M3AN

Try Swann, can't be your daily though...

10.7v is stone cold dead. If you have a charger with a very low amp output (like 2 amps) then set it to that setting and let it run in recondition mode (will need to charge to full first). It'll take a while but it's worth a shot.

As Charlie says, using a multimeter to measure current draw from the battery. If you search for "measuring parasitic loss" you'll find heaps of helpful info. In my case the alarm was (apparently) easy to isolate because with everything off my current draw was acceptably low (0.035 amps) but the battery drained rapidly when the alarm was set. Now, it could also be something connected to the alarm, not the alarm itself (e.g. door lock actuators, glass break sensors, siren, etc, etc) but I've yet to dive into that. I use a battery isolator so for the next week or so I'm opening the trunk, setting the alarm (to lock the doors), isolating the battery and then closing the trunk. This way the doors are locked, the battery can't drain and I can still open the trunk. More fun next weekend... ?

My weekend diagnostics are suggesting it's the alarm draining the battery... and alarms are terrible to diagnose... ?

Absolutely stunning, especially for 30 years. Props.

Please try them without the knobs on. You may find they work/feel/sound fine and look better.

Lemforder or Melie HD are fine, I'd use the former if they were available. That subframe looks mint, a job well done.

I'm evaluating mine in detail this weekend (328 went from full to dead flat in 120 mins on Thur ?). Car is only drawing 0.035 amps when off so that's okay. But it only dropped 0.1 volts last night when disconnected so further investigation required tomorrow. I did get a Bosch 65/680 online locally for $250 just the other week (for the M3) which I think is a pretty sharp deal. What's the shipping for that Neuton in NZ? It might be fine for the 328 and probably better than a Repco.

No 65's? DIN65ZL Automotive 680cca

See here: http://e36diy.com/e36-m3-replacement-front-control-arm-ball-joint/ And click through to the Amazon links and read some of the comments. More technical info here: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=591216 But essentially, yes, they're the part numbers. Always confirm independently (see those threads/comments) before buying. ? Edit: in that DIY link he used a 12 ton press... some have had to use a 20 ton press.

Or disconnect it, fully charge it and check the voltage 24h later... if it's dropped, even by a few volts, it's dead. I'm dealing with the same situation. PITA.

When did you last call a truck, or even a van, a car Martin? ?

You can have a calendar that just has days and dates... no holidays...

Do NOT pay detailer prices, the mark-up is like 1000%. Just buy the stuff from eBay at like 30 bucks and apply it yourself. And keep in mind that, compared to the promises made, it's pretty much snake-oil. Just look it up.

He lists both his BMW "cars" as X5M's - their nomenclature is so unintelligible now that the casual observer can't tell what it means. I have no way of telling whether he made a mistake or not.

"Excludes M vehicles" Are X5M's "M vehicles"? I hope not but I suspect so.

Yep, use E30 ball joints, they're the same and were a separate part number on the E30, not available separately for the E36. Edit: and M3 stamp on the front subframe means yes, it's an original M3 part.

Subframe is M3 specific (although buggered if I can tell the difference between M and non-M) so you're unlikely to find a replacement without a lot of luck I'm afraid. I'd weld a solid plate on one side, a reinforcing plate on the other side and then drill through the solid plate using the reinforcing plate as a guide. That should lock it up nice and tight.

Do the rear seats fold down? If so climb into the trunk and manually release it, that will make diagnosing the problem a lot easier.

Set your charger to the lowest amps possible, disconnect the negative terminal of the battery from the car entirely and charge the battery for 24h. But replace the relay also.

If the relay was doing that all night it could easily drain the battery, then your morning symptoms make sense. Charge the battery, make sure it's holding charge without that relay and replace the relay.

Welcome Arata, loving the DIY on the side of the road!

Some good recent info in this thread: http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/62277-1-series-which-modelyear/ I've been casually looking, if you get one that needs maintenance then the bills seem to be very high.

Absolutely stunning ^ and please, if you're an E30 M3 fan open this page and let the images load... https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1229661

I was surprised that it was that small actually, quite so. I had a double-take. Unfortunately engineering has finally fully succumbed to marketing at BMW.