535iase1997

I ended up removing all of the seats and carpet (not easy) and letting it all dry for a few weeks. Rear door vapor barriers are perfect. I also thought it was the sunroof, which was leaking, but I fixed that and water was still getting in.

Also I will let you know how the water got in. I will try my best to explain it, as anyone with an E39 may have this issue and not know. - Just above the ECU (top right of engine bay standing in front of car) is one of the clean air intake boxes for the air con. - Down the side of it (closest to the side of the car) is a water channel for the water run-off from the front windscreen. - This channel has a rubber seal to ensure the water from the windscreen runs over the air box and not behind it. - This seal was missing from my car! - This is where it gets interesting, the water was running backwards (you know what I mean) and into the metal housing that has the plastic ECU housing inside it. - It is usually OK for this to happen because the metal housing has drains in it, but in my case they had blocked, due to that seal missing and they were being used every time it rained. - This metal housing fills with water and the water runs into the ECU box via the positive pressure pump hose hole. - Once the ECU box fills up, the water then runs down the positive pressure hose, through the fire wall and into the cabin. - This water flows under the carpet into the foot well. The space between the carpet and the floor in an E39 is quite large and the foam under there holds water very well and it has no way of escaping. Sorry about the long explanation, but a simple seal can almost write off your car, it also messes with your electrics so bad that you feel like there is no hope. Please feel free to ask me any questions about this, I am almost an expert.

A bit of an update on this: * I found water had been trapped under the passenger seat for months. This caused the following problems (that I know of so far) - The Yaw sensor for the stability control was under there and was completely shot. - A lot of earthing terminals are under that seat, including the communication line for the OBD system. Once I dried out the water, replaced the yaw sensor and repaired the rusty comms terminals, I can now read the entire network of computers! - This told me that there was a fault with the MAF sensor, I replaced that and now she doesn't randomly cut out! - It also told me there is an fault with the thermostat, I have ordered a new one, and I am confident this will fix the slow-to-start when hot issue. It has been a long battle trying to solve all my issues - but thanks to finding that water under the passenger (left front) seat, I am now having some success. The dealer I purchased the car from knew there was a leak and told me they had a specialist fix it. After calling that specialist, they told me they had never fixed the leak. They went to pick it up, but it didn't start! So the dealer LIED! Thanks to everyone here that helped, and your suggestions lead to me finding the water.

Thanks for the reply, I was a new OEM crank sensor. When the lights go out ABS and traction control etc work well. (so I assume the pump is ok). Only has OBD1. They suggested removing each control module one at a time until I got coms, and I have tried this with no luck so far. I'm hoping the DME is ok, I've read it takes a lot of work to change them because you need to change the instrument cluster as well.

Hi all, I know it is VERY common for an E39 to have some electrical problems, but I have quite a few. What I will start with is - No communication with any modules, I have even had it at Jeff Gray for a few hours, with no success. This is my second E39 V8 and I enjoy working on them, but this one has me stumped. The reasons why I want to read the fault codes are as follows: * I have the stability control light up (most of the time) * ABS light comes on momentarily every time I start the car, after about 50m of driving it goes out. The next things only happen when she is hot, BUT has been left for More than (about) half an hour: * She struggles to start, just turns over for a while, runs really bad for a few seconds then comes right. This has caused many flat batteries! * Once she is going, she will randomly cut out, like a sudden jolt, for a split second then carry on fine. This is a very horrible experience. Some of the things I have done: * New wheel speed and crank position sensors, new fuel pump, filter, and relay, new (full set) coil packs, iridium spark plugs. * I have also replaced the manifold seals and the oil separation valve. I have found water in the car and in the ECU box under the hood, I have dried these out and fixed the leak. She has only done 108K and I don't want to give up on her, but I'm running out of options. Have any of you experienced these problems? PLEASE HELP!

Hi Allan I didn't take any photo's as I assumed I wouldn't succeed as I hadn't seen it done before. I used this info to find it http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/329888. to find it. What I did was: 1. took the plastic engine cover off, to unclip the CC from the throttle lever. 2. removed the module completely from the car buy undoing the three bolts (used a magnet so I didn't drop them into the engine bay). 3. Got a size 8 star drive bit and took the cover off the bottom of CC module (I had to break a small seal (melted plastic)) 4. got a small set of vice grips and clamped them on the spring (you'll see what I mean) You don't want it to unravel! then pulled it off and put it somewhere safe (I used tape as well as a double security) 5. Then I undid the next lot of star drive screws holding the circuit board down. 6. then disassembled the rest of it, carefully noting the position of all the sprockets! 7. then I checked the solenoid with a small twelve volt battery, re-soldered all of the pins coming out of the circuit board (where the plug plugs into) This was the problem, they were dry and loose! 8. then I cleaned where the contacts (round thing with two contact points) touch the board (thoroughly with white spirits) and lightly sanded and cleaned the contacts themselves. 9. Then re-assembled, put back in the car and tested. note; when re-assembling I had to wind one turn of tension onto the sping so it acted correctly and the strap wasn't too slack. Hope this helps! sorry no photo's! Happy cruising! Cheers Phil.

No, I didn't need to remove the steering wheel (air bags) so I thought that wasn't necessary. (or just didn't think)

Me and a fellow Bimmer enthusiast (jfry) just had a attempt at repairing my e39's cruise control module as it kept disengaging after a short while. then won't go back on until I restarted the car. I fully disassembled it cleaned the points and re-soldered the pins, now it's like new! except now that I was on a roll I decided to fix the dead pixels in the instrument cluster and after re-installing it the airbag light stays on, but this (I hope) is the same problem others have got after removing the cluster. I will take it in and get it reset on Monday, I hope most of you agree with this idea.

Does anyone know a good way to soften the tan leather in my E39. I'm not sure if it suppose to be so stiff, this makes it quite slippery. Thanks

I had two the same as this http://forum.nissanexa.com/image.php?u=442...line=1157836293 they are an excellent car 107kW from a non turbo 1.6ltr engine, handled like a dream and heaps of fun to drive. Taking the roof off was good too. I miss them a bit.

Hi From Palmy Just trying to post a few pics now, but site won't let me yet. I will keep trying

Hi all! I have had my 535i for six months now and wished I had bought it years ago! It is my twelfth car in 10 years of driving and I can't knock it! She's fast, beautiful, and great to drive! I'm looking forward to many years together! Cheers Phil