Greydog

Morning Roger A bit confused about your checking system here If I have read and understand it, you disconnected battery (one terminal) then placed a test lamp between the terminal and the battery. Effectively completing the circuit and reconnecting the battery? Then began pulling fuses I guess waiting for the test lamp to go out? My guess is your battery is discharged not fully charged and will need recharging when recharging make sure you do it from the charge points under the bonnet to avoid damaging components or remove the battery for charging. A healthy battery should show 12.8v minimum engine off 14.2 to 14.5v engine running. Are you sure it isn't a battery fault, how old is the battery? I may be teaching Granny here but. To test for a drain by pulling fuses first connect an ammeter (I prefer the clamp type) open the bonnet, passenger door and boot then let the car go to sleep (takes 15 min about) check the ammeter a very small drain Milly amps is needed to maintain memory for components. If the reading is in full amps start pulling fuses and if required relays until you find the offending circuit. I have had to work through the boot fuses and relays then stop and recharge the battery. Then start the process again for the cabin fuses then repeat for the Engine bay fuses and relays. Don't forget to check the Earth Points BMW like earth triggered switching so check resistance at each point. Took me a full day on a neighbours 7 series finally traced to the FCM which needed changing. Good Luck Dave

Morning Terence Welcome to the Forum When checking the brakes did you check the handbrake shoes ? Other things to check, I have seen brake back plates rubbing and heat shields rubbing so check they are secure Check there is nothing touching the drive shafts and prop, if it is still there wheel bearings and Diff need checking Hope this helps Dave

Morning Angus Welcome to the Forum Now you can spend a few hours getting your head around all the clever stuff then if your like me it will be, Climate Control 20deg all year round Radio 2, 4, 5 CD/Aux input, rarely used Bluetooth Phone Connection 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I guess it's like super fast Broadband with speeds that 90% of us don't need ENJOY Dave

Great information rissa Welcome to the Forum Dave

Morning Ole Welcome to the Forum Lovely classic BMW always willing to help if we can Dave

Morning Joseph I use a section of bicycle brake cable outer which is easy to feed through tight spaces then tape the cable to it and pull it through, some times this has to be repeated in sections to get where you want to be. As that looks like a charging lead, personally i would have taken a fused spur from a 5 amp fuse in the fuse box that may have been easier and a shorter route. Dave

Morning Mallory Welcome to the Forum As both cars are the same colour the interior becomes personal choice (as it was when the car was new) You say both cars have covered similar mileages I would be making sure that the service history's were spot on and that all accessories fitted worked as intended You obviously like cleaning your car so Black is the perfect colour for a man with a polishing kit 🤣 What ever you choose enjoy Dave

Morning Tino You have one of the "Hunt the Relay models 😅 From memory the Fuel Pump relay on most of the E39's I have seen was in the Boot righthand side position 2 if the old grey matter is working My X5 E53 4.6is had a host of niggly issues that turned out to be Earth related so work through all the earth points. Good Luck Dave

Pictures Joseph please

Hi Paul The plastic bits in the engine bay have caught out MB, BMW, VW/Audi what seemed the answer to a prayer being light and easy to produce they all went helter skelter fitting plastics. Inlet Manifolds, Water Pipes, Filter Housings, and worse Timing Chain guides all of which are a cause of trouble but for the owner not the Manufacturer as these parts tend to give trouble long after their Warranty responsibility is over allowing them to wash their hands Nice piece of information Dave

Hi Constantino Welcome to the Forum Check the water drains under the bonnet against the firewall if they get blocked they are a source of water getting in Make sure you check the Fuel Pump Relay while your in there The rest you have pretty much got covered by your post, the only addition would be a copy of BMW 1.4.0 about £20 put it on an old laptop it will give dealer level diagnostics and programming (once the OBD port is awake) also if you aren't already aware www.realoem.com is an online parts list put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will bring up your model very useful to ensure parts are correct. Good Luck Dave

Hi Nick Welcome to the Forum You can check on one of the BMW Vin Decoder sites to get the build sheet for your car then you will have the answer. If it was included on the build sheet then try the supplying Dealer and ask why it was missing 😁 if it is an BMW AUC car it should be complete and should have been checked. The rear seat I believe there is a "Load Through" option, quite what would be involved in a retro fit I am not sure. You could check www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box and it will call up your model then search the seat section. It will give some clues I am sure Enjoy your New Beemer Dave

Morning Sharon Welcome to the Forum I have read a few instances of sunroof's exploding in X5's both here and in the USA google is your friend if BMW try the old "never heard of it before" As for your mouse issue the dealer ought to sort that without to much of a problem I would have thought. Replace the damaged section of loom (high in labour due to all the stripping out especially if it was inside the car.) If there are still issues there may still be some chewed loom in there somewhere. Rodent damage is hard to pin on BMW Recalls are a fact of modern car ownership with all brands as Manufacturers have a duty of care and nine out of ten times are a safety check rather than a failure. Hope they sort it for you soon Dave

