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non-mechanically inclined female needs advice.....

 
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2006325ic



Joined: 19 Oct 2010
Posts: 4
Location: Germantown, TN

PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:48 pm    Post subject: non-mechanically inclined female needs advice..... Reply with quote

My 06 325ic would not start yesterday. AutoZone checked it and said the alternator was fine but that I needed a new battery. The car started fine with the new battery, got in it at lunch and it almost did not start and the clock that I had reset earlier was back to dashes again along with the mph and mpg readouts, the radio presets were all fine. After work the car started fine, but the radio and readouts were all dashed out again. I noticed a small wire entering from the side near the battery, but it was not plugged into to anything, the guy at AutoZone does not know what it was for. Based on the AZ diagnostic, the battery and alternator charge are both fine. My manual said something about reinitializing the clock, but did not provide any instructions. Any ideas would be very welcome, I hate to take it to the dealer for this since they will charge me at least $750..... Confused Thanks!!
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idanity



Joined: 21 May 2005
Posts: 3097
Location: N.W.U.S.A.

PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

750...ouch.

has anything been done to this car recently, (taken to the shop for anything else)
sounds like a bad ground wire, or similar.

or, maybe you left an interior light on, (which drained the battery).


for a quick reference, go to a dealer (or junk yard if you can find your years car locally) and ask to look under their hoods, and for a similar wire....

these "loose" wires could be for an aftermarket radio, alarm, feature that was removed by a previous owner, unless you the original owner.


got any pix of this wire / color code (black, red, stripes ?)
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2006325ic



Joined: 19 Oct 2010
Posts: 4
Location: Germantown, TN

PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 9:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the reply. The car starts fine now, battery and alternator are OK per Auto Zone test.

The clock, the mph and mpg readouts and the trip meter reset whenever the key is turned off. I took it to the dealer and they wanted $125 to do diagnostics - I hate to pay that when I know it is probably something I can reset/fix if I can just find out what it is.

It has not been in the shop for anything else and I am the original owner. I checked all the fuses that appear as though they may operate the clock and readouts, but they were fine. I made sure the battery connections were tight.

Any ideas would be appreciated? THANKS!!
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2006325ic



Joined: 19 Oct 2010
Posts: 4
Location: Germantown, TN

PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

By the way, re the loose wire. The dealer said that is something used when the car is first shipped or something like that, that it is not the cause of this issue.
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donaldan



Joined: 01 Jul 2001
Posts: 1881
Location: Ft. Myers, FL

PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It could be a rather simple process to reset. Do you have an independent BMW mechanic operating close to you? They may not charge you for a simple diagnostics. They may even reset it for you for nothing. My independent mechanic typically charge nothing for such diagnostics as long as the understanding is you will use their service in case it needs repair.
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PJK



Joined: 14 Feb 2002
Posts: 1829
Location: Shingle Springs, CA

PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:27 am    Post subject: Re: non-mechanically inclined female needs advice..... Reply with quote

Have you had any aftermarket electronics installed? A lot of installers will cut wires with limited understanding of what they are doing.

My Daughter had a Windstar van with an aftermarket alarm. That vehicle was plagued with a discharged battery very often.

All modern cars have some electrical leakage, but sometimes it gets excessive. If you find your battery discharged frequently you should have a good auto electric shop do a leakage test. My e36 has an electrical gremlin which is very intermittant. Several years ago my battery would discharge. While I was trying to islate the problem it cleared up, only to return several years later. I am suspecting the central locking module since during periods of mysterious battery discharging my locking gets a bit wonky.

What I am trying to say is this issue can be hard to find and just throwing new modules at the car can get very spendy. A practical solution can be to keep a float charger on the battery when the car is not in use. I believe that there are solar chargers available for when you are not home.

Phil

2006325ic wrote:
My 06 325ic would not start yesterday. AutoZone checked it and said the alternator was fine but that I needed a new battery. The car started fine with the new battery, got in it at lunch and it almost did not start and the clock that I had reset earlier was back to dashes again along with the mph and mpg readouts, the radio presets were all fine. After work the car started fine, but the radio and readouts were all dashed out again. I noticed a small wire entering from the side near the battery, but it was not plugged into to anything, the guy at AutoZone does not know what it was for. Based on the AZ diagnostic, the battery and alternator charge are both fine. My manual said something about reinitializing the clock, but did not provide any instructions. Any ideas would be very welcome, I hate to take it to the dealer for this since they will charge me at least $750..... Confused Thanks!!
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