2001 BMW 525iA Sport Touring (E39)
Discussion
tobinen said:
I woke this morning to find the hazards flashing. it's done this before but only seems to happen when it rains. I can unlock and re-lock to switch them off. Any ideas? Dodgy switch?
Check the fuses under the pollen filter, passenger side.If the drain plug gets blocked, could be that it's filling with water and shorting something out!
I couldn't undo the lid. One of the bolts just turns and turns plus I couldn't see how to reach the back ones in my lunch hour. I cleared out all the drains I could see, especially the one from the (empty) pollen filter housing to the inner wing, which was caked solid. I poked it all down with a cable tie so I presume that's all now sitting on top of the splash guard.
It was a bit damp on top and I cleared out some crud in the general area. As a safeguard, I have plugged in my solar charger to alleviate any battery drain.
More fun.
It was a bit damp on top and I cleared out some crud in the general area. As a safeguard, I have plugged in my solar charger to alleviate any battery drain.
More fun.
A nice day for it today so I attempted the oil filter housing gasket, dipstick O ring and front brake pad sensor wire left over from the brake job (light on the dash).
Easy job first - Dipstick O ring. Went OK though not sure if I should feel a detent when the tube goes back in to the sump. Seems fine, no leaks that I can see.
Oil filter housing gasket - all going well until I tried to remove the belt. I think I have rounded the bolt on the tensioner or my socket isn't seating properly. There is not much room to play with without moving the fan so I need a re-think or find a longer bar and see if I can tap the socket on. Ran out of motivation at this point and my back was aching. I also managed to break the side light bulb holder and bulb so I have another dash warning.
Sensor wire was easy peasey but I still have the warning light on. I expected this to go out but alas not. I checked the rear wire as well and that looks fine and is new when I replaced the pads and discs. Does something need to be reset?
Easy job first - Dipstick O ring. Went OK though not sure if I should feel a detent when the tube goes back in to the sump. Seems fine, no leaks that I can see.
Oil filter housing gasket - all going well until I tried to remove the belt. I think I have rounded the bolt on the tensioner or my socket isn't seating properly. There is not much room to play with without moving the fan so I need a re-think or find a longer bar and see if I can tap the socket on. Ran out of motivation at this point and my back was aching. I also managed to break the side light bulb holder and bulb so I have another dash warning.
Sensor wire was easy peasey but I still have the warning light on. I expected this to go out but alas not. I checked the rear wire as well and that looks fine and is new when I replaced the pads and discs. Does something need to be reset?
A quick trawl of the internet says the brake pad warning should disappear after a short time with the key at position two. I tried this but still it's still on.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... says it may go out at after a random period so I will see.
Otherwise I will have to re-check the connection of the new sensors.
Current dash warnings:
Fog lamps (wrong bulbs fitted by PO - ordered new H8s)
Front side lamp (broken by me, new Hella bulb and holder - ordered, £25 FFS)
Brake pad linings - see above.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... says it may go out at after a random period so I will see.
Otherwise I will have to re-check the connection of the new sensors.
Current dash warnings:
Fog lamps (wrong bulbs fitted by PO - ordered new H8s)
Front side lamp (broken by me, new Hella bulb and holder - ordered, £25 FFS)
Brake pad linings - see above.
Minor update. Correct bulbs fitted and now for the first time of ownership I have no dash warnings. I'll check the oil level at lunchtime.
I've returned the H8s and hopefully will receive a part or full refund.
I might inquire about a smart dent repair on the bonnet as it's the only bad part of the bodywork.
I've returned the H8s and hopefully will receive a part or full refund.
I might inquire about a smart dent repair on the bonnet as it's the only bad part of the bodywork.
Due to a locking issue with the CL, I am risking a trip to Spain with this tonight. Wish me luck. It's currently being checked over by the garage as I think the alternator is noisy but it could be just me being paranoid.
I have bought 15 litres of oil just in case as ECP had 50% off.
Things yet to do - fit headlamp converters, GB sticker and toll transponder (I don't think the holder will re-stick though)
Weather forecast for the crossing leaving at 23.00 tonight is grim. It's already been cancelled from 09.00 this morning
WIND
Southwest veering west later, 6 to gale 8, perhaps severe gale 9 later.
SEA STATE
Rough or very rough, occasionally high.
WEATHER
Rain or thundery showers.
VISIBILITY
Good, occasionally moderate.
I don't know if they'll cancel again but as it stands it's a two-night crossing arriving Thursday 11.00
I have bought 15 litres of oil just in case as ECP had 50% off.
