
must
be
rein-
stalled
in
their
original
positions
.

Tightening
Torques

"
Lap-belt
reelbolt
or
lock
boltto
body
.
48
Nm
(36
ft-Ib)

REAR
SEATBELT
ASSEMBLY

Fig
.
8
.



Airbag
crash
sensor
mountingscrews
(arrows)
on
early
cars
.
Note
Torx
screws
with
anti-tamper
pin
in
screw-head
.

ZAE
control
module,
replacing

NOTE-

Some
versions
of
early
ZAE
control
modules
are
no
longer
available
from
BMW
.
When
replacing
control
modules
on
cars
built
between
September
1993
and
June
1994,
consulta
BMW
parts
department
for
the
lat-
est
information
on
retrofitting
the
later
module
.
3
.
Remove
orange
SRS
connector
from
its
holder
and
carefully
separate
connector
.
Refer
to
Fig
.
7
.
1
.
Disconnect
negative
(-)
cable
from
battery
and
cover

negative
terminalwith
insulating
material
.



4
.
Working
behind
steering
wheel,
completely
loosen
Torx

screws
(T30)
while
holdingairbag
in
place
.
See
Fig
.
9
.
2
.
Lift
rearseat
cushion
.
Unplug
harness
connectors
and



Support
airbag
unit
toprevent
it
from
falling
out
.
remove
ZAE
airbag
control
module,
which
is
bolted
to

top
of
driveshaft
tunnel
.

3
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal
.

Front
side-impact
airbag
crash
sensor,

removing
and
installing

1
.
Disconnect
negative
(-)
cable
from
battery
and
cover

negative
terminal
with
insulating
material
.

2
.
Remove
front
seat
.
See520
Seats
.

3
.
Convertible
:
remove
rear
seat

4
.
Remove
plastic
door
sill
trim
.

5
.
Fold
up
carpet
in
back
of
front
seat
.

6
.
Pull
off
connector
from
crash
sensor,
which
is
located

under
rugnext
to
door
si¡¡
.

7
.
Remove
sensorby
removing
screws
.
Note
direction
ar-

row
before
removing
sensor
.

8
.
Installation
is
reverse
of
removal,noting
direction
arrow

on
sensor
.

AIRBAGS

AIRBAG
SYSTEM
(SRS)



721-
5

Driver
side
airbag,

removing
and
installing

1
.
Disconnect
negative
(-)
cable
from
battery
and
cover
negative
terminal
with
insulating
material
.

WARNING
-

On
cars
with
ZAE
system
:
If
theairbag
system
has
detected
a
fault
(SRS
indicator
illuminated),
a
wait-
ing
period
ofat
least
ten
minutes
must
be
observed
before
removing
the
airbag
from
the
steering
wheel
.
This
will
allow
the
system
capacitor
to
discharge,
re-
ducing
the
possibility
of
a
trigger
pulsebeinggener-
ated
to
the
airbag
.

CAUTION-

Prior
to
disconnecting
the
battery,
read
the
battery
disconnection
cautions
given
at
the
front
of
this
manual
on
page
vi¡¡
.

2
.
Remove
lower
steering
column
trim
mounting
screw

andremove
lower
trim
.
Refer
to
Fig
.
6
.

Fig
.
9
.



Driver
sideairbag
unit
mounting
screws
(arrows)
.

0011893

AIRBAGS