hotwire

Classic car Good luck with it & hope someone on here gets it

Off topic & not suggesting lack of was the case in this incident but when the hell is this backward PC country going to wake up & insist on compulsory third party insurance. The rest of the (developed) world has had it forever. Edit: Dislexia

You can get the genuine product from BMW for a very reasonable price.

^^^^^ Yep correct for the E34, the high spec E39 though (& 3's for that matter) has much more electrical demand with all the bells/whistles - car draws around 5 amps on acc position.

Wrong on both counts for battery. Way too small! It is a DIN 88 or 92 (the 88/92 depending on brand) Marcus I Don't know the AA conversion equivelent number to ones above as to whether the number you quote is comparable. You need to compare apples with apples though. I also don't overly rate AA batteries, that said, none we get here are the quality of the OEM Varta Personally I would recommend HCB Endurant as a good replacement. Can help if you wish. 10/11/12 years is about the norm for OEM batteries, mine was 11, as have been a few others I have been involved with. I took a 14 yr old out of an E36 a couple of years back.

Jon, both version starters have the provision for this on the solenoid, at least all the units I have had of each type have had.

Without wanting to repeat all discussion that has been had on here on this subject - do a search. there is plenty of info on here inc the ultimate E39 guide

Tis Greg The unloader relay wire is not connected to the starter - open circuits the relay while cranking to relieve non essential electrics during cranking

Jim, Have myself fitted/wired a couple of reversing cameras in E38's - had no problem to run the cable through the conduit in the boot hinge - easier than running throught Touring tail gates . Also, seem to recall you having issues finding the power supply - that too located where I thought it would be in L/H corner. Finding/fixing the broken wiring should be easy enough:-

Late (black) type are different to early (white)

You don't need OEM. You could get from Repco, BNT or the like. There will be plenty of aftermarket brands available.

^^^^Dunno form that. Were they listed specifically for E46? From memory mine came from the same place (sevaral years ago) & they were.. Anyway, just connnect them up, & remove the original bulbs, if they aren't - you will get the lamp failure warning come up. You will then need to load the circuit.

Are your ballasts load rated - eg duplicating the original bulb? If so - don't leave the bulbs in as you will be doubling the load on that circuit from the LCM. If not, you will need to load the circuit to replicate the original bulb otherwise you will get "lamp failure" warnings coming up. You don't want the original bulbs in anyway - it will look naff with them going as well.

Yep, so did the the F/L E39, & any BMW with OEM angel eyes. The difference though - these lamps were all "rated" in this state, whereas the non A/E lamps were rated for the standard bulb.

It sounds like you will be chasing your tail in trying to fix this yourself. There are several possible reasons, FSU for one. Best get an auto sparky to check it, it is not really something to try & diagnose over the net. You will only be guessing.

If the ballasts are load sensing, they can be connected straight into the park light circuit & remove the original park light bulb. This is what I did. Technically not strictly legal in this format as the angel eyes are not ECE / ADR approved in the lamp to be used as park lights, but that said, they meet/exceed the WOF park light requirements for light angles & visable distance. I had this debate with my first WOF after fitting, they agreed with my logic & have never been questioned since.

Simple to do in PFL, if a 98 car as you say. Simply remove & dimantle/unclip the lamp (about 5 mins) Get replacement adjusters from the dealers. If you are doing one - you may as well do both sides

Bear in mind a bulb can seem fine but still have a broken filament & operate intermittently, as it cools down it contracts breaks circuit & can fail on re igniting - vibration causing it to reconnect. I suspect this will be the case with my fog light bulb. The corrosion around it will certainly also cause it to trip the failure. The LCM monitors the current flow very precisely.

As Brent said - LCM modules do fail. That said - could well be a faulty bulb/connection in those circuits. The reason for the failure coming up with lights not on is because the LCM "cold monitors" all the circuits it controls. This done by sending a quick pulse through each circuit every 30 sec or so to check for bulb failure. Our E39 is currently showing a fault "front fog lamp failure" (typical auto sparky - not yet fixed my own car ) lights were going & I thought it was talking sh*t... or maybe a bad connection. The other night in the garage, as I started the car & flicked the lights on - noticed a delay of several seconds in the R/H fog light coming on. Oops maybe it isn't lying . No doubt a crook bulb - now to see how long it takes me to fix it - as I keep getting reminded by the other half.

Robinsons Instruments

Nice! And liking the bold colouring - suits these cars -Mustangs, Challengers etc. Gotta say, Mustangs left me after the late sixties cars, along with Camaro's of the same vintage. Only the recent models that I can say I have liking for. So they can actually go around corners now Always makes me laugh seeing a mid 70's Corvette with a Model T style rear leaf suspension Yanks are slow learners...

Silly question Oli Plenty of people will have some, not sure they will want to part with them though...

+3... or is that 4. People that can only "steer" auto's are not proper drivers. I reacon it ought to be compulsory to at least learn & be familiar with driving a manual, even if as above - they opt for an auto Edit, BTW That car is tacky, if it aint an M3...

Another tuner. Your car got a monitor in the dash? PM me

sh*t times flies, or I must be getting old... Remember that race well, & others around the time. Watched live on TV them coming into Auckland... with F&P up their but. Was a time of NZ domination in yachting. I would love to have had the chance you did to sail it back here