Hi
Anyone got any idea what the green wire going through the driver's side front wheel arch liner is. I have unfortunately dispatched a badger to the other world and it didn't go quietly. It destroyed my driver's side front wheel arch liner which I wasn't in a hurry to fix but I have discovered a green wire which has been shredded. I thought maybe it was for front fogs or something else around the front of the car. Nothing seemed to be malfunctioning but as the sun came out one lovely day I discovered that my air-con does not work. It makes noises like it is working but there is absolutely no cold air coming out, it is at ambient temperature.
I know it is a bit of a strange request but any help would be welcome.
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Without wishing to scaremonger, my partner collided with a badger when driving our MINI a few years back, causing what looked like superficial damage to the mesh grill below the bumper... On closer inspection, it had also damaged the radiator and a/c compressor; the total bill came to just under £900 IIRC Sounds like your damage is not so bad, but could the badger have caught the compressor (not sure where this is on an E46) or one of the pipes, causing a leak?
Peter
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I haven't noticed any coolant leaks and the area where the main damage is does not seem to have much in it. I will try and see where the compressor etc is fitted. I was hoping the wire would be connected to the air-con in some way.
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A guess that it may be an external temp. sensor..? Try the BMW forum.
www.bmwcarclubforum.co.uk/default.asp
I suppose that the Badger would claim you weren't indicating if he was still alive !
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Good idea. I'll follow that up.
It was quite scary. I was travelling about 70mph on the motorway and I could see the badger trot out of the bushes to the side of the hard shoulder. It was never going to stop and I jumped on the brakes and tried to swerve away from the badger. At that speed I hardly slowed down at all since it was only about 20 yards in front of me. I didn't swerve much either come to think of it since I didn't fancy spinning on the motorway. I hoped that I would go over it only brushing it's back with the bottom of my car. I inspected the car when I got home (about 10:40pm) and all looked well in the dark. In the morning I discovered that the lower bumper grille was one third burst, the under tray was shattered and the right hand side wheel arch liner was in about one thousand pieces.
If you come across anything the size of a badger ------------- go over it with your tyres and save yourself a lot of money. It would probably mean a quicker death for the poor animal too.
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Arguably the RWD saved you. That would be my story. Let us know.
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I suppose it could have been the DSC kicking in but I can't remember seeing the light flashing which it should do if it is enabled. I certainly swerved but didn't experience that wobbly pendulum effect that you normally get swerving at that speed.
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Hi, i repair vehicle air con systems and thought may be able to help. Firstly i don't know what this green wire is for but i would say if the a/c compressor has stopped working it could be the magnetic clutch feed cable to the compressor. Try repairing if poss. It could also be to a pressure switch which is sometimes mounted on top of the liquid receiver tank. These are fitted around the area near the drivers wheel on certain BMW models. This would more than likely be 2 wires together if it was that wiring. Worth checking though. Before going any further run the a/c with the bonnet up and see if the compressor is running and you can hear the compressor 'clicking' in and out. If it appears to be running then it is possible you have a small leak and are running short of refrigerant. If it's not running then a pipe may have fractured and all the refrigerant has been lost. A work shop check would then be needed. Hope this helps, best of luck !
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It does sound like the outside temp sensor has been ripped off, if the outside temp display is still ok on the instrument cluster then it will be the aircon temp sensor.
A wiring repair kit is available a plug with two wires and connecters that can be soldered into the loom.
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Thanks wrightstuff and fixedwheelnut,
I will check both ideas out. I am kinda hoping it is the outside air temp sensor since that looks easiest to repair. The outside air temp reading on the trip computer is working. I stupidly thought that the air-con would utilise the same sensor (too sensible). I cannot find the other piece of broken wire and it comes through the wheel arch liner from round about the foglight (not broken) and is shredded about 10mm outside of the hole. Since it does not look like it goes to any particular destination, I am hopeful about the temp sensor idea.
Thanks again.
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The outside air temp sensor is fitted to the nearside front of the car behind the bumper.The wire colours are blue/brown & blue red.The same sensor is used for the dash display & for the operation of the a/c.I would suspect that the a/c fault is a different problem.
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Thanks for that. There goes the 'easy' theory. Does anybody have an E46 (2002ish) BMW 318i or similar that they could have a quick look between the front driver's wheel and arch liner at the bumper end? There must be a green wire coming out of a hole in the liner and going somewhere. Mine is snapped and I don't know where it goes. You shouldn't need to get dirty. It might be advisable to turn the steering left though for more access.
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Bugslife,
a friend happened to be accross in his 320SE E46 (2002) I have photographed the gubbins with a digicam. There is no green wire but there is wire in a sheath and a couple of black boxes. If you ask mods to ping me your e-mail I'll send this accorss to you.
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That's great! Thanks very much. I will try and organize the e-mail address as soon as possible. I am sure this will be invaluable.
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So did it hit the wheel? - you might want to get tracking / 4 wheel alighment looked at, as a mis-alignment could lead to uneven/ premature tyre wear upfront.
hth
Ian
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It didn't hit the wheel. It hit the lower edge of the spoiler/bumper moulding and took out half of the engine undertray and the arch lining as mentioned. I took what was left of the lining off, that's how I know there was a green stripped wire poking through a hole. Tracking seems to be fine.
Pugugly {p} I have tried getting in touch with the webmaster but have had no response. My e-mail address is
rtiffney@yahoo.com
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Pugugly {p} I have tried getting in touch with the webmaster but have had no response.
The moderators or myself haven't received anything from you.
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Job sorted. E-mailed the photo hope it helps.
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By the way that's the only wire in the wheelarch area it looks like an earth to me.
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