Hi all,
I bought the above a year and a half ago - and other than having to replace a battery up until the summer this year its been fine.
Now I know summer would make more of a demand on my air con, and at same time I got a stereo fitted at Halfords where I know they did make a bit of a meal out of it - and despite them faffing on, and fitting a new aerial wire thingy (technical term?) my radio stopped working where reception was fine before.
Since then I've had allsorts of electrical problems - my heater control panel is possessed - it is either dead to the world, pumping out heat in the dead of summer, or throwing "snow" and freezing cold. The panel itself lights up and then switches off as it pleases.
That was first thing I noticed. Then my radio (well actually - more of a CD player seeing as I've never been able to use radio function) started playing dead too - no amount of banging or jiggling could sort it - but then all of a sudden after a fortnight of not working the CD would pop out and it would work fine again.
Then the bulbs in my car seemed to be going left right and centre - by now I'm starting to get a bit annoyed with the thing. And then my entire dash stops lighting up and thats it - no more diy bulb replacements and it goes to a bmw dealer.
£152 later, they say 10 wires had chafed in the boot - they'd replaced them and the popped bulbs, and all was working fine EXCEPT I need a heater control panel - which is £360 for the part.
I've tried looking on ebay for the part and notice a lot of people offering a "send in and we'll repair" service - which to be honest I'm a bit worried about doing. Its just the idea of sending a part of my car off to some anonymous person and never seeing it again!
But makes me think well if theres so many people offering this repair service is this a regular fault? Does it cost everyone £360 for just the part without the labour? Or should I try find a back street garage who could do the job for cheaper?
My car isn't the newest in the world - but other than this fault I've been quite happy with it and I was hoping to keep it and enjoy relatively low cost motoring for some years to come (is that a contradiction in terms?).
Anyway - since the first quote of £360 the electrical problem with radio and headlights seems to have come back? Any ideas anyone so I can go into my dealer/local garage with a bit more of an idea of what I need fixing?
Thanks guys :)
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 26/11/2007 at 21:08
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The cracked /chafed wires to the bootlid is a common fault with this model and can cause all sorts of problems with the lighting and c/d/locking system.Likewise the climate control panel can play up on a regular basis and is easily repaired by any competent electronic tech guy.Can't see a relation to the lighting fault unless the radio is not wired correctly.hth
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Difficult to believe how they made such a mess of the radio. I changed the original on my E36 for a Pioneer unit and it needed an adaptor from Autoleads to match the wiring, an adaptor for the aerial lead (I think) and that was it. Absolutely no problem. I wonder if they've cut and reconnected leads rather than using an adaptor. Whatever mess they made (and it might be worth getting a local audio specialist to check that radio) I can't believe it's connected with chafed wires in the boot - or did they change speakers too?
Is this the climate control panel that's failed? If so I recall that this is a E36 'failing', so it may well not be connected to the radio problem. IIRC there are firms that repair these. Mine never gave problems, so I can't comment. But as the radio is adjacent, well, you never know!
JS
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Yeah if I recollect I think he couldn't get the aerial wire in the car to connect with the aerial wire on the radio - so he decided to just put some of that kind of wire radio aerial in. Reading that it does sound like a bit of a bodge job really lol - I maybe could have had a go myself with that approach and my level of automotive skill!
Yes its the climate control panel thats failed. I will look into it a bit more then if its a common fault - maybe ask more questions to find out what other people have done and how much it cost.
I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and send the car in to have the dodgy wiring sorted again anyway. I'll post the results once its sorted.
Thanks guys :)
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Hi, your radio/headlight probs can easily be sorted via a local auto electrician,try yell.com. Mine turned out to be a bad earth under the bonnet that I sorted myself.(took all of 10 mins) The climate control is a completely seperate concern and there are only two options open to you. Let BMW replace it or have it repaired BUT be careful. The fault you are experiencing is caused by a tiny capacitor inside. Some people will charge you the earth £150+ just to replace it ( off the vehicle) Trouble is, unless the induction fan is replaced it will not last. ( I know, I made the same mistake!!) I finally found a guy down here in rainy cornwall who done the complete thing top to bottom for £95 +p&p.
The unit itself is extremely easy to remove so best of luck!!
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