[SOLVED] HELP! Major (?) Electrical Issue / Gremlin - I've no idea!!

[IAmOrion]

2003 Z4 E85 3.0i

So my car has been fine with the occasional use for years, I use a Noco Genius 10 Maintenance charger thing to keep the battery in shape and never had an issue in the last 2+ years.

Went to use the car today and whilst it started perfectly fine and the remote worked as expected, I immediately noticed some weird stuff going on!! Firstly, the instrument cluster is dead, does nothing, no lights etc. I checked all Instrument cluster fuses and they are all perfectly fine, I also tested the cluster pins and power at least is indeed getting there as expected. No, when I turned the ignition ON, the hazards come on, or rather, both side indicators flash even though the hazard switch is OFF. When I turn the ignition OFF, the FRONT RIGHT (Drivers Side) indicator is on permanently/solid (not flashing!), but no other indicator light is on. The side roundel is OFF, and the rear is OFF, it's ONLY the front drivers side indicator that remains on. If I turn ignition back on, the hazards start up again. Tried toggling the hazard switch but makes no difference other than the switch triangle hazard symbol flashing as expected when the switch is on and stops when switch is off, but the indicators themselves all still flash. Again vehicle starts and runs fine.

I then tried a few diagnostic tools -- Carly, Creator C310+, ISTA/D, XDiag Pro, basically all had the same issue -- no comms with almost everything. Almost everything gets listed as "Not Equipped". Only 3/4 modules return anything, but I'm feeling that the issues it flags are most likely due to whatever this issue is! I'm guessing it's something CAN-BUS / K-Bus related...

I've tried swapping with a new battery but made no difference, I've also removed battery for 30mins, then fitted a new one, made no difference.

Does ANYONE have any ideas?

Many thanks in advance

[bigwinn]

I was just reading this-

Mate if it’s got you foxed there is no hope for the rest of us!!!

Sorry for your issues

As a complete guess maybe your dme is having issues preventing comms to the other modules- but I’m just fishing

I have a spare if you want to try it

[enuff_zed]

I initially thought the same, and well you have to start somewhere.
However, with my recent DME issues the other modules all worked fine.

Just one random thought................... for some reason, when we hooked my car up to a charger Stuart's INPA etc. couldn't see anything any more. As soon as we took the charger off it all worked fine. I am strictly airframes/engines, no electronic clue whatsoever, but I'm hoping that may be a clue for you. Possibly some sort of charging/voltage issue that is preventing things from talking to each other.

Looking at your list of issues, it seems the DME issue is that it cannot get a signal from the instrument cluster rather than a DME fault.
The worrying ones are the 'incorrect VIN' and the 'vehicle allocation incorrect'. Seems like the vehicle has forgotten who it is.
But without access to the modules you can't see which one is causing the problem.
I'd guess it is one component that's developed Alzheimer's and is confusing all the others.

I only have meagre spares, but if I have any electronic bits that you want to try out then by all means give me a shout and you can borrow them.
I have an instrument cluster too, but it's off a 4-pot. No idea if that would make any difference, but you're welcome to try slaving it in if it helps?

[jock156]

As BW says, if you ain’t got a clue James then god help us all!

[IAmOrion]

Thank you all - I have 2 diff clusters I can test next week that've been kicking around since I was messing with some Clock LED project like a year ago.

I'm literally due to move house this weekend, so currently brassic and this could not have come at a worse time!!

My hope is there's a comms fault and as you say, that's confusing everything else. I was thinking something DME related or poss GM5 -- I think both need to be coded to the car although not entirely sure as I've never needed to look into it before.

Once I've got some funds I may well take the spare DME off you bigwinn so I at least have one that I can test with and rule that out.

[IAmOrion]

As BW says, if you ain’t got a clue James then god help us all!

I'm praying at least someone has had this happen to them over the 20 years they've been around ha

[matsmith749]

Check the basics - on a car that's not been used for a while, have you picked up a stowaway?

Mice / squirrels can make camp in the small spaces & apparanetly wiring insulation is very tasty.

Stop laughing, it's worth a check.

