New BMW owner

#21

In article <h9o56f$dih$1 (AT) panix2 (DOT) panix.com>,
Scott Dorsey <kludge (AT) panix (DOT) com> wrote:

Quote:

Dave Plowman (News) <dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk> wrote:
In article <256tb55ivgj63rgt0vqjp1klso7d08h0k5 (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>,
Puddin' Man <puddingDOTman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:
The only problem areas on BMWs (in general) are electronics and cooling
systems.

I know a bit about cooling from the "Old Z3" thread.

Could someone describe some of the electrical problems, particularly
those relating to BMW's from, say, 1996 to 2001?

Common one is the heater blower final stage resistor. Aux fans too.
Dunno about any other common ones.

Stuff gets old. Connectors corrode and become intermittent. Fuse
blocks stop making contact. Switch contacts go bad.

Happens to any make. Not just BMW.

Quote:

Also, repeated thermal cycling makes solder joints fail, especially if
they weren't well-made. And electrolytic capacitors fail, although all
things considered, BMW has a lot fewer electrolytic failures than just
about anyone else. They seemed to use very reliable caps.

BMW has a tendency to add outrageous amounts of electrical stuff into
cars, and consequently they suffer an outrageous amount of electrical
failures. The more stuff you have, the more stuff there is to break.

Indeed - but again common to any comparable make. And plenty are worse -
much worse.

Quote:

I recommend pre-emptively packing all electrical connectors with
dielectric grease, which will prevent a lot of the issues.

Any particular brand you recommend?

Quote:

And when
individual modules fail, whether that be the ECU or the turn-signal
flasher, first look for cold solder joints before doing anything else.

Especially if it's lead free solder. ;-)

--
*60-year-old, one owner - needs parts, make offer

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

#22

Dave Plowman (News) <dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Quote:

Scott Dorsey <kludge (AT) panix (DOT) com> wrote:

Stuff gets old. Connectors corrode and become intermittent. Fuse
blocks stop making contact. Switch contacts go bad.

Happens to any make. Not just BMW.

Yup. BMW is better than some manufacturers in that regard too, but the
thing is even the older BMWs have a hell of a lot of connectors.

Quote:

I recommend pre-emptively packing all electrical connectors with
dielectric grease, which will prevent a lot of the issues.

Any particular brand you recommend?

I use something that General Electric sells for high voltage switchgear,
which I bought from Graybar years and years ago. But I really doubt there
is any difference between brands. Whatever your FLAPS sells should be
fine. I even know people who have used wheel bearing grease to pack
connectors and it's probably better than nothing (unless it has high
pressure additives, which don't go well with copper).

Quote:

And when
individual modules fail, whether that be the ECU or the turn-signal
flasher, first look for cold solder joints before doing anything else.

Especially if it's lead free solder. ;-)

I haven't worked on anything new enough to use the lead-free solder. That
is going to be a horrible, horrible nightmare in a few years. I predict
great RoHS-related disasters.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

#23

Broken fuel gauge is very common on all bimmers.
My Z3 (M54) failed two years ago. I found the resistive network substrate
broken in several parts.
The replacement is easy but the carpet needs to be cut and a tool to be made
for dismounting the big nut (I've a drawing).
The complete fuel pump needs to be replaced (100 ? for the part, another
bunch of 100 ? banknotes for the job).
Some of these failures come from fuel tank deformation (1200 ? for the part
and big bill for the job, rear axle dismounting). Most of them hopefully
don't involve the tank.

It also happens that the DTE displays wrong data, especially if you overfill
the tank. It cures by itself.

Related to electrical parts but due to washing liquid corrosion: The rear
wiper motor presents leaks when the seal gets corroded by the liquid going
through the shaft. Either to be repaired if you have a lathe or to be
replaced, peanuts for the seal or around 130 ? plus the job for motor
replacement.

No other electrical failure or related reported over 130000 km.

Regards

"Puddin' Man" <puddingDOTman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> a écrit dans le message de news:
256tb55ivgj63rgt0vqjp1klso7d08h0k5 (AT) 4ax (DOT) com...

Quote:

On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:15:39 -0700, "Floyd Rogers"
fbloogyuds (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote:

The only problem areas on BMWs (in general) are electronics and cooling
systems.

I know a bit about cooling from the "Old Z3" thread.

Could someone describe some of the electrical problems, particularly
those relating to BMW's from, say, 1996 to 2001?

Thx,
P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."

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New BMW owner

BMW BMW General Discussions (alt.autos.bmw)

Re: New BMW owner - 09-27-2009 , 01:08 PM

Re: New BMW owner - 09-27-2009 , 10:12 PM

Re: New BMW owner - 09-28-2009 , 04:37 PM