E39 electrical gremlins or real problems?

[Kinky]

Decided to pop out this afternoon to Camberley (about 6 miles away) for a spot of shopping.

Everything was fine, and then for no reason at all the radio just cut out - including the display. No matter of button pushing would make it come back on! So I assumed that perhaps the relevant fuse had blown. Easy enough to check and not a major problem (assuming the same fuse did not cover other things as well).

Anyway, I digress.

Arrived at M&S, did the quick spot of shopping, and started the car up again. The radio still did not work. On our way out of the car park I ran over some rumble strips and all of a sudden the radio burst into life. My assumption now was simply a loose wire somewhere.

Arrived at Homebase to get some paint samples. When I started the car up again, this time the radio was fine, but the airbag light AND the 'automatic Tranmission' (amber) lights both came on and stayed on.

Added to this, none of the controls on the steering wheel work - ie the radio volume/channels, and the cruise control buttons.

So, now I'm wondering if in fact I don't have a 'formal' airbag problem, but simply a duff/loose connection on the steering wheel. This might explain the loss of controls on the wheel and the airbag light, but I doubt explain the radio simply disappearing for a short time, and of course, more importantly the 'auto gearbox' light coming on.

On my way home I did not notice the gearbox behaving any different than usual (ie - safe home mode), which makes me think that it is an electrical gremlin as opposed to an actual problem.

Does anyone have any pointers?

For reference, it's a 99 'T 523i SE auto Touring.

Ironically, I said to Mrs. K (before the radio cut out) that I will book it in for a service next week!

I thought I'd got rid of all electrical problems when I sold the Alfa and TiV ...... but it's clear they are back to haunt me.

Many thanks in advance,

K

P.S. - I have another problem in that there's no screen wash coming out of the jets. The bottle is full and I can hear the motor pumping away. I've traced the pipe as far as I can (in the engine bay) and there's no wash coming from it at that point - so I assume/guess that the filter by the pump is blocked and simply needs cleaning/replacing.

[Kinky]

Some top tips there Neil - many thanks I'll give them a go tomorrow.

I don't have the DSP - lest I don't think I do. It's just a BMW standard radio, with a seperate casette slot near the top of the dash under a flap, and a multi-play CD in the boot.

When I disconnect the battery is there anything I need to be aware of when I re-connect it?

K

[Kinky]

Neil - no worries about the battery - used to do it almost daily with the Alfa and weekly with the TiV

I was thinking more about if I need to reset anything on the car once it's reconnected. But it sounds not

I'll do it tomorrow afternoon, and will update accordingly.

Thank you again.

K

[Kinky]

Cheers Scott - ironically it was that very same problem that had me stumped for ages (and the AA) on the TiV. That was a real bugger to trace - not helped by the fact that most of the wiring was all black!

I'll have a specific nosey at that tomorrow, and a good old [technical term] wiggle

K

[Kinky]

Cheers Scott - believe you me - it's much appreciated.

K

[Kinky]

Pete,

Thanks for that.

Ironically, one of my thoughts was that it might be battery related. Unfortunately the car is under-used (the MX5 is TOO much fun) and is used for lots of short journeys, and the occasional long journey. I did say to Mrs. K over the weekend that I was suprised the battery had lasted this long (2 years), and not knowing how old it is.

I guess a new one is in order anyway. Worst-case scenario is that we've got AA cover anyway, so they could supply one if needed - but it's going for a service very shortly (like this week or next), so I'll get them to check it and replace if needed.

I also have to confess that I did not have time to check the ignition wiring over the weekend - the intent was there, but family matters took priority. But I will update everyone on what the final cause/solution is/

Thanks again

K

[Kinky]

Well - just a quick update to close this one off .....

Firstly - the symptoms were that the airbag and 'gearbox' lights were permanently on. The controls on the steering wheel (radio/cruise/etc) were not working, along with the horn. Opening the drivers or passengers visors and sliding the mirror cover across resulted in cutting the radio off, or resetting the dash computer, the airbag light turning off, etc, etc.

And finally, the rear wiper was not working.

So, firstly replaced the battery with a 90ah one - but that had no affect. The battery needed replacing anyway.

So the next obvious culprit was the ignition switch. Finally, a mate popped round this evening with his diagnostics tools, plugged it in and it was throwing up tons of errors - rear lights, gearbox, lambda probe, airbags, etc, etc, etc.

So, firstly installed an ignition switch bypass, to test if it was the ignition switch itself - and sure enough everything was working fine. So, replaced the ignition switch and job done - everything works perfectly - just as it was

Phew.

I was slightly concerned about the gearbox error - as I've never read a reference to that light coming on at any point - but fortunately the error was cleared!

And I then took it for a quick run, and as daft as this might sound - it seems to be running much better than before.

K

[Kinky]

G - Yeah - I've had the 'disconnected' pipes problem before

Fortunately, that was easy to trace.

I'll keep a lookout for you.

K

[Kinky]

HarryW said:

Still worth a sticky if any mods are lurking.

Rather than make 1 thread a sticky - it might be worth making a Wiki - where we can post links to all relevant threads - and give it a title like "E39 Problems and Solutions" or somesuch.

I'll be happy to sticky it

K