Things yet to do - fit headlamp converters, GB sticker and toll transponder (I don't think the holder will re-stick though)
Weather forecast for the crossing leaving at 23.00 tonight is grim. It's already been cancelled from 09.00 this morning
WIND
Southwest veering west later, 6 to gale 8, perhaps severe gale 9 later.
SEA STATE
Rough or very rough, occasionally high.
WEATHER
Rain or thundery showers.
VISIBILITY
Good, occasionally moderate.
I don't know if they'll cancel again but as it stands it's a two-night crossing arriving Thursday 11.00
The garage says the noise is OK but my oil breather system may need attention but OK for some miles. Hmm, I wonder who fitted that?
Levels all good. GB sticker on. I don't recall any RH traffic switch for the headlamps when I replaced them earlier in the year so I'll just fit the stickers.
CD changer wasn't reading any discs but showed them loaded. I removed it and the vertical setting for the changer was OK. Refitted it and now it's working (for how long, who knows?) - a small victory.
I now have around 5½ hours to kill before leaving for Portsmouth.
Levels all good. GB sticker on. I don't recall any RH traffic switch for the headlamps when I replaced them earlier in the year so I'll just fit the stickers.
CD changer wasn't reading any discs but showed them loaded. I removed it and the vertical setting for the changer was OK. Refitted it and now it's working (for how long, who knows?) - a small victory.
I now have around 5½ hours to kill before leaving for Portsmouth.
The day before I was due to go to Spain on a touring holiday my CL decided to have a central locking vacuum pump failure. Some hasty calls to various
insurance people and Brittany Ferries meant I was able to change the particulars to the E39. I didn't fancy its chances making it back but what the hell, I went ahead.
Note, I haven't uploaded anywhere near the full number of photos but hopefully this gives a flavour of the trip. I used bookings.com, Google and AirBnb to find accomodation. I used Google maps on the phone for satnav, and the ViaMichelin app to find out if there were tolls. I had a transponder for those so I could pass through without stopping.
Day 1 - 26 November
The boat going out was the Ile de Seine. Fairly basic overall but had everything needed.
Some hefty storms in the Bay of Biscay meant that the sailing was delayed from an 09.30 to 23.00 departure, so it would be a two-night crossing, arriving Thursday morning 28 November. Even so it was still a really rough sea, so much so the captain requested everyone return to their cabins for a period. I had taken some pills and they worked fine, but the best advice was from a couple of other PHers, and that was to lie down face up. I only had a light period of seasickness which lasted under an hour.
Waiting to board.
Day 2 - 27 November
At sea.
Cabin shot after the storm
Rear deck. Nothing had fallen over during the crossing.
Day 3 - 28 November
Arrival in Santander. I had a plan to go to the Fernando Alonso museum near Oviedo so used the fastest way there as I wanted to make the hotel before nightfall. No tolls on this route.
I thought it was a good and worth €15. I was the only one there. Hot crumpet on reception.
Then I drove a short distance into Oviedo to find the hotel. When I arrived it wasn't open despite the booking being confirmed. I rang the bell but the lights were off. After about 15 minutes a young lad opened up and I checked in. Parking was at a nearby underground garage for €9. I wandered around to see some of the sights but it was very quiet generally.
The lad at the hotel recommended a place for a sample of the local food so I had the local cider and a bean stew. Bloody delicious.
Oviedo could warrant more time but I only stayed here one night. Salamanca was next...
insurance people and Brittany Ferries meant I was able to change the particulars to the E39. I didn't fancy its chances making it back but what the hell, I went ahead.
Note, I haven't uploaded anywhere near the full number of photos but hopefully this gives a flavour of the trip. I used bookings.com, Google and AirBnb to find accomodation. I used Google maps on the phone for satnav, and the ViaMichelin app to find out if there were tolls. I had a transponder for those so I could pass through without stopping.
Day 1 - 26 November
The boat going out was the Ile de Seine. Fairly basic overall but had everything needed.
Some hefty storms in the Bay of Biscay meant that the sailing was delayed from an 09.30 to 23.00 departure, so it would be a two-night crossing, arriving Thursday morning 28 November. Even so it was still a really rough sea, so much so the captain requested everyone return to their cabins for a period. I had taken some pills and they worked fine, but the best advice was from a couple of other PHers, and that was to lie down face up. I only had a light period of seasickness which lasted under an hour.
Waiting to board.
Day 2 - 27 November
At sea.
Cabin shot after the storm
Rear deck. Nothing had fallen over during the crossing.
