Electrical components dropping off like flies,,,

[thesilverfox]

Hey all!

I seem to be slowly amassing more and more electrical issues, and I'm wondering if they're all stemming from the same place, like if they're all connected to the same fusebox.

So far:

- My window wiper fluid pump won't react when I push the handle
- My LOCKING works from the driver side, but not UNLOCKING. I can only unlock my car from the trunk's central lock feature, meaning when my battery dies in can only access my trunk, jump my battery, then open my doors. (thank god our batteries are in our trunks not under the hood!)
- My coolant light is lit on the overhead display, even though coolant levels are fine
- My driver side light will turn on if I flick it to the 'on' position, but if it's in the 'automatic' position, opening my door doesn't trigger anything. Opening the PASSENGER door in the 'automatic' position however does turn on all lights as directed.

All these things started at separate times. Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Jasmin


1989 325is

[Dantler]

- My window wiper fluid pump won't react when I push the handle
Possibly the pump is stuck/broken, had the same problem last year - Connect 12V directly to test.
- My LOCKING works from the driver side, but not UNLOCKING. I can only unlock my car from the trunk's central lock feature, meaning when my battery dies in can only access my trunk, jump my battery, then open my doors. (thank god our batteries are in our trunks not under the hood!)
I don't understand, the locks are all mechanical, without power all locks should unlock. Did you install some afermarket parts? Or might there be a problem with a blocked lock cylinder?
- My coolant light is lit on the overhead display, even though coolant levels are fine
Defect sensor, so some measuring
- My driver side light will turn on if I flick it to the 'on' position, but if it's in the 'automatic' position, opening my door doesn't trigger anything. Opening the PASSENGER door in the 'automatic' position however does turn on all lights as directed.
Defect door contact, disassemble and measure/replace

[bobdavisnpf]

My driver-side door would lock - with some resistance - and unlock had so much resistance I didn't dare turn it hard enough to see if it'd work before the key broke off. Are your door locks stiff to turn? Using old brass key copies? A new steel key cut by my local dealer worked wonders for my door locks. Still turns with resistance, but not as bad as before, and no longer worried about key breaking off in the cylinder.

[thesilverfox]

- My window wiper fluid pump won't react when I push the handle
Possibly the pump is stuck/broken, had the same problem last year - Connect 12V directly to test.
- My LOCKING works from the driver side, but not UNLOCKING. I can only unlock my car from the trunk's central lock feature, meaning when my battery dies in can only access my trunk, jump my battery, then open my doors. (thank god our batteries are in our trunks not under the hood!)
I don't understand, the locks are all mechanical, without power all locks should unlock. Did you install some afermarket parts? Or might there be a problem with a blocked lock cylinder?
- My coolant light is lit on the overhead display, even though coolant levels are fine
Defect sensor, so some measuring
- My driver side light will turn on if I flick it to the 'on' position, but if it's in the 'automatic' position, opening my door doesn't trigger anything. Opening the PASSENGER door in the 'automatic' position however does turn on all lights as directed.
Defect door contact, disassemble and measure/replace

thanks for the reply! So when you say 'measure' you mean with like a multimeter right? Still new to the electronics side of car maintenance :P

[thesilverfox]

- I can only unlock my car from the trunk's central lock feature, meaning when my battery dies in can only access my trunk, jump my battery, then open my doors. (thank god our batteries are in our trunks not under the hood!)
I don't understand, the locks are all mechanical, without power all locks should unlock. Did you install some afermarket parts? Or might there be a problem with a blocked lock cylinder?

I've never installed any aftermarket parts, but basically when I turn my key to the left to unlock, it turns, but nothing happens. Its smooth and unhitched and silent, like its not engaging any tumblers. But if I turn to the right, central locking engages

[reelizmpro]

A local....cool, i'm at the end of Western.

- My window wiper fluid pump won't react when I push the handle...because it's probably burnt out or clogged. Check for 12v with voltmeter.

- My LOCKING works from the driver side, but not UNLOCKING. I can only unlock my car from the trunk's central lock feature, meaning when my battery dies in can only access my trunk, jump my battery, then open my doors. (thank god our batteries are in our trunks not under the hood!)

The door should unlock mechanically even if the central locking doesn't do it. If it doesn't or there's too much resistance, etc then you need to pull the door panel and figure out why. Lubricate the mechanism and see what happens. Also clean out the door jamb connector.

- My coolant light is lit on the overhead display, even though coolant levels are fine...because these sensors always go bad. It's like $15 for a new one. You can short the terminals to run off the light but then you won't know when you run out of coolant.

- My driver side light will turn on if I flick it to the 'on' position, but if it's in the 'automatic' position, opening my door doesn't trigger anything. Opening the PASSENGER door in the 'automatic' position however does turn on all lights as directed.

Each door has a switch that often gets corroded to the point they don't make good enough contact to turn the light on. Disconnect the battery, remove the door jamb switch and resurface the contacts with scouring pad or sand paper. Sometimes the domelight contacts and bulbs need cleaning as well.

These cars are 30 years old. The parts are well made but the contacts aren't as good as they used to be. Most of the time good cleaning and lubrication is all that's needed.

[Gregs///M]

Here are some in depth suggestions that I found that are common to vintage BMW's.

-The central locking module can fail. If you experience failure of the central locking or electronic locking, the module is most likely at fault and will need to be replaced. If the problem is mechanical, that will need to be fixed first prior to investigating the electrical.

-the coolant light and sensor are very basic systems. However, the LED in the check panel system is driven by a transistor and these get stuck over the decades. This leads to the light remaining on always or never turning on. A new check panel or a refurbished check panel will fix this issue, if your sending unit is OK, which they usually are. They are just a simple switch on a float so most likely your check panel display is failed.

-Copper oxidation kills these connections. Remove both pin switches and associated wiring. Clean with wire brush and cover with dielectric grease and reassemble. This should fix your weird domelight issues.

Keep in mind copper oxidation can really reek havoc on the electrical system of any vintage car.