couple of questions

[philiper]

hello everybody

as you might have seen I was looking for an e21 which with Mark's help got a 323i (the one you have seen discussed in this forum).

anyway, couple of questions for 323i owners and few general ones for everybody

general

1. does the boot have separate lighting? I see there is a place for it but it is not connected to anything? just an empty casing, not even a bulb in it!
2. my hazard switch is broken (not surprised as I have seen it is a common issue), where do you get a new one from?dealer and how much do they cost?
3. the passenger side grab handle, what is supposed to be on the top section of it? as mine looks like a shiny foil on it which is peeling!

323i owners
1. when the car is idling, should it be smooth or a bit rough?
2. my temperature gauge is usually towards red! today on the way home, I thought in a minute or 2 smoke will be every where! the previous owners has installed a 2nd fan which is controlled by a switch under the cassette player! could this because he had the same issues?
3. as far as I understand, 323 is belt driven, how would I know when was it last changed? and if need changing, how much would that be?

sorry for the questions, but I have a very limited mechanical knowledge (you can say non-existent) and after spending what was my initial budget, need to be careful

thanks for the help

[Jeroen]

general
1. yup, sounds like you miss the witing and the switch too
2. there's a fix on the forum as well
3. is sort of chromed, peels off over time indeed

323i
1. cold could be a bit rough, it's mechanical injection. But vacuum leaks or aging injectors can cause trouble as well as a bad base adjustment
2. see the FAQ section for options, common problem but an additional fan is not a solution
3. belt, advised is 60K kms or 6 years, further see FAQ

[philiper]

general
1. yup, sounds like you miss the witing and the switch too
2. there's a fix on the forum as well
3. is sort of chromed, peels off over time indeed

323i
1. cold could be a bit rough, it's mechanical injection. But vacuum leaks or aging injectors can cause trouble as well as a bad base adjustment
2. see the FAQ section for options, common problem but an additional fan is not a solution
3. belt, advised is 60K kms or 6 years, further see FAQ

thanks Jeroen for the replies.

1. with regards to the light,bizarrely the previous owner has installed his own florescent lamp in there!!!!! so wiring is there but no light or switch!
2. tried the fix last night with the pin but no joy.
3. anything can be done to fix this?

I'll have a look in FAQ and check the services to see any mention of belt.

thanks

[Jeroen]

1. hard to say what someone's done haha
2. then it's time to replace indeed haha
3. replace with a new plastic piece, can't be expensive from the dealers. One phillips screw at the bottom to change

There's a very detailed topic on the belt change in the Dutch Top Tech Topics section, we need to translate that one day. Perhaps if I'm bored somewhere this weekend...