Day 3 - 28 November
Arrival in Santander. I had a plan to go to the Fernando Alonso museum near Oviedo so used the fastest way there as I wanted to make the hotel before nightfall. No tolls on this route.
I thought it was a good and worth €15. I was the only one there. Hot crumpet on reception.
Then I drove a short distance into Oviedo to find the hotel. When I arrived it wasn't open despite the booking being confirmed. I rang the bell but the lights were off. After about 15 minutes a young lad opened up and I checked in. Parking was at a nearby underground garage for €9. I wandered around to see some of the sights but it was very quiet generally.
The lad at the hotel recommended a place for a sample of the local food so I had the local cider and a bean stew. Bloody delicious.
Oviedo could warrant more time but I only stayed here one night. Salamanca was next...
Edited by tobinen on Thursday 12th December 13:30
Day 4 - 29 November
I checked the oil before the off and happily the level was bang on the maximum. From Oviedo I decided on a scenic route to Salamanca so I set up to
avoid motorways. This involved the N-630 and I then discovered on my AA map that this is known as La Ruta de la Plata. Based on an old Roman
road and something to do with silver (must read more about it). This essentially runs from Gijon in the north to Sevilla so was perfect for my vague plan to reach Málaga.
A brief blast down the A-66/AP-66 and climbing over some mountains reaching over 3,000 ft in parts was causing concern as the car was making some
very hot 'noises'. Road signs advised drivers to check their temperatures and stop if required, so I heeded this despite it being nearly freezing outside. There were plenty of pinging and gurgling noises from the engine but the gauge never moved from the centre.
I took a couple of snaps in the lay-by while it was cooling down.
Carrying on I drove through the 4.1km Túnel del Negron (not my picture as was driving and couldn't stop). Very impressive I thought.
Shortly after I came off at junction 93 and went through my first toll booth. Unbeknown to me I had just exited before the Puente Ingeniero Carlos Fernández Casado however this meant I could stop and take a picture underneath. Perhaps I might go across on the return?
Here I took an equivalent B road called the CL-626 eastwards which ran around the edge of the lake.
To my pleasant surprise this reached a dam, which was a real bonus. After a quick search the lake is in fact a reservoir called Embalse de los Barrios de Luna (literally 'reservoir of the Moon neighbourhood'), named after the village at the foot of the dam.
Other side of the dam:
From here I continued across to pick up the N-630 at La Robla and headed south towards León.
I had no intention of stopping in León so I stayed on the ring road which took me through dull and boring industrial areas. Just as I was leaving the outskirts a decrepid car showroom caught my eye, so I pulled over and walked back a 100m or so. Sure enough amongst two big shaggy dogs just lying there with their bowls, were an Alpina-badged E38, a C140 and a Lancia Thesis. Very odd. I didn't fancy trying the padlocked gate so moved along.
The N-630 after León is a featureless, monotonous, flat and almost dead-straight road and the landscape very similar to the Fens of Cambridgeshire. Nearly all agricultural land. Nothing of note here, passing through shuttered down/up hamlets and villages with barely a soul to be seen.
By this time I was becoming hungry and it was lunchtime, so I stopped in Benavente at the bus station café. My Spanish didn't work on the young lad here and I didn't understand his dialect, so he beckoned the older lady in the kitchen and I sucessfully ordered el menú del día, which was veal, chips, salad and a Pepsi Max for about €10
Fully refreshed, I left for the final stretch to Salamanca. The N-630 runs parallel to the A-66 and I think I came across three other cars outside of the main towns along the way.
I arrived in Salamanca at about teatime and had booked into a hotel for two nights as recommended by another PHer in the holidays section called Hotel Puente Romano de Salamanca, as it was a good location and had underground parking for €11 per night. This was very agreeable and not too dear. My car was the only one in the garage.
After sorting myself out, I walked across the old Roman bridge into the old city in search of some food and drink and
find my bearings.
Somehow I managed to order a girly drink of half red wine and half lime fizzy pop, but the tapa was good.
I moved on to another bar and ordered some more tapas, a fish one of which I forgot to take a picture and this load of pork scratchings which I couldn't finish. Decent local plonk was about €2 a glass.
I bought a joint ticket for the car and art deco museums from the tourist office in the main plaza for the next day. Belly full, I walked back to the hotel for some well-earned sleep.
