X5smw

Be wary of buying a Chinese one.... I have one (it came with the car) and the bottom of the head unit isn’t curved to fit the e53. It is listed as e53 and all 5 series compatible but I think the normal 5 series range use a different figment. The screen is facing too far upward so you can’t really see what’s going on, but it has all the sat nav, mp3, Bluetooth, aux, touch screen and looks fairly standard and would fit well in a standard 5 series, so it’s worth double checking if I’m not mistaken. I’ll try and get some pics when I get home from work. i will change mine at some point, but it plays music, the wife is happy and I have more pressing matters 😂

My x5 has a tracker buried deep in the dash and runs off the permanent live feeding the stereo memory, my Motorhome has one running off the clock permanent live and tucked away in the roof lining.

take it off the stereo Inputs. The stereo has both switched and permanent lives and earth.

When you say it’s been on diagnostics, did you clear the faults? the sensor warning lights maybe still on as the sensor has been unplugged and the warning has been latched, IE will stay on until reset. the one next to it is parking brake on? the middle ones equate to tyre pressure sensor and not sure about the 4x4 one.

Check the wires. You will have a red and a yellow, both +12v. Black will be earth. Check that the feed is present on only the yellow (I believe) with the ignition off and both when ignition is on. Any loose connection on either one will stop the unit. It could explain why the Cd loads, but doesn’t come on.... I may be way off the mark though, but it’s a start.

Wow! Found the pub yet?

Morning Clive. where are you from? I used to live in hextable. 👍🏻

Mine went down by £3! 😂👍🏻

I had an issue with mye46. The seatbelt pretensioner on the passenger side was the culprit. Buy an eBay occupancy bypass plug to test. I use bmw 1.4. Blah.... on a laptop, it’s simple to use and tells you everything you need. It’s all in text too, so no guessing codes etc

I think it was used as a protection for rotor blades when they changed to carbon fibre.... or it could just be a cool name instead of clear thick tape that protects stuff from scratches and stone chips 😂😂

I used to wrap the mountain bikes in helicopter tape, great for stone chips and bouncing off rocks. It’s clear and hard wearing if it’s what you are looking for.

Are you using 2 keys? Is one set up for you and one set up for the other user, so when you unlock the car, it automatically switches?

Sounds more like the immobiliser transponder in the key has gone. The key has a chip inside it that connects to the ignition barrel to turn off the immobiliser. I’m guessing that has failed if the other keys are working fine.

Hi, did the car start up again ok as soon as it cut out? Was it running rough idle?

Hi Ian, welcome to the forum. Cars look great!

Welcome and enjoy the bmw. My first car was a pug 309gti which I turbo’d and heavily modified. Awesome bit of kit... after that I just had BMW’s (and lots of company cars) get ready for a bit of handling differences if you boot it, no torque steer in the rwd cars 😜. The 1 series will keep a smile on your face

Hi Ian. Is the pump belt driven? when you press the air con button, does the solenoid pull the pulley into gear to turn the compressor? Sometimes on the old e46’s the solenoid or the clutch just failed and wouldn’t engage the pump. you should see a pulley that’s not going round with the engine running when the air con is off, when you turn it on, it should spin with the rest of them. that would be my first check.

Sounds like a transponder fault rather than a battery issue. did the car open on the first key with the remote central locking or did you have to physically turn the key in the lock?

Nowt wrong with a 3l petrol..... mines the proper manual version though! 😜 good find, great price! Thanks for the info on key programming greydog. I was wondering if I could get a key cut and reprogrammed using 1.4.0 👍🏻

.... sorry, the tension era issue was on the e46 3 series... 🙄

My first thought would be battery. mine went nuts the other day because the battery was a bit low. also worth getting the car scanned and clear the faults to see if there is an issue with the airbag and not a seatbelt tensioner or something as these sensors sent my e36 crazy for some unknown reason. buy bmw 1.4 .... scanner and software and put it on a laptop, it will solve all sorts of headaches!

They look trick! car looks great. Well done 👍🏻

Sorry for the very late reply. depending on the car model, the later ones need the battery coding to the car so it can monitor levels. I think anything before 2005 is just swap and start the car. battery coding will be part of the installs process at bmw, so costs will be high. google bmw battery coding and see if your model needs it, there are various how to guides if you have the correct software.

The fuel pump is electric and is under the rear seat. when you turn the key you should hear it prime and spin. These usually fail as they are lubricated by the fuel in the tank. When the fuel gets low, the pumps wear.... stupid invention!

Update. got a new battery and changed it. .... reset everything and left the car to charge. reset the throttle and bang! seems to have solved it. BUY THE SCANNING SOFTWARE!! Saved me a fortune. ... also while hunting for the battery, I found a genuine 6cd changer in the boot if anyone wants one? Lol