Morning Christian Welcome to the Forum A BMW Dealership will have high hourly rates (around £200 per/hr) so any work carried out at a BMW workshop will seem expensive. If your not capable of DIY then you need a good local Independent Garage to help but remember they to will have an hourly labour rate so running a car today is not cheap. Now your problems, I see your car is 2013 when was the battery last checked if it is original it's 10 years old and may well need changing. It certainly needs testing and maybe charging, low battery voltages can and do throw all sorts of issues and false faults. Here again if your not able to DIY then you will need help from a mechanic make sure any replacement battery is correct for your car and after fitting registered to your chassis. If charging only use the charge points under the bonnet never charge or jump start from the battery direct as you risk damaging several control units. The GPS may be unrelated and will need a diagnostic session. Good luck Dave

Morning Gemma Welcome to the Forum The lights and interior lights are seperate to the engine work that was carried out so shouldn't have been affected. However headlights first, check all connections and plugs plus the earth points. Next check all fuses connected with the lights carefully. If the issue is still there a diagnostic session is the way forward. What have the garage said ? Dave

Morning Michael Welcome to the Forum The Fault Codes you have posted are Generic codes a scan with a BMW ISTA/INPA or a BMW capable scan tool would give more accurate information. Has any work been carried out on the car if so what and carefully re-check the work If not remember that some fault codes are symptoms rather than than the actual fault So here goes P3200 all essential control units are linked to the ECU by the data bus (a twisted pair of wires) I have seen this fault caused by a faulty fan clutch. Also check for any air leaks around the manifold P320d Linked by the Bus System this indicates an ignition or engine speed fault P3213 Again data related this relates to the EGS unit the Data Bus controller or broken Can Bus wires P3216 Instrument Cluster issue, could be self diagnostics (Bus again) If the bus system is all good check and test the fan and solenoids. If they are OK that leaves the EGS or Instrument Cluster Both can be repaired or replaced (repair is best to avoid coding) Hope this helps Dave

Hi Simon Any model with the B46D engine should give a comparison so remember it doesn't have to be only Z4's Dave

Hmnnn if it is that link that rattles I would be tempted to fit a fibre washer to reduce any slack. A fibre washer would deal with the heat and if it's replaced at each service it's cheap If it works copywrite it and charge BMW for the rights to use it 🤣 Dave

Morning Greg Welcome to the Forum Google ZF Specialists in your area that is what you need. The gearbox should be serviced every 60 to 100k depending on use and sadly they rarely are. I have heard good reports about Solent Gearbox's in Southampton though not used them myself Good Luck Dave

If they brought the ECU from BMW then surely it should have been ready programmed for your car/chassis. The issue may well be all the other control modules that need to communicate with the ECU over the Bus system If they have had to programme the ECU from scratch ??? I don't know as I have never done it, I have replaced individual control modules for friends and family that in a couple of instances BMW Dealers said "can't be done" again my interpretation was "we really don't want to do that" The time they are taking I would suspect they are not on it all the time so as said if there is an action required and no response the upload times out and they ahave to start again. Good Luck Dave

Morning Markus Sorry that isn't a code it is only the cars display warning. To begin with have the fuses been checked? Check the fuses if they are OK then you need a proper diagnostic session to identify the problem. I have seen 1 failed trailer control unit and 2 failed gears in the folding motors (one on my own X5) All 3 I was able to fix by sourcing replacement a replacement control unit, and stripping and rebuilding the folding motors. Dave

Morning Rick Not sure what equipment they are using but I do know that downloading and then uploading to the car for even some of the more basic programs can take a few hours. So my guess would be they start an upload and then do other stuff, then check on progress if the program required an action obviously everything stops until the action is taken. As a garage they clearly have to schedule the downloads around other work to ensure the best use of time. Good Luck sounds like it's almost done Dave

Joseph Check www.realoem.com for the part numbers of the springs so you get the correct ones for your car. As Stu has pointed out if your in there you may as well change the Shocks as well. Front spring and shocks are a Macpherson strut assembly so changed as a unit. Before spending your hard earned cash Google the standard ride height for your car and measure against your car. It would be a shame to buy new springs and shocks and find no change. Dave

Morning Simon Welcome to the Forum That definitely doesn't sound right to me Turbo's are manufactured to such high tolerances that any vibration or noises are a no no. I have owned many Turbo charged cars and none have had rattling turbos. If the turbo is sound it must be a heat shield or something else in that area, or possibly a manifold or exhaust leak could sound like a rattle. My interpretation of "it's within tolerance" would be "we don't have a clue" I would ask them to show me another one with the same noise. I hope you get some positive feed back have you talked to BMW UK ? Good Luck Dave

e36z3_98_US.pdfe36z3_98_US.pdfe36z3_98_US.pdfe36z3_98_US.pdfMorning Dave Is this any use