[enuff_zed]

Closest I have come is the old 4-pot I'm using as a daily. Had a few damp issues before and twice this year I've had to scrape ice off the inside of the windscreen. On quite a few occasions when it's been really cold the clock and all the recorded MPG, trip meter, etc., have returned to a row of dashes. Since its warmed up there's been no issues.
So here's a wild stab in the dark for you; could it be damp in there somewhere?
Could you try running it for a half hour or so with the heater on absolute furnace setting and see if it dries anything out deep in all the electrickery department?

[IAmOrion]

Check the basics - on a car that's not been used for a while, have you picked up a stowaway?
Mice / squirrels can make camp in the small spaces & apparanetly wiring insulation is very tasty.
Stop laughing, it's worth a check.

Whilst highly unlikely, as our driveway is pretty active with other vehicles and people, I certainly won't rule it out so will try and investigate when I get a chance

Closest I have come is the old 4-pot I'm using as a daily. Had a few damp issues before and twice this year I've had to scrape ice off the inside of the windscreen. On quite a few occasions when it's been really cold the clock and all the recorded MPG, trip meter, etc., have returned to a row of dashes. Since its warmed up there's been no issues.
So here's a wild stab in the dark for you; could it be damp in there somewhere?
Could you try running it for a half hour or so with the heater on absolute furnace setting and see if it dries anything out deep in all the electrickery department?

Worth a try for sure! I might drag a heater in to the car from the house for a few hours so that I'm only re-connecting power (I've currently left it with battery disconnected) once it's dried out. It's a very real possibility damp/water could be the problem since I discovered over winter my roof seal has gone, so also suffered with frozen solid windscreen on the inside as well as you!

[enuff_zed]

Check the basics - on a car that's not been used for a while, have you picked up a stowaway?
Mice / squirrels can make camp in the small spaces & apparanetly wiring insulation is very tasty.
Stop laughing, it's worth a check.

Whilst highly unlikely, as our driveway is pretty active with other vehicles and people, I certainly won't rule it out so will try and investigate when I get a chance

Closest I have come is the old 4-pot I'm using as a daily. Had a few damp issues before and twice this year I've had to scrape ice off the inside of the windscreen. On quite a few occasions when it's been really cold the clock and all the recorded MPG, trip meter, etc., have returned to a row of dashes. Since its warmed up there's been no issues.
So here's a wild stab in the dark for you; could it be damp in there somewhere?
Could you try running it for a half hour or so with the heater on absolute furnace setting and see if it dries anything out deep in all the electrickery department?

Worth a try for sure! I might drag a heater in to the car from the house for a few hours so that I'm only re-connecting power (I've currently left it with battery disconnected) once it's dried out. It's a very real possibility damp/water could be the problem since I discovered over winter my roof seal has gone, so also suffered with frozen solid windscreen on the inside as well as you!

Well we're all grasping at straws for sure, but sometimes you have to rule out the very basic stuff first.
Trouble is, warming it up will make it more attractive to the mice.

[markplant]

Could it be one of the mods that you've done , maybe a part on one of those has failed causing an issue,

[IAmOrion]

Could it be one of the mods that you've done , maybe a part on one of those has failed causing an issue,

Not that I can see -- Over the years of any electrical mods I've done, I've always endeavoured to make them plug and play OR easily reversible. I removed all electrical related mods and tested and the issue still remains. For what it's worth, the last electrical mod I did was months ago and it's been running fine without issue, although I suppose as with any "mod", the instant you apply a mod, you can't rule out that that mod interfered or damaged something unwittingly when it failed despite working perfectly previously (Although so far, all mods I disconnected seem to working correctly)

[Mike6]

Another stab in the dark but have you properly reconnected all the leads to the battery and made sure it is all really tight.

[inkey$]

I know nothing about the electrics or modules of these cars, but do know they can be a proper pain when they reach a certain age and get cold/damp (a bit like me).

Hope you sort it out OP. Do keep us posted on what happens. Much like the DME thread with enuff_zed and bigwinn its good to understand a little more on how these cars can have issues and be solved as they reach middle age.

[IAmOrion]

Another stab in the dark but have you properly reconnected all the leads to the battery and made sure it is all really tight.

Yup, but I will make a note to re-check a 4th time, just to be sure, always worth rechecking with fresh eyes on a new day