E39 electrical gremlins or real problems?
Discussion
The non working washer nozzle seems to be a perennial PITA on E39's. I had the pipe reconnected twice on my 528 and recently again on my 535. Seems to disconnect somewhere behind the plastic wheel arch liner on the offside front. Going to ask the garage to see if they can glue the connection if it happens again!
from BMW.
ds!Oh well, it would have cost me a lot more just to get the fault traced in a garage (even at an indi's rate), let alone supplying and fitting the offending part!
BMW charge £70 p/h (I think) just to plug their diagnosis gear in. Even then they would still end up trying to sell me a new gearbox! (original problem was 'TRANSMISSION FAIL-SAFE' displayed on dash, airbag light etc..)
Maybe the sharp price hike is due to a high demand vs dwindling stocks, as these switches seem to expire quite regularly!
BMW charge £70 p/h (I think) just to plug their diagnosis gear in. Even then they would still end up trying to sell me a new gearbox! (original problem was 'TRANSMISSION FAIL-SAFE' displayed on dash, airbag light etc..)
Maybe the sharp price hike is due to a high demand vs dwindling stocks, as these switches seem to expire quite regularly!
HI
sorry to go back into this, i just brought a e39 320i automatic, the car has been on the drive for a few weeks while the documents come through and i have been starting it up every few days, the last time is tarted it up 3 days ago all was fine, yesterday during the day the alarm randomly went of! during the night i went to start it up again and noticed a warning light on for the rear O/S brake light, i then turned on both sunvisor lights which were working fine for a few minutes then they went out. I then noticed that when i open the sunvisor lights after the bulb had gone out the top level and normal brake lights are illuminating.
Im gathering from what i have read on this thread it is most likely a ignition switch but just thought i would ask one of you proffessionals out there for your opinion as i am not experiencing any other warning lights on my dash which from what i read is also very commonly linked to this problem.
Your advice would be great thanks!!!!!!
sorry to go back into this, i just brought a e39 320i automatic, the car has been on the drive for a few weeks while the documents come through and i have been starting it up every few days, the last time is tarted it up 3 days ago all was fine, yesterday during the day the alarm randomly went of! during the night i went to start it up again and noticed a warning light on for the rear O/S brake light, i then turned on both sunvisor lights which were working fine for a few minutes then they went out. I then noticed that when i open the sunvisor lights after the bulb had gone out the top level and normal brake lights are illuminating.
Im gathering from what i have read on this thread it is most likely a ignition switch but just thought i would ask one of you proffessionals out there for your opinion as i am not experiencing any other warning lights on my dash which from what i read is also very commonly linked to this problem.
Your advice would be great thanks!!!!!!
nikeshd said:
all is fine now my mate slammed the boot shut and gave both rear lights a good smack and now its all gone back to normal any idea what it ccould have been!?
the battery is in the boot, perhaps teh slam dislodged a bad connection . Your orignal symptoms seemed more battery related than ignition switch.
This thread is excellent. I have had these problems for the past month and because of how odd and intermittent this fault was I was actually dreading having to 'google' anything or even begin to try and describe to a mechanic whats actually wrong with my car (because they just seem to be interested in my wallet only!).
Thanks a million. Very useful thread.
Thanks a million. Very useful thread.
hi guys
I'm from Belgium. I have the same problem with my e38 725tds. After changing the ignition switch I still have no result. The problem haven't been solved. Radio doesn't work ,steering wheel controls don't work also no cruis control, display under the radio doesn't work...and not to forget the airbag light is on. I really don't know what to do... I checked the wiring that comes out of the ignition switch .. all +12V. checked fusebox in the front , fuse 69 in the back... Anybody an idea?
I'm from Belgium. I have the same problem with my e38 725tds. After changing the ignition switch I still have no result. The problem haven't been solved. Radio doesn't work ,steering wheel controls don't work also no cruis control, display under the radio doesn't work...and not to forget the airbag light is on. I really don't know what to do... I checked the wiring that comes out of the ignition switch .. all +12V. checked fusebox in the front , fuse 69 in the back... Anybody an idea?
Y'know guys, as a fully paid-up member of the Old Fartz Community, I find these threads fascinating and totally absorbing! I start off by trying to find an answer to the latest little (or occasionally LARGE) gremlin that might be plaguing my '98 525TDS, and then I find myself following completely unassociated threads - simply because they're so damn' interesting! Am I a saddo, or what?
How the Hell do some of the answers that resolve people's problems get discovered?
It's about as strange as the fact (trust me, this is TRUE, try Googling it) that a mixture of cow dung and human piss, all nicely mixed up, and then daubed over a pig's carcase, will do a FAR better job of preserving it in good condition than the more conventional salting, smoking, or whatever can manage - AND, (according to the initially reluctant TV presenter of the program that I saw it on), produced the best bacon sarnie that he claimed he'd ever tasted!
Like some of the answers to many of this Site's user's problems, it's not so much the fact that they WORK, it's more a question of WHATEVER POSSESSED THE ORIGINAL "DISCOVERER" TO EVEN TRY WHAT HE DID IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!
I have fond memories of the days when a reasonably adept car enthusiast could rebuild his Ford Cortina, Mini, etc. during a weekend - OK, a Bank Holiday weekend, and "day-to-day" problems would be solved in minutes simply by changing a duff fuse, or fixing an iffy electrical connection...
It's hard for an old duffer like me to decide whether I prefer the uncomplicated days of yore, or to enjoy the sophistication of today's cars, and have to put up with the complex problems that they spew out!
How the Hell do some of the answers that resolve people's problems get discovered?
It's about as strange as the fact (trust me, this is TRUE, try Googling it) that a mixture of cow dung and human piss, all nicely mixed up, and then daubed over a pig's carcase, will do a FAR better job of preserving it in good condition than the more conventional salting, smoking, or whatever can manage - AND, (according to the initially reluctant TV presenter of the program that I saw it on), produced the best bacon sarnie that he claimed he'd ever tasted!
Like some of the answers to many of this Site's user's problems, it's not so much the fact that they WORK, it's more a question of WHATEVER POSSESSED THE ORIGINAL "DISCOVERER" TO EVEN TRY WHAT HE DID IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!
I have fond memories of the days when a reasonably adept car enthusiast could rebuild his Ford Cortina, Mini, etc. during a weekend - OK, a Bank Holiday weekend, and "day-to-day" problems would be solved in minutes simply by changing a duff fuse, or fixing an iffy electrical connection...
It's hard for an old duffer like me to decide whether I prefer the uncomplicated days of yore, or to enjoy the sophistication of today's cars, and have to put up with the complex problems that they spew out!
sparks_E39 said:
That pesky ignition switch was the cause of many a problem with my car!
Indeed it's not just BMWs from the 80s/90s that can behave incredibly strange when the ignition switches begin to fail, a lot of German cars from that era used a similar switch. I've replaced a few on VWs & Mercedes. A dirt cheap part that can be a pain in the backside to diagnose & replace.
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