hunter

Buy an Alfa

pretty sure they are "active" only opening when needed?

Sweet baby Jesus

Success! after biting the bullet and splashing out for a brand new clockspring from Coombes. (They had one in stock so snapped it up) I now have working paddles, Cruise control and stereo controls again, but with new OEM part reliability ? we also gently polished the heinous water spots off the windows. These have been a problem I’ve been trying to get rid of for some time. Today with the right product and gentle polishing with a drill, success. Stoked. New switch installed on existing switch boards and wiring above old switch de constructed new switches getting installed with covers getting new grease for a smooth action switches back in ready for trim and airbag. Along with new clock spring.

frustrating 2 steps forward one back on paddle shift today. the Clock Spring I have has partially failed (after a week of intermittant paddle shift functionality) with only cruise and stereo controls working. no paddle shift. i purchased some new paddle micro switches 4 dollars each. after reading how common the up shift failing is, due to a dirty or faulty micro switch. Thinking being, go new parts wherever possible from here on in. new switches were soldered inplace, switch loom bench tested, all working fine - yuss. re-installed switches in car, nothing working- what the!? checked all connectins nothing wrong or missing cruise control works stereo control works more prodding with a multi meter commenced. tip tronic shift from gear stick still works - tested ok tested paddle shift loom from steering column to gear box with miltimeter, (no clock spring) - tested ok tested Paddle shift switches to rear of clock spring pins with multimeter - Failed So looks very much like the 2nd hand clock spring is the culprit or atleast the circuit / ribbon section of it that passes the Paddles signal through to the transmission. sh*t. So, atleast i have 2 new switches, and understand the problem area, now I'm on the hunt for a new clokcpring or really good working 2nd hand one

WTB. Working Clock spring to fit E39. (E46, E46 M3) with heated steering wheel pins or smg pins. These will be the 2 stand alone pins on the left of the clock spring when mounted. the one I have has partially failed (after a week of intermittant use / functionality) with only cruise and stereo controls working. no paddle shift.

E39 m sport wheelAirbag has been replaced under recallAlso has fully working Clock springThis us come out of a 2001 e39 as I have up gradedEverything works as it should. A few minor marks on the rim of the steering wheel, indicative of the age.Pick ups preferred. 100 for forum members

Slight problem with the + Paddle emerges Friday, it wont shift up reliably hmmm - shift works fine, Steptronic from the gear lever works fine, both up and down. When we installed all wiring was tested and good to go so something in the paddle isn't working. Some googling reveals a common issue with these SMG wheels and the up shift being intermittent due to dirty / worn contact switches. This weeks mission is to inspect and clean said switch on the upshift

They are expensive units. 350 incl gst. Each. That is dealer prices but was happy ish as I didn’t want to roll the dice on a 2nd hand one

Butyl tape arrived thanks @hqstufor sharing ? Cleaning the old adhesive off was a real PITA but got most of it off the half of the door I was working on before putting new adhesive tape on. Once tape was mounted I got it with the wife’s hair dryer to soften ( it was also quite cold in my garage today) and reseated the weather membrane. Slightly paranoid about the lock working once the door was put together I was testing the locks a lot as I didn’t want to have to pull it all apart again. Everything works from the key fob and central lock button on center console. Door is now all back together and working perfectly. Job done.

Replaced the door actuator in rear passenger door. Easier than the internet would have you believe. Haha. only slight issue was the lock knob stalk falling off and me needing to remember which way it went around. new actuator worked first time. Now waiting on some new Butyl tape to seal her back up again. new one on top, old on bottom. Old one had lost all its resistance and drive, i think you can see evidence of that when comparing the the state of the black "strips" in the larger opening.

Is it Possibly drive shaft or guibo? you may have checked this?

Massive day this past Saturday, helps to have a good mate with eletrical engineering skills, as we set about installing paddle shift and MFW intothe E39. It was a Solid 6 hour day day of trim removal and reinstall, wiring, creating new paddle shift looms, ill fitting airbag, straightneding brackets andthen good fitting airbags. For the paddles shift a new loom was created running from the slock spring to the shifter area to intersect without cutting the steptronic wiring in the shifter area. this allows paddlesot be used once the gear stick is moved into sport mode. Genuine OEM wiring, connectors and clips were used for that factory look, fit and finish and to ensure all bits were new and sure to work. The MFW (cruise and stereo control) was a bit more indepth with Factory installation guides and wiring used, splicing intothe LCM and running 1 wire to the DME, The airbag bracket was bent, fomr previous air bag removal at wreckers or by former owner?? so that needed removing and straightening up, now fits perfectly. after all ofthis and a good vacuum, I now have OEM cruise control, stereo control and sport mode paddle shift in my 2001 530i. now i need an alignment, also due to new tires last week and i'll be good to go oh except fo rthe freshly failed door lock actuator - doh!

2series active tourer??

New rubber today for the 530. Michelin PS4, all round 40% off at Hyper Drive and fitted by my local tire shop. Brilliant all for a hair under 1500. Incl shipping and fitment. have also noticed that the rear drivers side door doesn’t always unlock when I come back to the car. This is likely the actuator and some that will need attention sooner rather than later to ensure it doesn’t fail leaving the door stuck shut. This would mean a potentially damaging door car removal with door closed as per his vid from e39 source.

Ohhhh shiny.

Yeah I’ve seen that too. Might do it one day. Once I’ve got all the other things in my list for this year done.

Paddle wiring was delayed until next weekend to ensure we have enough time to complete, without competing priorities. So instead, today I added a euro number plate surround to the front bumper plate carrier. I also installed my brand new air con tube, once and for all removing engine bay smells from the cabin.

BMW genuine Wiring and connectors for the paddle shift loom today. All going to plan Friday, the paddles and MFW will be going in. my new aircon tub also arrived today looking forward to having that sorted.

oh, the Purity!

Washer level sensor warning appeared again yesterday with a full reservoir. Managed to get the sensor out of the tank this time, it was very corroded on the both sides of the sensor contact. I suspect this corrosion is blocking the signal that the reservoir is full. Pulled the sensor apart and cleaned it up removing all the surface rust on contact points, plugged back in and tested, works fine. Yuss. Reinstalled everything and hope the cleaning was enough to get it working normally full time.

Any one installed in e39 with high OBC? not nav, no screen. I have a grom but i'd be keen to switch if this offers better sound quality and other functions

recheced the areas above Saturday no visable leaks, rechecked again after a decent drive. nothing. smell was less in cabin too, untill i turned the heat on, then it was noticable again. Switching between cold and hot chnaged the smell too, hmm. I've got a new Aircon tube on order from BMW. When that arrives and it fitted, i'll know if that lack of proper seal was the issue or i need to keep chasing....