hotwire

^^^^^ Same with the E30 too. What people woman do is lock them in the boot - car already deadlocked.

Welcome, now you've got to get used to a right hook BMW. Must be strange after all your other Left hands

I am talking of E39 included. Wire colour I stated above is ibus. To be honest though - I haven't traced the ibus wire into the steering wheel. That said, hard to imagine it changing colour through the car.

Purple iBus wire - nup. iBus is white/grey/yellow. Purple/white is acc

That seems strange to break the spanners - they must be weak! I would expect the bolt to shear before breaking a spanner. Also, I cant imaging that you can hold the pulley secure enough with a conventional spanner to be able to release the hub nut. It needs to be rigid in order to crack the nut - hence usually a sharp impact will release it.

Simpler but not as effective.And its halfway to making a proper one...

^^^^ Console locking button is dead once the car is asleep. Don't know for sure but there is probably a relay behind the glove box that could be bridged to switch ign or linking battery to ign fuses to turn on the windows. Obviously would require a conductive device to bridge the circuits though.

I have always been able to free them by giving the spanner a sharp strike with a hammer (sometimes several attempts). That said, I have been meaning to make up a tool as Will prescribes.

Hence my statement a few posts back to check your meter/light is working on a known source BEFORE you probe the wire in question. Ok if you confirm you have a circuit when first checking, but if you have none (as you thought) - you are leading yourself on a goose chase on a problem that doesn't exist. I have seen this sort of miss diagnosing so much over the years. Andy, we were thrown off the scent by believing there was no power supply to the ign coil.

Bottom Tap that Will refers to. Is running a tap down the threads. Good idea. I don't normally unless I see an issue though. Yes a light coating of engine oil on the threads & contact face. Re 32mm spanner - a Stahlwille spanner works fine. Inferior spanners are always thicker to make up for their inferior strength. Refacing what you have will be fine for the fan. REMEMBER - fan hub is reverse thread.

When the car is locked with remote, I understand it is deadlocked - like Mondeo's, many Commodores & others are. When deadlocked - none of those you tied will work. To get in before, I have opened the bonnet then powered up a relay to wake the car up & activate the window switches, then wind a window down to get in

Stunning Josh!

I thought you had confirmed for sure there was no power to the coil. The way i read your response above - you say there is when checking with a test light. It did seem very unlikely to me there would not be - but for the possible reasons i mentioned. Word of advice. Whenever checking a circuit (whether using a meter or test light) make sure that the tester is working on a known power source. A: to make sure the meter/lamp works B: to make sure you have a good earth Otherwise, as you have found, you are simply chasing your tail on a problem that doesn't exist. In all seriousness, & no disrespect, it may be simpler to get an auto sparky to check it for you

Shite Amber, what a score. Well done. Love it!

^^^^ Was my thoughts exactly, on both counts....

Well Bart, Just check the ign supply as prescribed by us. Easy enough to do. I seriously doubt it would have a factory fitted Alpine alarm. That the case & being aftermarket fitted - follow as to where the alarm module wiring integrates to the vehicle wiring. The immobilisation circuit/s can be connected to any circuit anywhere - every installer has a different interpretation of installing, and some better than others at doing so - disguising wiring & connections etc. Assuming as you say is correct (no power to the coil) the only bearing the engine could have in the equation is the engine harness - vehicle plug (green ign wire passes through it). If there is no power at that plug - the problem is back in the vehicle. That being the case, I would be highly suspicious of the alarm circuit interrupting the said ign wire. This the case though, it would have to be in the circuit after where the rest of the ign feeds are tapped into. Above statement assuming you have all other ign functions/warning lights etc??? Also assuming you "definitely" have no power supply at the coil - checked with a test light as Will alludes to???

Totally agree Julian. RC's are a great wheel but not on the 8... M par's suit perfectly. It's always a horses for courses thing

All well put Will. I probably should have gone into the explanation in more detail. You did it for me instead. Immobiliser in the ign circuit sounds the obvious scenario, assuming there is infact no power to the coil. The switch sounds ok bearing in mind he has ign lights

Have just checked my wiring info. Ign supply (green wire) comes straight from ign switch, through a couple of connectors & to the coil, that in turn loops back to the DME. Check that circuit. It does seem an unlikely circuit to fail though. Make sure you are not confusing yourself here in thinking there is no power on this circuit. The other plugs have nothing to do with this power supply. There really is not much to get wrong - apart from those two plugs.

^^^^^ Sounds the most likely. Check for fraying of the inner cable, Vac leak normally wouldn't increase revs that amount. Or, its a fault in the drive by wire throttle...

If there is no power to the ign coil - therein is a/the problem. You will definitely have no spark output anywhere. Nor will it be crank sensor at fault. The coil supply is a straight ign feed, can't recall the exact route from source to coil offhand though. Check engine harness plug C101 - the plug connecting engine harness to car.

Which oil warning is coming on? The oil pressure light (red light in dash) is controlled by the pressure sensor on rhs bottom of block. The oil level w/light is in the check control panel - along with coolant, washers,lights etc. Neither will stop the engine starting/running. No spark either way around will mean something else - crank sensor, engine harness wiring connections - eg power to the ign coil? Are you saying there is no spark out of the coil lead or the plug leads?

The third plug you speak of is probably the oil level sensor plug. The sensor is in the top of the sump under/by the alternator. The other two under the inlet are the spark sensor (lead 6) & crank angle sensor. From memory they will interchange so can be connected incorrectly. Check for spark, if none - reverse the connections & recheck. Fuel line - return is the one coming from the pressure regulator on the rail. Supply is obviously the other.

I recall fitting a few of those Alpine 3 disc in dash head units when they came out in the 90's. Back then they were the ducks nuts. I would have thought they would have had dual illumination. I have a similar vintage Alpine single CD tuner unit in the E12 - it has dual illumination - green or amber. The amber is virtually a perfect match to the BMW illumination.