1999 BMW 318is-c - 323is-c - 328is-c - M3 Electrical Troubleshooting Manual
The BMW E30 318iS Resource
Transcript of The BMW E30 318iS Resource
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Custom Coil-On-Plug IgnitionConversion, Page 1
The Story:This project began with me being tired of spending exorbitant amounts
of money on new ignition wires every couple years. I began to
investigate the idea of converting to coil-on-plug (COP) ignition to
clean up the engine bay and avoid buying overpriced wires. Aside fromthat, the COP design seemed inherently more reliable. So, here we go
on the wild ride! My first idea was to use the original M42 coil packs. I
disassembled some spares just to get the hang of what I could and
couldn't do. Beyond that, I needed to get some basic dimensions
worked out to choose ignition boots.
Once I had the ignition boots in-hand, I could make some more
progress. From the measurements, I determined that the boots were
not long enough to make enough contact with the spark plugs (at least
not enough to leave me feeling confident about it). Using a multimeter,
I could see that contact was being made, but it was very light and I
feared that normal engine vibrations could cause interruptions in the
contact. I addressed this issue a little bit later. The spark plug bosses
were measured to be ~9mm tall, so I would mill them down roughly
7mm.
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So, with that worked out, I began making the necessary modifications
to the coil packs. They would not fit in the valve cover with the four
mounting tabs still on them, so I lopped them off and re-welded the
exposed cuts. I did this both to keep them from falling apart, and to
ensure that as much conductivity was preserved as possible, sincethese ferrous slats were an integral part of the primary field generation
apparatus. Among the pictures taken that evening were some of myself
(hiding in the welding mask) and my father playing with his mill.
Next up was test-fitting the coils in the valve cover and modifying the
plug-hole bosses. The operation took a few light passes, just to ensure
that nothing got mangled. Having access to a mill is a big help with
things like this...a hand-file would not have been much fun. A Dremel
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tool would have resulted in all sorts of things getting scratched up as
well...holding one still is a real chore!
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Custom Coil-On-Plug IgnitionConversion, Page 2
Another item needing to be addressed was the connector fastening
brackets. In their original form, they would be stuck moving down
toward the valve cover's bottom when opened. I needed to reverse this
so the connectors would be connectable from the top. Using some
needle-nosed pliers and dykes, I removed and modified the brackets to
accomplish this. By carefully looking at the brackets and the grooves
they slide in within the coil body, you can see what needed to be done.
Next on the agenda was devising a way to secure the coil packs on the
valve cover. Using some angle iron from a local hardware store I
developed a simple bracket. It was ugly, but served its purpose. Some
notches were cut into the bracket here and there to make sure the coilpacks would fit inside. It was a VERY tight fit when it was all put
together. It was so tight that the connectors could not even be put on
with the coil packs in place. Due to that, I decided to scrap this idea
and start over. Smaller coil packs were necessary, as well as a simpler
way of fastening them in place.
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Coil packs from the M54 motor were selected as the units for the COP
version 2 conversion. They allowed plenty of room for the connector,
and even fit in the valve cover without any chopping. The coil for
cylinder #1 had to be trimmed a little bit though, as the "passage" in the
middle of the cover did not extend all the way through to both ends.
The first generation of the second generation bracket was far simpler
than the one developed to work with the stock coil packs. Everything fit
perfectly the first time through. You can also see the difference in size
between the stock and M54 coil packs.
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Fitment was a breeze once the bracket was finished. It was secured
using some 60mm long M6x1 threaded rod in the holes where the two
center valve cover bolts were located previously. A couple sets of
washers & nuts were used to secure both the valve cover and the
ignition coil bracket.
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Custom Coil-On-Plug IgnitionConversion, Page 3
The next item needing attention was the harness length. It needed to
be trimmed...badly. The connectors were disassembled, and all the
wires trimmed. A fastening bracket was added near cylinder four to tie
the harness down onto. If left floating, engine vibrations would soon
cause a fatigue failure in the wires at the connectors.
Once I was sure that everything was OK, I set to work removing the
original coil pack brackets. It was pretty easy to do using pliers, a hack
saw and some patience. After the cutting was done, everything was
filed, sanded and Bondo'ed. Therafter, it was all masked and painted.
The paint was not quite a perfect match, but some future wet-sanding
and blending should fix that.
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Next, I built a nicer looking bracket. The purchase of a hole-saw proved
to be a worthwhile investment. The use of some boring bars also
helped to make a nice clean hole. A digital position readout was also
added to the mill before this, making things FAR easier this time
around!
Here is the finished product. It has the cable-securing arm built in by
design, and has some minor corrections to ensure the best possible
fitment of the coils. A black powdercoating would be a nice addition to
this piece someday, along with the valve cover itself!
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Finally, here it is, installed and ready to go. This made a lot of space in
the passenger side of the engine bay...maybe someday a turbocharger
will inhabit the space. The car did seem to run noticeably smoother
after the conversion, leading me to believe that my plug wires were
worn out. The project did not really provide any gains in performance,but it DID add to my peace of mind and the aesthetics under the hood.
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