Loose Relay Connections...

[shaunmlavery]

Ok, I did a search and all I could find was bad relays, grounding issues, etc. Maybe I need to learn to search better. However, here is my issue,

I have an '86 325es and it appears someone has been in the fuse box messin' around. The car had euro lights on it when I got it and I knew i was getting somewhat of a project when I got it, a box full of parts including bilsteins, h&r's, etc.

One night while driving around, I hopped out of the car to run into the store only to notice my light stayed on. I ran through troubleshooting mode and found out it was the relay.

My fog lights never worked, as in, they never had bulbs! I put bulbs in them with the hopes they would magically come one!? Yeah right, not so lucky. I took a quick peek in my fuse box with meter in hand and discovered the fog light relay was not hooked up. This was the issues I was experiencing with the headlights.

So, with that backstory, it appears that I need to take the lid of the fuse box off and put the right wires in the slots for the "Fog Light Relay." My only problem, I don't know the color of those wires and most importantly, how do I avoid the other wires pulling away from their places while attempting this?

Thanks for your advice/help!

[shaunmlavery]

Well, I tried finding something that was pulling a drain on my battery today...No luck! I narrowed it down to Fuse 21 15Amp and Fuse 27 30Aamp. Here were my results, for anyone reading:

Starting Voltage: 12.34
Pulled Fuse 21 15 Amp: 11.99
Pulled Fuse 27 30 Amp: .92

So, with that said, it seems like the biggest hog on the battery while sitting idle is interior lights, central locking, OBC, radio amp.

I pulled the external amp out because it is not in use as well as disconnected the power antenna. No Change

Interior Lights: Checked the glove box, trunk light, door, etc. They all shut off and have power.

Central Locking: Not sure how to check this one? My door locks are kind of screwy. I think this is mainly the drivers door latch needing a repair kit. The locks work fine with the lock knobs.

OBC: I don't have an OBC. I believe the previous owner, somewhere down the road took this out and put in a euro dash/console trim. I don't have a clock either. It has equal distance on either side. Does that make sense?


Just when I was getting done, I was going to check the amps it was pulling and I guess my head was tired because I stuck the meter up to the battery while the cables were connected to the car! Pop! Smell! Crap! So, off to the store I'm going to see about my meter! Ha.

Oh yeah, I pulled the cluster as well to check if there was any drain coming from the tach, SI, etc. No change in the Voltage. Stayed at 12.34. At this point, I'm taking a break for a bit. I put a driveshaft in it yesterday and I'm kind of tired looking at it, at least right now.

[e30serg]

Why are you checking the voltage of the different systems while trying to diagnose a drain? Try checking the current draw. Pull the negative side off the battery, and connect your meter inline. Read how much current is being drawn, then start pulling fuses one-by-one and seeing if the current draw drops. This way you'll know at least in which system the draw is coming from.

[shaunmlavery]

Why are you checking the voltage of the different systems while trying to diagnose a drain? Try checking the current draw. Pull the negative side off the battery, and connect your meter inline. Read how much current is being drawn, then start pulling fuses one-by-one and seeing if the current draw drops. This way you'll know at least in which system the draw is coming from.

First off, thanks for the reply! Sorry if I was a little unclear in my explanation. I did in fact take the negative battery cable off and put the meter in line and pull fuse by fuse to check the drop. This is where I came up with Fuse 21 and Fuse 27.

I may not have worded my "electrical descriptions" right, as that is not my favorite area to tackle. Now do you understand why I accidentally popped the meter? :D

With the above said, I just left the battery unplugged for the night and I think I may postpone the current drain issue until I get the meter sorted. The most important issue at hand is the relay connection. I can't find any info how to unscrew the top of the fuse box without losing the wires. I peeked inside a bit and it is all so tight. How do I get around this?

Again, thanks!

[DaveSmed]

All the wires in the fusebox are locked in place by retaining tabs and/or plastic retention clips. Its tight but you can get enough space to work.

There is only one wire that could possibly be missing from the fog light relay, and it takes a bit of effort to get it out unless you know what you are doing. The other three you cant remove, they are soldered in place.

[shaunmlavery]

Dave, thanks for your reply. The reason why I am hesitant is because I had an issue with my low beams shortly after I first got the car. I finally troubleshot it to the relay. It seemed like it wasn't getting a good contact and would come on every now and then. On top of that, the headlights would get stuck on.

I know what I was describing sounds like a stuck relay but I tried roughly 5 known good ones with similar symptoms. It finally got to the point where the low beams worked so I left them alone! I believe it was the contacts on the relay in the fuse box. Now, the contacts on the fog is not even hooked up, if I remember correctly. It seems as if someone has been in there trying to hook up fogs with the highs or something? Not quite sure.

Needless to say, I think most of my wiring issues lie right there. Wiring isn't my favorite part to tackle on a car but I may just have to jump back into this again. I'll start early in the morning with a clear head.

ps, like the cadillac. I grew up riding in my grandmothers. I think it was a '74 deville. Massive and scary as hell with her behind the wheel!

[e30serg]

Well, it sounds like you know what you're doing. Try putting some dielectric grease into the contacts in the fuse box where the relays plug into. I had an intermittent cut-off at the main relays on my car a while ago that would make the car stumble and die. I found the cause to be loose/worn relay connectors.

I found it by starting the car, and then banging a screwdriver handle at all the electrical parts. When I got to the relay block/cover, the car stumbled. I took the relays and put some dielectric grease in the contacts. It didn't happen again after that. I noticed that the cables coming from below didn't have anything to hold them up, so they were just hanging by the contacts. Pulling down on the cables also made the relay loose contact.

[shaunmlavery]

Well, it sounds like you know what you're doing. Try putting some dielectric grease into the contacts in the fuse box where the relays plug into. I had an intermittent cut-off at the main relays on my car a while ago that would make the car stumble and die. I found the cause to be loose/worn relay connectors.

I found it by starting the car, and then banging a screwdriver handle at all the electrical parts. When I got to the relay block/cover, the car stumbled. I took the relays and put some dielectric grease in the contacts. It didn't happen again after that. I noticed that the cables coming from below didn't have anything to hold them up, so they were just hanging by the contacts. Pulling down on the cables also made the relay loose contact.

The dielectric grease is a great tip! I'm not sure why I haven't thought of that. It should make getting those relays in and out much easier as well!

Now, I just have to get the guts to pull the top of the fuse cover again. When I do, I will up date this thread. I will also take some photos if I can show what I am failing to describe.

Again, thanks for the advice!

Oh yeah, I have a US-spec car but a euro 2 button fog switch. On top of that, I have a few other euro pieces, which led me to believe that someone was monkeying around in there. Fool! I'm slowly getting this car sorted.

[e30serg]

No problem man! Good luck! Take lots of pix! It will help you in the end. This might help you some more, if you don't already have it:

http://wedophones.com/Manuals/BMW/1986%20BMW%20325%20Electrical%20Troubleshooting%20Manual.pdf

[DaveSmed]

Ah that will do it. When people shove crap in the terminals in addition to the relay prongs for hack attempts at modifying the lighting, it spreads the terminals. Good news is they probably just need to be resprung, bad news is you have to take all kinds of shit apart to do it.