Heads up! Solutions to common electrical problems on E36

[Autotechnica]

I've been hanging around Bimmerforums lately and I just solved a huge electrical problem I've been having. Whenever I open my trunk lid while my car was still running I blew a 10amp fuse. All the dash and window switch lights on the driver side would turn off, the right side parking light and rear brake light would also go off. After reading the thread on Bimmerforums, it would seem this is a VERY common problem on older E36's (even as late as 1998 models).

It seems after opening and closing the trunk constantly the wires that lead to the trunk lid rub together and eventually the coating wears off exposing the wires and shorting out the dash lights.

I cut open the wiring casing tonight and what a nightmare. Several people had this exact same problem. If you've been experiencing unexplained electrical problems you should check this out. Also, it wouldn't hurt to rewrap them in electrical tape for preventative maintenance.

Anyways, take a look....

[Autotechnica]

Uh oh!

As you can see one wire completely broke apart. 2 wires were dangling by a thread! The other 2 were exposed but not damaged.

[Autotechnica]

I resolded the weakly connected wires and rewrapped the wires in electrical tape. Put rubber hosing around the damaged parts of the wires and rewrapped it once again in electrical tape. The most important thing is to make sure the wires don't move and rub against each other.

You can purchase the entire harness and just replace it if you wish. The dealer charges $150! for the wire set. It's supposed to be "improved". No doubt BMW knew this was a common problem.

Anyways, good luck!

[-=[[f|L@pJ@cK=]]

lol, i had this same problem about 6months ago.. i couldn't figure out why the hell everytime i would open and close the trunk a fuse would blow.. i then realized that there was a short circuit somewhere.

your wires look good compared to how mine looked.. needless to say i retaped the hell out of mine with electrical tape, and never had the problem again so far (knock on wood).

[Autotechnica]

Originally posted by -=[[f|L@pJ@cK=]
lol, i had this same problem about 6months ago.. i couldn't figure out why the hell everytime i would open and close the trunk a fuse would blow.. i then realized that there was a short circuit somewhere.

your wires look good compared to how mine looked.. needless to say i retaped the hell out of mine with electrical tape, and never had the problem again so far (knock on wood).

Good stuff I must have spent more than $20 just buying replacement fuses. I was hesistant to cut up all the wiring housings just incase the problem wasn't where I thought it would be. But I'm glad I solved this problem. Before I would just avoid opening the trunk altogether unless the car was off. But then you don't always remember.. oops.

I like your wheels

Bry

[-=[[f|L@pJ@cK=]]

Originally posted by Autotechnica
Good stuff I must have spent more than $20 just buying replacement fuses. I was hesistant to cut up all the wiring housings just incase the problem wasn't where I thought it would be. But I'm glad I solved this problem. Before I would just avoid opening the trunk altogether unless the car was off. But then you don't always remember.. oops.

lol i was the same way.. i just stopped opening my trunk altogether, (i was running out of canadian tire money for fuses ).

Originally posted by Autotechnica
I like your wheels

thank you, yours are nice too

[R_JAY]

Same thing happened to me last summer. I had to have Charlie figure it out for me though.

[Furious]

nice find bryan..