Dumb Question Thread - No Flaming Allowed

[Laminads]

My car was broken into a few years back. They stole a few things in the backseat. They also popped the hood but apparently didnt take anything. However after that my radio is just static. I can play cds and my ipod no problem. Its a factory radio with a ipod plugin. Does anybody have an idea what happened? Did something in the engine bay cause my radio to stop working?

[Cronenberged]

My car was broken into a few years back. They stole a few things in the backseat. They also popped the hood but apparently didnt take anything. However after that my radio is just static. I can play cds and my ipod no problem. Its a factory radio with a ipod plugin. Does anybody have an idea what happened? Did something in the engine bay cause my radio to stop working?

The antenna I believe runs from back of the roof off the left side and into the trunk. Did they mess with anything in the trunk?

[zzyzx85]

After installing a CSL airbox, what's the way to secure the xenon headlight control unit on the driver side besides the tab?

edit: I guess I'm missing an "expanding nut" that's inserted into the square hole in the fender/sheetmetal.

[DoubleSidedTape]

Is there a particular orientation that these splined sleeves should go in relative to the camshaft?

[ridebikes]

When installing aftermarket seats and the airbag light illuminates....

Does adding a passenger seat occupancy bypass allow the airbag to work properly or just turn off the dashboard light?

The way this is described in the ebay listing is unclear to me.

Thank you!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/322561266308

[Tbonem3]

The airbag light would come on if you left the battery connected while unplugging things.

This emulator will tell the car that someone is sitting in the seat so the airbag will go off in an accident (whether there is a person in the seat or not).

If no emulator, the airbag wouldn't go off if even if someone was sitting in the seat.

Your aftermarket seats can't tell the car whether someone is sitting there or not.

[Cubieman]

I swapped steering wheels my new wheel tilts to the right slightly as compared to the last wheel which sat centered.

The last wheel and the new wheel are both aftermarket items, but of course they were both built around an OEM core.

My alignment is off and the car does pulls to the right, the vehicle is getting an alignment soon.
Should I re-posiotion my wheel so the 2 "tick marks" line up regardless of that causing the wheel to lean to the right wheel driving straight?


Currently I have the new wheel with the tick mark one postion off of the tick mark on the column to compensate for the wheel not sitting correctly.

It is strange as the splines in the wheel (and I assume the tick mark) are they same on every wheel, as in they should all be in the same location.

[Slideways]

I swapped steering wheels my new wheel tilts to the right slightly as compared to the last wheel which sat centered.

The last wheel and the new wheel are both aftermarket items, but of course they were both built around an OEM core.

My alignment is off and the car does pulls to the right, the vehicle is getting an alignment soon.
Should I re-posiotion my wheel so the 2 "tick marks" line up regardless of that causing the wheel to lean to the right wheel driving straight?


Currently I have the new wheel with the tick mark one postion off of the tick mark on the column to compensate for the wheel not sitting correctly.

It is strange as the splines in the wheel (and I assume the tick mark) are they same on every wheel, as in they should all be in the same location.

The straightness of the steering wheel is only adjusted at the tie rods during the alignment. The wheel will only be off center if the tech does not take care in centering the wheel perfectly before performing the wheel alignment.


From the TIS manual for steering wheel install:

Installation -

Move wheels to straight-ahead position.

Align steering wheel using marking to steering column and attach. The retaining pins must also appear in the openings in the steering wheel.

[S3diment]

Have Vorschlag camber plates and went for my first alignment. The shop asked if the plates were installed correctly because they didn’t know how to adjust the camber. I’m pretty sure I did them correctly, is there a procedure to adjust the camber properly?

[Cubieman]

Slideways I am getting an alignment tomorrow, do you think I should set my wheel so the 2 tick marks line up or leave it?

As posted above I currently have the wheel one spline CCW from the marks lining up to keep the wheel staight while driving.

When they do the alignment won't adjusting the tie rods to straighten the wheel also affect toe, thus affect the alignment?
If that is the case should I line my wheel up "correctly" to the column even though it leans to the right?

[Slideways]

Slideways I am getting an alignment tomorrow, do you think I should set my wheel so the 2 tick marks line up or leave it?

As posted above I currently have the wheel one spline CCW from the marks lining up to keep the wheel staight while driving.

When they do the alignment won't adjusting the tie rods to straighten the wheel also affect toe, thus affect the alignment?
If that is the case should I line my wheel up "correctly" to the column even though it leans to the right?

The repair manual says to line up the marks. If the steering wheel is off on the splines, the angle sensor will be off as well.

[zzyzx85]

Have Vorschlag camber plates and went for my first alignment. The shop asked if the plates were installed correctly because they didn’t know how to adjust the camber. I’m pretty sure I did them correctly, is there a procedure to adjust the camber properly?

As long as you followed the markings on top of the plates, it's hard to mess up the install. They should be able to slide the camber plate in and out after the 3x strut mount nuts are loosened up and the suspension is unloaded.

[S3diment]

As long as you followed the markings on top of the plates, it's hard to mess up the install. They should be able to slide the camber plate in and out after the 3x strut mount nuts are loosened up and the suspension is unloaded.

That's what I figured. SMH ... need to go to a better alignment shop.

[Cubieman]

I just had my car aligned at the dealership, I have offset BC camber plates. They thought that they were installed backwards and swapped them with the same result. The plates don't sit centered in the strut tower so you cannot easily adjust them like normal plates.
I ended up paying $600 for a f**king alignment as a result, I should have argued my case more, but I got an additional 3 hours labor (at 1/2 rate supposedly) for them to swap those plates. What a mess.

[heinzboehmer]

I just had my car aligned at the dealership, I have offset BC camber plates. They thought that they were installed backwards and swapped them with the same result. The plates don't sit centered in the strut tower so you cannot easily adjust them like normal plates.
I ended up paying $600 for a f**king alignment as a result, I should have argued my case more, but I got an additional 3 hours labor (at 1/2 rate supposedly) for them to swap those plates. What a mess.

I'd suggest finding a shop that deals with track/race cars next time. A bit more expensive than at a regular alignment place, but they'll be more familiar with non-stock setups and usually take more care to get the settings exact.

Bonus points if you find a place that has a couple e46 m3 track cars parked outside.