Greydog

Morning Craig I just checked and it seems BMW don't actually list a spring for your car (I guess they would try and sell a complete strut assembly) I believe the OEM springs are rising rate type matched to the shocks. Many After market springs are rated by use e.g.Road, Sport, Race, your mechanic has probably fitted them correctly just the rate is high possibly combined with stiff shocks gives a harsh ride. The answer probably isn't what you want to hear but sourcing a matched set of Coil Over adjustable struts or Rising rate springs will be the only way to get a comfier ride Dave

Hi Craig Welcome to the Forum A question, are the springs OEM or after market. I have read that after market springs can be very hard Second were the struts rebuilt correctly new spring mounts etc Dave

Morning Karl 11v is a dead or dying battery, if you drove to Somerset it should charge the battery OK the issue is the Battery doesn't seem to be holding the charge. My bet would be duff cell in the battery. The battery inmy E53 4.6is died suddenly 3 years ago the date stamp said it was the original battery (2003) 18 years old The replacement from ECP came with a 5 year warranty but had to be replaced (under Warranty) last year. (Touches wood) the battery in the E70 was replaced 5 years ago and is still going strong. So even though the battery change seems recent it could still die on you Dave

Hi Kristian Thanks for the update, to my thinking the fact it seems intermitent would point to a Dry Joint or a cracked/broken wire feed or track on the Ribbon Dave

Afternoon Karl Welcome to the Forum There is a Register of BMW Specialists Google/Siri will help you should be able to locate one not to far away from you. Before spending your hard earned here are a few of things to check (1) Check Battery Voltage at the charging points under the Bonnet engine off, it should be 12.5v anything below that indicates a failing battery which can cause all your issues. (2) Check the Voltage at the Charging Points engine running voltage should be 14.5 + Volts anything lower points to an Alternator/Voltage Regulator issue (3) BMW love multiple earth points the mounting for these can often become corroded check earth continuity or simply undo the mounting bolt clean everything apply electrical contact cleaner and bolt it back Reset all Fault Codes and check to see if any come back Dave

A little additional information BMW do not repair anything a Dealer would simply change the cluster and re-code the new one The DIY engineers out there have put a surprising amount of information online which should help your Auto Electrician Good Luck Dave

Hi Chris First one is pretty straight foward Coding Data, Second = operation/service, Third = Energy/Power (guessing here) Fourth= Block Detection (similar to windows), Fifth I think is Protection (may be here you find soft close) Six says what it is (could also be where you find what you need) Seven = Regulation (could also be what you need) Last is Diagnostics or Diagnosis (I wpold check there first in case a reset sots it) Hope that helps, my ISTA/INPA gives all in english so easier to use never looked at tailgate programming Diagnostics should let you know if it is the close sensor or programming Good Luck Dave

Morning Nick Welcome to the Forum Normally it will be one or two sensors that fail as you say, I would go back and test the sensors again. PDC on then ligtly touch each sensor with an ear close you should hear clicking and feel a light vibration. I would have a spare sensor to swap in the event you find a non responsive one (the trick is being able to get at the sensors) If a sensor is swapped and remains unresponsive check the loom from that sensor to the next for continuity. Good Luck Dave

Morning Charlie Welcome to the Forum I would guess either you have trapped the wiring or pulled a plug to the power steering somewhere. The only way is to back track all your work and check. Assuming that you have checked fuses and the power steering motor ? Good Luck Dave

Hi Christopher I have never used a Haynes Manual so can't comment on it's information. I work from BMW ISTA/INPA with it's WIS and TIS plus a few other sources (An old neighbour is senior management level in BMW) My Diagnostic Program using your Vin tells me your car is a BMW E34 Saloon 525i RH Drive Auto M20 Engine Manufacter Year 1989 Nov Now the fun part your Model used capacitors not batteries apparently (top right of the cluster I am told) they can be replaced and no recoding to avoid a Tamper dot by the miles recorded. First check is does your cluster have a Grey back if so it should be straight forward (I am told, never done it myself) Apparently the same cluster was used in the 7 series and can be swapped but then you will either need to move the coded plug (Brown Cable) needs swapping or re-code the cluster If the back is Black or another colour replacement is the way to go I don't know if this helps or not Dave

Morning Bruce Welcome to the Forum and Happy New Year You need a Scan using a good BMW capable diagnostic system. Your issue could be Crankshaft or Camshaft sensor related or High Pressure fuel pump/sensor related. If you have continuity on the Injector loom then it should be OK. I have seen two that had single injector issues due to frayed brokn wires (badly fitted loom) but cars still ran fine apart from a misfire and lack of power. Both were fixed with a new loom from BMW Hope this helps Dave

