Bmw E46 Wiring Harness Diagram

December 07, 2021

name that connector - e46 engine harness

car is a 2000 323i
swapped motor but using some of the original harness still for gauges hvac etc..

I labeled the majority of the connectors, but a missed a few and its been a couple years.

first one, 3 connectors coming off the harness for the fuel injectors. the one with green tape just says "head intake side"

next one on the main engine harness, they curve back 180degrees, there is two of them.

and, we have two that both plugged in on or around the oil filter housing, so one must be for oil pressure, not sure about the other. one has 2 wires one is a single wire you can see where the loom is pulled back.

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think I got pic #3 figured out , 2 pin is oil temp (same as coolant temp sensor) 1 pin is oil press
1) "Head intake side" plug will be water temp, under the manifold, The one in center will go to sensor dead center of intake manifold, one in front goes to vanos solenoid, I think.
2) Plug on forefinger goes to DISA valve, other one goes to evap purge, under front of intake manifold

Chris Powell
Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
BMWCCA 274412
pic #2 - just by looking through the Bentley, I suspect one of the 180 degree connectors is for the electronic control thermostat and the other is the fuel tank venting valve (same as evap purge?) have not been able to find a pic of the disa connector these were the only two connectors I found like this
The thermostat indeed uses the same sort of connector: but neither of those wires is going to reach the thermostat; but it'll reach the disa....
Fuel tank vent valve would be the correct name for that evap system valve under the front of the manifold, above the alternator. (It was very early in the morning - I knew just where to plug it, but purged instead of vented....)

Chris Powell
Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
BMWCCA 274412
thanks for the help. well the only one I might need from pic #2 is the evap purge, not sure if that will function separate from the engine or not through, my knowledge of emissions systems are pretty limited, because I really don't care much about them.
I might need the coolant temp sensor for the dash. thought there was a coolant temp sensor somewhere in the or around the radiator too though.. I really need a thorough wiring diagram with wire colors for this car..
Um, the coolant temp sensor at the back of the cylinder head is the one the engine computer uses to deliver correct fuel mixture. The one in the lower rad hose or radiator header tank is a fan switch. There may or may not be another sender unit for the guage.
You need the disa. Unless you want the car to bog terribly at some rpms.

Chris Powell
Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
BMWCCA 274412
my car has a e36 m52b28 swap. no disa. m50 manifold /obd1. im just trying to keep my temp gauge working in my cluster.
so it uses the one from the cyclinder head for the dme and the gauge? or the one in the radiator is for the gauge? radiator one is just for the e-thermostat?
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seriously, does a wiring diagram for the early e46 exist? I cant find one. is there a e46 engine wiring harness diagram, preferable with wire colors, or which wires go to what, anywhere? specifically 99-00 323i. ive scoured the Bentley manual and realoem not to mention hours on google. ive found DME pinouts, pictures of the wire harness, nothing to help someone with a half assed labeled wire harness that they're cutting up to identify what does what. no one has done my exact swap, they either totally give up on keeping any stock functions of the e46 and build some kind of race car, or they are trying to interface with the can bus and build there own circuitry which I don't really have time to learn right now.

basicly im trying to keep anything the DME doesn't need to run the engine. but run the car.

Last edited by 7808; 06-20-2014 at 06:38 AM.
in case it helps anyone else, I was told to look here on e46fanatics, my almost new laptop doesn't meet the requirements http://www.bmwtech.ru/wds/release/us/index.htm
You can also go to bmw-planet.com , and visit their library; they have the late model BMW wiring diagrams. Be aware that these diagrams are a real PITA to navigate.

Chris Powell
Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
BMWCCA 274412
whats the trick to getting any of these sites to work? think im getting some kind of java error, but ive updated my java so