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#1
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E46 M3 left me stranded(almost)
The M3 has been down since the weekend before last. I took the fam up to Niagara Falls for a family reunion and to visit some old friends. Everything was going well until we got finished shopping for refreshments at the store, I got in and the car would not start, it would crank, but no start. After a couple triies it fired right up, I figured it was being a BMW and it has had more than a few electrical gremlins. We got to the picnic and didn't give it another thought until we tried to leave....got in and turned the key....nothing, no crank, only odo,radio, interior lights, and airbag warning, none of the dash display would light up. I figured it was the immobilizer or the transponder on the key acting up.huge bummer, we had to get 400 miles home and the BMW would have no part of it. I spent the next 2 hours checking fuses, connections, dme relay, smg relay, you name it but no go. My brother was kind enough to put us up for the night and I was dreading the thought of flatbedding the car to the dealer it was Sunday and I waited till morning to call them up, got the usual asshat in charge of service and he said just drop it off here and he could try and squeeze me in probably by Tuesday...WTF
Monday morning I got up at 5 am and got my brother to take me to the park where I had to leave it, I was desperate to try everything I could and told him I would try until noon and then would call the flatbed. I went over everything again, then one time while trying the key for the hundredth time I saw the dash flicker....HOPE...that was around 10 am, I was still screwed as I tried it maybe 50 more times....then at exactly 11:57 am, I tried one more time.....and start, to say I was happy...well...as happy as I can get...I told my brother to follow me to a gas station to fill up and then to his place to pick up the wife/kids, i called the wife and told her to get our shit and meet me in the driveway as I wasn't about to shut it off and we were heading home. We drove straight through the entire way, I told the family as we were in my brothers driveway "If you need to do and business get it done now cause for the next 6 hours we ain't gonna stop. We got home around 7 pm and I pulled the car onto the lift and shut it off, tried to start it again and no dice, I decided I needed a new key and still figured it was the immobilizer so I ordered one from the dealer....$200 bucks..., well that was a waste , it still didn't work....dove into it again tonight and after some deep thought and heavy reading I deduced it had to be in one of the power circuits from the ignition or a relay, I pulled lower steering column covers of and started probing all the circuits. Turns out my ignition switch has a bad set of contacts for power to all the above mentioned circuits. The switch is easy peasy to get to and replace and about $70 bucks for the new part, it will be here by the end of the week and I'm positive it's the fix. So for you Bimmer guys, add the ignition switch to the list of spare to throw in the glove compartment, just in case cause it can and will happen at the worst time. I'll post a pic in the morning. BTW, heres a link to BMW electrical schematics....your welcome. http://wds.spaghetticoder.org/en/ And just the ignition switch http://wds.spaghetticoder.org/en/svg...7209.svg?m=e46
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Tim 05 Cayenne TT 03 M3 (sold) 82 911 SC (sold missed) 90 C2 (sold missed) 87 928 S4 (sold) 85.5 9 fofo (sold ) Last edited by tdatk; 07-25-2012 at 12:00 AM. |
#2
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A couple of pics of the Joy
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Tim 05 Cayenne TT 03 M3 (sold) 82 911 SC (sold missed) 90 C2 (sold missed) 87 928 S4 (sold) 85.5 9 fofo (sold ) |
#3
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Help a brother out here. Can't really see any issue in the pic. Assuming the problem was inside the switch, how'd you deduce that?
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David I hope to arrive to my death, late, in love, and a little drunk! Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand... Homer Simpson "That's what's keeping me out of F1.... Too much mental maturity...." N0tt0n Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. CHAOS, PANIC, AND DISORDER my work here is done... Live without pretending, Love without depending, Listen without defending, Speak without offending |
#4
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Way to go Tim! Stuff like that is so frustrating to track down until it fails completely. Who was the OEM for the switch? Wonder if its the same co vw/audi/porsche uses. The red loctite on the setscrews holding it in is even similar
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Stephen www.salazar-racing.com 1970 914/6 - 3.0L GT 1983 911SC - 3.32L IROC 1984 930 2008 S2R1000, dirt bikes (some gas, some electric), Sherco trials bike Sold: 2001 Boxster (hers), 2003 996tt x50 , SpecE30, 1996 E36M3 GTS2 racecar, 2015 Mustang GT |
#5
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Dave, can't you see the rusty hammer by the switch? He obviously used the hammer to deduce the problem.
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88 911 00 Boxster S (wife's ride, becoming mine too) Even duct tape can't fix stupid... but it can muffle the sound! |
#6
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Tim, double check, but I think replacing that switch requires "keying" it to the rest of the system.
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Wonger EX-#121 IP/GTS3 BMW E36 M3 HERE-#121 GTS3/4 BMW E46 M3 http://www.Salazar-Racing.com http://www.brakeswap.com PM me parts/brake requests and orders. I will donate a portion of order to DorkiBoard! |
#7
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Quote:
HTH Quote:
Quote:
Na this is a dumb part, all mechanical/contacts. Thank Dog!! Might wanna keep one around as a spare tho...
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Tim 05 Cayenne TT 03 M3 (sold) 82 911 SC (sold missed) 90 C2 (sold missed) 87 928 S4 (sold) 85.5 9 fofo (sold ) |
#8
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Good to keep in mind -- our E46 has been flawless but is now approaching 80k miles so I'm anticipating something at some point.
Way to go.
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Collin M. I wear a cowboy hat. '86 951: lucky number 13...rare 6.0L edition. '06 M3: hers. |
#9
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Good troubleshooting skillz there Tim! New cars these days have so many electrics and electronics it's scary.
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George 2004 BMW 325iT 1998 MB E300 turbo Vindaloo Racing FTW!! 944's are fun When the Wright brothers set out to create a flying machine, Science told them it was impossible. |
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