SOLVED! - It's full on dip

[oldgitdave]

I can't help with those fault codes, way beyond my knowledge. Having said that I'd try & clear them all as some may be old ones & then see what comes back. You also said your battery measured at 12.7V, which looks good assuming that was with the engine off? You should be getting around the 14V mark with the engine running. I know it sounds strange but I changed my battery chasing my LCM fault & everything worked fine for a couple of weeks & I thought I'd cracked it, but no! Honestly these old BMW's are so sensitive to slight voltage drops it would seem.
Perhaps once you've cleared the old codes you could open a new thread with the codes you still have & one of the experts on here will pick it up.
I hope you get it sorted soon Robert.

 

[Roberltd2]

Thanks Dave, I was wondering about clearing the codes so yes, I'll give that a try. Didn't measure the voltage with the engine running, only when the leads were disconnected. I've also bought an inicator / full / dip stalk on ebay so that should be with me by the time mechanic returns from his hols assuming I won't have had time to try fitting it myself before then if it's easy enough to do.

 

[Roberltd2]

The full / dip switch lever assembly finally arrived on yesterday (Tuesday) morning - it was supposed to have arrived last Tuesday but - whatever....
I went to see my mechanic this morning who said that the earliest he could fit me in would be next Monday meaning another five days of daylight driving only, and having to resort to taxis for evening shifts. So I went back to work, thought "it can't be that difficult, just a couple of screws and a block connnector" and fortified with that flimsy bit of reasoning I booked the afternoon off in order to attempt the task.
Having got the steering wheel cowling off (top and bottom) it soon became apparent that the old switch assembly could not be removed unless the steering wheel was removed first. This I managed to do by following a very good guide on this forum written by BlackSaphireZ a few years ago: https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1484
By now I was well past the point of no return:

The only sticky moment was when I took the old switch assembly into the house to exchange with the new (s/h) one, and having one in each hand, could not remember which was which. Idiot.
Anyway, after three hours everything was back as it should be.
If I'd have known that the steering wheel had to come off I probably would not have attempted it, but I feel as if I've accomplished something now and gained another bit of understanding of the car which I otherwise would not have had.
Thanks to the forum yet again and especially Oldgitdave for his encouragement.
Cheers,
Robert.

 

[oldgitdave]

Brilliant new Robert, I'm glad you've got it sorted & well done for doing it yourself .
All the best, Dave

 

[Zulu4]

Well done Buddy.