Morning Gary Happy New Year and Welcome to the Forum A friend of one of our sons had exactly the same issue (2020 model) he contacted his Dealer who told him No can't be done a second Dealer also said Factory Fit only. He found a company online who fitted one for him and it works really well,(I just text him for details) The company is www.autologics.co.uk he said cost was £600 all in. I have no experience of them but he is a happy bunny 😁 Hope this helps good luck Dave P.S. My daughter says you don't need a camera you have acoustic sensors backed up by a THUD when to close

Morning Christopher Information for your Auto Electrician According to BMW the batteries are soldered to the Instrument cluster PCB As I recall Kristians fault was more power overload and we dont know if he was able to cure it Happy New Dave

Best wishes and here is hoping you all have prosperous 2025

Morning Steve Welcome to the Forum From what I read BMW are not the only manufacturer who have extended and erratic Delivery schedules apparently due to componenet supply. Maybe write to the Supplying Dealer and tell them if they cannot give a sensible delivery date that you will cancel and go elsewhere (Merc/ Audi) bit of a Bluff but it may focus their attention. Just my thoughts Hope the New Year brings good news Dave

How about a Computer/Mobile Phone repairer ? I would also try and source a replacement cluster from a BMW Recycler if one can be found it will need registering to the car as BMW record mileage in two places one of them being the cluster. Dave

Yay Darren Have a Happy Christmas Is Santa bringing you a new socket set 🤣 Dave

Morning Kristian Welcome and Seasons Greetings If you repaired the fault by changing the board and the fault has repeated then my thinking is the fault is with the power feed to the instrument panel overloading it,could be Junction box related or Footwell control module related. A diagnostic scan is needed to try and track it down Dave

Morning David Seasons greetings Personally I would find out why the wheels are for sale if the seller will tell you, have they been damaged and repaired/welded at all. If they are good and correct for your car and the price is OK then why not, I had the type 87 wheels on my 4.6is refurbished I brought a set of type 87 wheels in taty condition from ebay to use while mune were refurbished. Your choice is then when your refurbed wheels are back sell on the spare set or as I did tidy them up and put winter tyres on. Though after the last few years here in the sunny south we have hardly had a Frost let alone snow mine have only seen use when we visit friends in Europe Dave

Hi Carl Normally a wheel bearing can be heard louder when under load left or right turns. So left side should be louder on a roundabout If it is under acceleration load it could be Diff related, have you checked it for leaks and maybe top it up to see if that helps. If the diff leaks then a top up will only be a temporary fix though Dave

Morning John Welcome to the Forum The cause could be an issue with your phone, though I think as you are having the issue with two seperate phones that can be ruled out (it will be a Dealers first comment) There could be an issue with the cars Diversity/Bluetooth antenna or even the CiC/NBT media system As the car is less than a year old what is the Dealer doing to sort it ? Have a Great Christmas Dave

Morning Carl Welcome to the Forum Without hearing/feeling the noise we are all guessing in the dark First stop for me would be check the Wheel and Tyre, then the Wheel Bearing and Carrier, then the Drive shaft The fun part is if your doing one side don't forget the other side if your in there changing major parts I would buy a rebuild kit and do the rear suspension as well Have a great Christmas Dave

Yay just the pipes to replace now 🤣 Have a Great Christmas Stu Dave

Morning Andrew BMW ISTA/INPA is a program I have loaded onto an old Windows laptop I brought it probably 6 to 8 years ago as an upgrade to the copy of INPA I already owned as an aside the same Laptop has copies of several Diagnostics Mercedes Star Volvo I also have a copy of BMW 1.4.0 on there If you are mounting it on a Laptop I would go for ISTA/INPA cost should be around £100 when buying go for a good supplier offering back up (as always cheapest isnt always best) Your E61 will have around 100 Control ECU's and Sensors ISTA will find and read them all or show them as a Greyed out box. These can be ivestigated and fixed as the program includes Wiring Diagrams Workshop Information with Pictures and Diagrams which obviously are a great help My neibour brought iCarsoft for BMW which has free upgrades (he tells me) I have looked at it and it seems very good but lacks the WIS obviously again a one off cost BMW themselves started to block access to their Technical Information website now subscription only in 2019 they also did the same for their parts website but for cars up to 2019 it is still a great tool. Hope this helps not hinders Dave

Morning Andrew That sounds like a good deal getting the tyres set up The best is BMW ISTA/INPA this will give full dealer access and also includes WIS (Workshop Information) TIS (Technical Information) Wiring Diagrams plus allowing registration of parts and programming I still see copies available for around £100 to £150 there is also stand alone systems like Foxwell, Autologic and iCarsoft Good Luck Happy Christmas Dave