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Active check control false failures

 
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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 6:24 pm    Post subject: Active check control false failures Reply with quote

UBBers,

The active check control over the rear view mirror has been occasionally indicating that all three rear lights (tail lights, license plate lights, and stop lights) had failed. I suspected a bad ground but couldn't find it.

Today, I finally found the ground...G300 under the rear seat BACK, not the rear seat BOTTOM as Bentley says. One might be able to get to it by only removing the bottom, but it was in plain sight when I took out the seat back. Gave me a chance to vacuum really well and put plugs in two holes...I guess these plastic plugs disintegrated and fell out over the years. Anyway, the ground bolt, a 6 mm hex head, was half way out of the hole! Cleaned the bolt and connection really well, then used a dab of thread locker when tightening the bolt. This should solve the problem of the false failure indications.

So, if your active check control gives false failures, check the grounds! Corrosion and vibration can take their toll on our old e30s.

I now declare that every single thing works as intended...AC blows cold, locks go whop, and interior light delay works! I am certain something else will go wrong soon, and frankly I am looking forward to it. I love working on this old car!

Cheerio,
Jim

'85 325e born October 1984
220K original owner and going strong
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tncean



Joined: 26 Feb 2005
Posts: 1652
Location: Chattanooga, Tn.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 5:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You pulled the seat Back to find/access it? Is ground nut still on driver's side? I also have the phantom license plate and rear light warnings on my overhead. Been taped over for a long time. Thanks for the tip!
tncean
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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 6:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You might try just pulling the seat bottom to see if you can see/reach the ground. After pulling the bottom, pull up the insulating pad all the way...my ground was near the transition from the back to the bottom. Yes, it is on the driver's side, relatively close to the edge.

It was good for me to pull the back because of the two holes that needed to be plugged. There was a lot of dirt that needed vacuuming. I guess this is to be expected on a 29 year old car.

Good luck. I suspect your ground is bad. If not that, then maybe the bulb failure relay in the trunk.

Jim
'85 325e, born October 1984
220K original owner
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whop!

Glad you found it Jim... it's just great when everything is working, isn't it?

And, you're right... it's nice to get back there and clean things out from time to time. Surprised though that you found missing plugs...

I'm only going to have access to the garage I worked in for another few weeks, so I'm going to have to take the plunge and do the rear bearings I think... I hate the concept!

I'm also going to look for some remannied half shafts because those CV joints have to be pretty worn too... it's only been 28 years! (Saturday was Cosmo's birthday!).

I think of you every time the light delay works in my car! And the Central Locking hasn't given me any problems since I tinkered with them in 05 or 06.

Happy trails!
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Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive... Sad

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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Enis,

I think the missing plugs arose from body work long ago. Julie has had two major accidents in the car's life. I am certain the body shop didn't have plugs to insert. I also think that they failed to tighten the ground bolt as well.

As you know, I changed the rear bearings with homemade tools. While this is possible, it sure would make the job easier if you borrowed/rented the SIR bearing tool kit. Maybe you want the challenge of using homemade tools?

Regarding your CV joints...I cleaned, repacked, and rebooted the originals a couple of years ago. I would suggest you do the same. A messy job (a lot of kerosene to soak the grease out of the joints), but better than remans, imho, if there are little or no signs of wear. Julie's are 29 years old and they are fine.

You may remember that I bought a used diff a couple of years ago. Julie's original was roaring so bad, that I finally switched out the diffs earlier this year. Not dead quite, but much better. I thought about rebuilding the diff, but it requires special know-how and tools to set the lash. May still investigate doing this myself. Would cost $850 for a specialty shop to do the job. I will stick with the used diff until it is unbearably loud.

It is wonderful to have every single item working on this beloved 29 year old car. Now that she (the car) is back in the garage, I am thinking of spending real money on her: new headliner, new carpet, new seats, and new dash if it still available. Then maybe a new paint job. I figure $10,000 would do it...then I would have a $10,000 worthless car. But this old e30 is a family member, and we would do just about anything for a family member, wouldn't we?

Cheerio,
Jim
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 9:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How did you get new boots on those stub axles Jim?
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Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive... Sad

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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Enis,

It was 4 or 5 years ago, but this is what I remember:

1. Remove half axle from car: Detach from diff and support end. Remove lock plate and axle nut. Whack the hub end of the axle with a brass bar to jar the splined end free from the hub. Should come out easily afterwards.

2. Remove the cover plate from the inner (diff side) CV joint. Remove circlip and remove inner CV joint. May need a little persuasion from a rubber mallet.

3. Now you can remove the outer boot. Unfortunately, the outer CV joint on our cars is integral with the half axle and cannot be removed. This makes the job, especially cleaning, a bit of a pain.

4. Get a lot (4 gallons or so) of kerosene, and soak each CV joint to remove all old grease. An old tooth brush helps. As I recall, I soaked the joints for a couple of days. Then blew out each joint with compressed air and let dry for a day or two.

5. You can disassemble the inner joint for ease of cleaning and to look for wear. No obvious signs of wear on mine.

6. The boot kits come with boot (flange attached), grease, and clamp.

7. Pack outer joint with grease then slip on boot and attach. Pack inner joint, slip on boot, slide joint on axle, insert new circlip, attach cover plate, and clamp boot to axle.

8. Reinstall in car. Again, because on our early e30s the outer joint is integral with the half axle, the job is a bit more difficult...you can't remove the outer CV joint to clean everything really well. Hence, all the soaking.

I personally think that cleaning, repacking, and rebooting is better than reman. The splines should be clean, and should slip back into the hub very easily. I used a little never seize so it will be easy to remove the axles in the future.

Not a hard job, but messy. Need a lot of kerosene, containers to soak parts, and then containers for used kerosene so it can be properly disposed of. Haynes has some good photos.

Hope this helps,
Jim
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great write-up Jim, but it wont work for me as I have no place to put the car and let it sit up on stands for a few days while I tinker with the CV joints... If I do this, it'll be in a borrowed garage, with a lift, and I'll have limited time... perhaps a full day at most, to do the entire thing. The days of having the luxury of time are over for me for a while...
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Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive... Sad

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jamesnau



Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 520
Location: NC State University

PostPosted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 8:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Enis,

Understood. With plenty of compressed air, I think you could get it done in a day. I took as long as I did because I had the luxury of a spare vehicle for Julie (her sister's Ford Explorer). I really do think that reconditioning your own half axles is better than any reman.

Jim
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dale



Joined: 22 Aug 1999
Posts: 3087
Location: Seattle, WA USA

PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 12:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

re: rear axles boots, I'd just swap out the entire axle assembly for a rebuilt one. you can get them for around $50-$70 / side, and it makes the job a lot simpler.

Dale
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