E30 Zone

Just getting to grips with what works and what doesn't on my 325i SE.

1.......The car has an overheating issue. It doesn't get to boiling point but very close to it. Leave it ticking over for 15 mins and the temp rises, the viscous coupling is working how it should. The temp rises and eventually the main fan comes on. The problem is its close to the red when it does and it goes off again soon after. The cycle repeats itself with the needle never straying far from the red.

So with the Viscous and the fan working what can it be?

Perhaps the thermostat although the 2 pipes going into and out of it are hot making me think thats working ok?
Maybe the temp switch which tells the fan to come on? It is working as I can make it come on using a paperclip trick.

I have decided to have the cooling system emptied and start again, something you are supposed to do with E30's every couple of years i'm led to believe.

Any other advice?


2...... Odd one this one. The electric windows and sunroof. They dont work when i'm sat in the car and the red illuminating light on the buttons is not on. However if I open the door the lights come on and the windows / roof can be opened. Sounds silly but they are working off the small switch in the door frame, same one which does the interior light. Does this mean they are on the same circuit for some reason? ....... WTF is that all about?
I wonder if its something to do with the stereo install, but doubt it somehow....


As always your thoughts are appreciated.

Gary

In response to 2 - Could be a red herring... but I had a problem with my power hood, it malfunctioned when the lining in the boot was secured over the motors in the back, but when this was pulled away to expose the motors, the hood worked fine.

Turned out that the installation of an amplifier in the boot by the previous owner was botched, and 2 screws which should have screwed into a wooden backboard had missed the target and instead were digging into a wiring loom. Hence whenever the boot lining was pushed back into place, the screws would dig into the loom, causing a short circuit and therefore the hood would fail.

THe point is, that there might be some similar kind of problem with your electrics? I hope it's less obscure than that (cause it took an age to diagnose this even with the help of a BMW electrician), but it might help. Good luck dude.

Cheers

Ben

is the ignition on when your in the car??? if the ignition isnt on, the windows will not work, but when you open the door and interior light comes on, they will....

Yeah, the door open thing is incase you switch off your engine, take the keys out of the ignition open the door and realise you've the window open! German efficiency I think it's called!!

Check the connector block inside the drivers door (where the switch that makes the light come on). Sometimes they work loose, or get wet and stop working.

regards q2 i had this problem with my old car it ended up being 1 of the relays behind the glovebox being the wrong one i changed it over and the windows worked fine

hope this helps

Thanks mate, I'm told its relay 5. I will give it a go

Gary

Hey buddy, i'm not sure what your saying about the fan(fans) it only has one (originally) a viscous. If both sides of the thermostat are hot then it is opening, but if the viscous isnt coming in when it goes past the halfway mark then its buggered, had the same on my 320i when i got it. Get one from GSF, £54 or something, same make as BMW's one just £100 cheaper. 32mm spanner, left hand thread, easy as that.HTH

Is the car overheating, or is it just the guage thats not sitting in the correct position ?
When you first start it from cold where does the needle sit ?
It should be down on the blue part but if its any higher then i suspect its just the guage out of sync.

The viscous fan should make an audible difference once the guage reaches over half way and it locks solid so it moves more air, does the guage go that high if the car is moving (i.e. more air flow) If not then its a good sign the fan clutch thats buggerd.

If its not the fan, when its running with the needle nearly in the red are the hoses hard (high pressure) indicating its about to boil over, if they are take the front grill off and reach in and have a feel for cold patches on the radiator. If you find any then you should remove the rad and flush it through with a hose (or just get a new one) as its most probably silted up and not flowing correctly.

That last idea may not be possible if you have an air con system on the car, as i suspect you do because you mentioned an electric fan and this normaly sits in front of the rad although i'm not sure it plays a part in cooling the engine. I was under the impression it only works when the air con is on

As for the windows they work as already stated without the ignition on only if the door is open on one fuse and then on a different fuse when the engine is running (can't remember which )