[steve64h]

Thanks to everyone for the replys.
I found one end of the short by tracing the fuse with the aid of the downloadable electrical schematic and then pulling wires from the splice under the dash. (I had torn the dash apart because the previous owner had installed a radio and I figured he probably pinched a wire with the tin box the radio slides into) I got the car home but am only half way finished with tracing the short.

I am amazed at the amount of unnecessary stuff BMW put in this car to make the interior look neater. I'll bet I removed 25 lb of panels and my instruments and airbags are still in place. Some where in the 1980s car makers decided that owners should think their cars ran by magic and there should be no wires, or even an engine visible to the naked eye. It's my pet peeve with all car makers. just ranting a little, probably a good topic for another thread.
Thanks to pnoscer for the spell check! It's a 1.9 and a 3.19 would be nice, I'd like to have a 1.2 though, probably get 40 mpg with that and still have plenty of ponies for me!