I checked the oil before the off and happily the level was bang on the maximum. From Oviedo I decided on a scenic route to Salamanca so I set up to
avoid motorways. This involved the N-630 and I then discovered on my AA map that this is known as La Ruta de la Plata. Based on an old Roman
road and something to do with silver (must read more about it). This essentially runs from Gijon in the north to Sevilla so was perfect for my vague plan to reach Málaga.
A brief blast down the A-66/AP-66 and climbing over some mountains reaching over 3,000 ft in parts was causing concern as the car was making some
very hot 'noises'. Road signs advised drivers to check their temperatures and stop if required, so I heeded this despite it being nearly freezing outside. There were plenty of pinging and gurgling noises from the engine but the gauge never moved from the centre.
I took a couple of snaps in the lay-by while it was cooling down.
Carrying on I drove through the 4.1km Túnel del Negron (not my picture as was driving and couldn't stop). Very impressive I thought.
Shortly after I came off at junction 93 and went through my first toll booth. Unbeknown to me I had just exited before the Puente Ingeniero Carlos Fernández Casado however this meant I could stop and take a picture underneath. Perhaps I might go across on the return?
Here I took an equivalent B road called the CL-626 eastwards which ran around the edge of the lake.
To my pleasant surprise this reached a dam, which was a real bonus. After a quick search the lake is in fact a reservoir called Embalse de los Barrios de Luna (literally 'reservoir of the Moon neighbourhood'), named after the village at the foot of the dam.
Other side of the dam:
From here I continued across to pick up the N-630 at La Robla and headed south towards León.
I had no intention of stopping in León so I stayed on the ring road which took me through dull and boring industrial areas. Just as I was leaving the outskirts a decrepid car showroom caught my eye, so I pulled over and walked back a 100m or so. Sure enough amongst two big shaggy dogs just lying there with their bowls, were an Alpina-badged E38, a C140 and a Lancia Thesis. Very odd. I didn't fancy trying the padlocked gate so moved along.
The N-630 after León is a featureless, monotonous, flat and almost dead-straight road and the landscape very similar to the Fens of Cambridgeshire. Nearly all agricultural land. Nothing of note here, passing through shuttered down/up hamlets and villages with barely a soul to be seen.
By this time I was becoming hungry and it was lunchtime, so I stopped in Benavente at the bus station café. My Spanish didn't work on the young lad here and I didn't understand his dialect, so he beckoned the older lady in the kitchen and I sucessfully ordered el menú del día, which was veal, chips, salad and a Pepsi Max for about €10
Fully refreshed, I left for the final stretch to Salamanca. The N-630 runs parallel to the A-66 and I think I came across three other cars outside of the main towns along the way.
I arrived in Salamanca at about teatime and had booked into a hotel for two nights as recommended by another PHer in the holidays section called Hotel Puente Romano de Salamanca, as it was a good location and had underground parking for €11 per night. This was very agreeable and not too dear. My car was the only one in the garage.
After sorting myself out, I walked across the old Roman bridge into the old city in search of some food and drink and
find my bearings.
Somehow I managed to order a girly drink of half red wine and half lime fizzy pop, but the tapa was good.
I moved on to another bar and ordered some more tapas, a fish one of which I forgot to take a picture and this load of pork scratchings which I couldn't finish. Decent local plonk was about €2 a glass.
I bought a joint ticket for the car and art deco museums from the tourist office in the main plaza for the next day. Belly full, I walked back to the hotel for some well-earned sleep.
Day 5 - 30 November
No driving today, just tourist stuff. First stop was the Museo de Historia de la Automoción (Museum of Automotive History). There are some decent cars, trucks and bikes here and well worth a visit, especially for just €4 including the art deco and nouveau museum.
I don't have any photos of the art deco museum so perhaps taking pictures was forbidden, but I liked it.
City sights
I WhatsApped a Spanish girl who works in the office for some recommendations as she is originally from Salamanca. This bar was one of them. No food being served here so just a couple of glasses of red wine. Locals only here of all ages, though mostly students. It was fairly quiet and early so it was OK but I suspect much later the atmosphere would be better.
No driving today, just tourist stuff. First stop was the Museo de Historia de la Automoción (Museum of Automotive History). There are some decent cars, trucks and bikes here and well worth a visit, especially for just €4 including the art deco and nouveau museum.
I don't have any photos of the art deco museum so perhaps taking pictures was forbidden, but I liked it.
City sights
I WhatsApped a Spanish girl who works in the office for some recommendations as she is originally from Salamanca. This bar was one of them. No food being served here so just a couple of glasses of red wine. Locals only here of all ages, though mostly students. It was fairly quiet and early so it was OK but I suspect much later the atmosphere would be better.
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