Electrical gremlins intermittent horn, blinkers wipers

[booker]

1989 325ix

Need help with Intermittent cluster of electrical features not working including the horn, blinkers, and the wipers. There may be others that also don't work but I haven't checked.

At first, they predominantly didn't work for a few weeks, but occasionally did.
Time of day, driving, weather didn't seem to make a difference.

Then. They predominantly worked, with occasional cluster of not working.

Since my wife drives the car more than me, and it's a safety issue, I didn't want to monkey around trying to chase down the issue and brought it to my mechanic.
Although the cluster indicated that it wasn't a fuse issue, I had the fuses, so did replace them all.

Of course, when in the shop, it worked without fail. So, they couldn't isolate the source.

They said that according to the wiring diagram, the affected systems only share a ground point in common.

They inspected ground point G200, cleaned some light corrosion, and verified good contact at circuits.

Worked on the drive home.

Then, went out in the middle of driving on an errand.
So, I had to go to manual signaling, with my arm out the window.

Any ideas? I don't want my wife to drive it when the issue could crop up at any time.

[tomstin]

Get a copy of your wiring diagrams here: http://wedophones.com/Manuals/BMW/

My first thought as I read your description was a bad ground. But that was checked by the shop. All three of those items are mounted to the steering column. Those cables and connections are in a tough spot. I would pull those connectors (on the column just under the dash) and inspect all those wires. Something may have been pinched or frayed to the point you are loosing your ground.

Sorry, but I don't have an easy answer. This gremlin maybe a tough one to wrestle down.

[booker]

Thanks!

I had a feeling that I'd end up in the steering column.

Today I noticed that the brake lights are included in the cluster of issues. (my wife usually drives this car)

So, when they go out, the brake light goes on in the control panel.

[booker]

1989 325ix

Need help with Intermittent cluster of electrical features not working including the horn, blinkers, brake lights, and the wipers.


Tomstin gave the excellent suggestion to check the wiring in the steering column, where these wires come together.


All wiring in the steering column looked fine.


QUESTION. My mechanic suggested that the issue could be in the ignition switch. So, he wants to see what happens if we swap in a new one.

Any thoughts??


The failure is very intermittent. That's good for driving - though it has happened in the rain.
But, it's bad or diagnostics. Since it never repeats when at the mechanic