E30 frustrations

[BigFurryWhale]

Lately I've been having alot of trouble with my e30, particularly with the electrical system. Basically, I've realized that something is draining the battery and so I made it my goal this week to seek and destroy the drain. I did a search and found that the best way to do this is to measure the current passing from the negetive terminal of the battery and the negative battery connector, then remove fuses to find what's causing the drain. I bought a multimeter, hooked it up and have had nothing but problems thus far.

At first, I tried using a super old school multimeter that i had lying around, but it was really imprecise and pretty much useless, but I am able to get a current reading with it. So i went a bought a new one. I could not get it to give me a current reading. I took it back and tried a different multimeter, and I have been unsuccessful in getting a current reading thus far.

The fuse on the first one is rated for 415mA I believe and the second one has a fuse rating of 500mA. Is it possible that my car is draining so much current that it has blown both these fuses? I'm hooking the multimeter up in series. What the hell is going on here?

If this is in the wrong section, feel free to move it.

[schmidty]

Im having battery issues to so if anyone can provide some help that would be great. I'm planning on buying a multimeter sometime this week too and doing some 'tests'

[BigFurryWhale]

I hope your experience goes better than mine has so far, it's been nothing but a huge fucking headache. I haven't even been able to do anything yet, because i can't get a damn current reading.

[joshh]

BMW's are a mess electricly. The shop I love refuses to touch a BMW or a Land Rover because neither company released wire diagrams to be able to work on them. Good luck.

[trent]

BMW's are a mess electricly. The shop I love refuses to touch a BMW or a Land Rover because neither company released wire diagrams to be able to work on them. Good luck.

HUH? WTF? I believe they are fantastically built electrically. The literature I have in the ETMs and TIS is a fantastic tool. They even provide guides for doing these exact "key-off" draw tests, including allowable tolerances.

[BigFurryWhale]

Is 500mA+ of draining current considered normal? Did I blow the fuse? Or am I doing something wrong with my ammeter? If the fuse is blown, will there be some kind of a visual indication?

[schmidty]

Is 500mA+ of draining current considered normal? Did I blow the fuse? Or am I doing something wrong with my ammeter? If the fuse is blown, will there be some kind of a visual indication?

if the fuse is blown i would guess it would shut off/stop workin

[trent]

Is 500mA+ of draining current considered normal? Did I blow the fuse? Or am I doing something wrong with my ammeter? If the fuse is blown, will there be some kind of a visual indication?

500mA (.5amp) of draw on a 10-20AMP fuse is nothing. I think you should brush up on your electrical information before proceeding. If you don't know how to check a fuse, you might want to not attempt electrical repairs yourself.

[Jand3rson]

BMW's are a mess electricly. The shop I love refuses to touch a BMW or a Land Rover because neither company released wire diagrams to be able to work on them. Good luck.

Say who and the what now??? This is completely untrue. The Bentley has full wiring diagrams for damn near everything on an E30, and so do the factory service manuals.

[Dave]

And the factory wiring diagrams are available on teh intraweb!!!

[trent]

omg i can't stop laughing dave

[Jand3rson]

Greatest sig EVAR.

[Mike325]

HUH? WTF? I believe they are fantastically built electrically. The literature I have in the ETMs and TIS is a fantastic tool. They even provide guides for doing these exact "key-off" draw tests, including allowable tolerances.

True. BMW's are great electrically. One of the better cars out there. Use your bently. The tests are pretty much explained there and very well.

[BigFurryWhale]

Ya, turns out all the fuses were blown. I just bought a 10A multimeter and I'm getting good readings now.

[Mike325]

Ya, turns out all the fuses were blown. I just bought a 10A multimeter and I'm getting good readings now.

Good to hear.