Can somebody see a connection?

[tanontan]

Hi guys. My name is Kevin. I have a 93 525i 5spd (125k) for about a year now and it has had a rough winter here in NYC.

The clutch failed me about 10 days ago (ihad felt the throwout bearing going sour for about 2 weeks before) at my local gas station. I had to replace the clutch & flywheel ($600 in labor vs $1300 at bmw). I got the car back, felt fine but the SRS light kept blinking at start and staying on. Obviously, the mechanic told me it had nothing to do with the clutch job..why would he take the blame.
The next day, I replace the valve cover manifold as well as all the spark plugs like planned. Car runs better and doesn't smell like burned oil every time I put the heater on.
The next day the passenger door doesn't lock/unlock with the others.. I'm definitly sensing an electrical problem now.
The next day the car won't start, I had like 2 seconds of juice and then nothing.. no chime when you open the door, no radio, no central locking. The car wouldn't jump start, I tried with 2 booster boxes and another car, it doesn't even get the open door chime..nada. I checked the front fuse box, the fuse after the battery..looks fine. The battery did have some weird grimey/sandy stuff on it (leak?) yet when I put my circuit tester to it, it showed plenty of life??
Is it possible that the mechanics unplugged something underneath the car and left an open circuit (that would explain why the srs circuit was acting up and why the battery slowly drained?)

[tanontan]

Also, when I did the valve cover job, I didn't disconnect the battery. Could I have a blown a fuse?

[Jeron]

I would start searching for damaged wiring and of course check for blown fuses.

[tanontan]

I'm not sure where to start. There's a fuse box under the hood.. check. There's a fuse box under the seat.. not checked and there's supposedly a fuse after the battery and one or two under the car somewhere..
My car is surrounded with hard snow/ice making any checking/jacking a painful mission.
Can some bmw electrical wiz kid give me pointers on where he would start.. a check by check a-z system that would narrow my pb down. It's a 93 525i 5spd.
Thanks. I've put so much effort in this car and am really wondering where this bmw reliability is that people are talking about.

[Jeron]

Good luck with the whizkid step by step idea...

The BMW reliability is mostly that the engines mechanicals are solid.

If the battery looks bad or is 3 years old I'd buy a new one so you can eliminate that. Then check the fuses and tap on all of the relays with a small object.

If non of that works I'd have it towed because you aren't gonna want to do anything more if the car is surrounded by snow.

I know you tried jumping it but if the battery is completely bad then jumping might not work. Pray it's the battery.

[tanontan]

It was the battery. I changed it and she fired right up. Put a smile on my face.
I still have that problem with the blinking srs and the passenger door lock. If I operate the passenger lock, all locks are synchronized. If I operate the driver lock, all but the passenger lock works?? Fuse maybe? Any idea which one.
This bimmer is a work in progress. Once all the important issues are taking care of, she's getting a suspension job (parts have been in living room for over a month now). Bistein sp shocks, eibach pro-kit, sway links and I've been told I needed tie rods. Can I only change the end ones or should I do them all (I rather not $$). Super tight budget, a lot of tools and good karma .

[Jeron]

When you press the lock/unlock on the console does the passenger door operate?

If you are gonna take apart the suspension and put in perf parts you should go ahead and replace all the bushings and the control arms. Its a big list but most of the parts are cheap. Just putting in new oem suspension parts would be a big improvement in a '93.

Assuming your suspension is the same as the 3-series this is what you need:
RSM
RTAB
FCAB
Control Arms
Tie Rod ends

Plus:
Engine mounts
tranny mounts
exhaust hangers

Might as well R&R the driveshaft:
guibo/flex disk
center support bearing

Maybe:
rear control arms or at least the bushings

Ok I went a little overboard but put it all on a list and try to do it in groups. Good thing you have a lot of tools.

[tanontan]

I don't have a lock/unlock button on the console.

The passenger door unlocks in synchronization with the other doors only when opened from the passenger door and vice versa to close.

What could be triggering the srs light? It flashes for a good minute when I start the car on and then it just stays on.

For the suspension, I'll crawl under and see what looks solid and what needs new life as far as bushings & mounts.
You mentionned engine & transmission mounts. Is that a pain to do? Will it make a big difference?
What do you know about gears synchros. My second gear doesn't catch when the car is cold and when warmed up shifts fine when you take it easy but might not catch if you're too quick (sporty driving). Is this a major job? major bucks? or can it be done or improved with patience(short shift kit or synchros or shift bushings..). I already put mobil1 synthetic gear oil. It helped a little but not enough.

[Jeron]

How do you lock and unlock the car from the interior? My guess is the actuator is bad. If so then it will only work with the key or the interior handle, but not from other doors or power buttons.

I fit it was an E36 this would be my advice on the SRS light: You need an SRS reset tool from Peake which will tell you if it is, the passenger detection mat, seatbelt latch sensor or the seatbelt tensioner.

The engine and tranny mounts you might not notice unless you drive it hard. The engine mount is somewhat hard the tranny should be easy.

It looks like you have a Getrag S5D 250G tranny and it uses ATF. Which fluid did you use? I use Royal Purple Syncromax in my ATF spec'd manual tranny.

[tanontan]

Actually, I think I blew a fuse, probably before or when the battery died.
Yesterday, it was raining, and I realized the passenger side windshield wiper wasn't working and remembered hearing a similiar story in another bmw forum where part of the guys right side of the car stopped working and he replaced a fuse and the pb was fixed. I'm gonna check that forum again and see if I locate the thread. If I remember correctly. he gave the fuse # and amperage.
As for the gear oil, it's mobil 1 Synthetic, they only have one - not the cheapest ($17+ a quart) but supposedly the best oil out there. Honnestly, haven't felt much difference - even with the new clutch/flywheel, the gears still feel the same.
Does anyone have any idea how much it would cost to replace the gear synchros?

[Jeron]

You keep calling it "gear oil". Mobil one makes more then one type of gear oil and both are hypoid gear oils. So neither is good for your tranny.

Mobil 1 only makes 1 Synthetic ATF. Is that what you used?

[tanontan]

I think so. Is that bad? What's a hypoid gear oil?

[tanontan]

And what's the best type of tranny oil for my bimmer? I have a funny feeling I'm going to have to change it real soon.

[Jeron]

A hypoid gear is what u have in your diff. Some diff/tranny combo units use hypoid oil, like Porsche.

If I was correct above and you have a Getrag S5D 250G tranny and it uses ATF, then I would use Royal Purple Syncromax which is ATF viscosity and designed for manual trannys with syncros.

Any ATF will work, I used RP MaxATF before I realized they had the more specific Syncromax and the MaxATF worked fine. I've also run Walmart ATF for a short while.

[tanontan]

Thankyou, will change asap. I did notice the tranny feel more restricted. I thought that was due to the clutch not being fully broken in. I'll let you know how it feels.

[tanontan]

You're the man Jeron. I changed the tranny fluid for the Royal Purple Syncromax today. Wow. What a difference. Car felt almost brand new. Real smooth and responded great. Thanks for the heads up.

On another note, for some weird reason, all my door locks started working normaly today. They opened and closed together, the passenger door responded again. But my passenger side windsheild wiper still didn't work. After taking a look at it, I noticed that it had a dent in it like if the hood came crashing down on it (which is highly probable cause my hood shocks are more than dead) and it seemed jammed under thr hood.. like it had no margin to move?? Will take a closer look at it soon. Any ideas would help.
Can I post pics on this forum? Show you guys the evolution.

[Jeron]

I'm glad the tranny fluid worked for you. It was a safe bet because you had classic symptoms of improper fluid.

You should be able to post pics. You might want to resize them.