Tommo

This is ma Wee Baby as of 3.30 this afternoon. :unsure:

Hi Guys, Not so sure if ma Wee Babys gona be ready for this weekend. This is ma car before it went in. :rolleyes:

Hi there, my first BMW was an old E36 318is on an L plate. I had the very same issues as you are having. It a common fault with E36’s both bonnet and fuel flaps. I ended up buying new a catch for the bonnet and replacing the all the solenoids with regards to the central locking. I currently have a 323 on a P plate same year as yours. When I bought her I knew that she was going to need a little money spent on her. I to have issues with the central locking in the winter it goes all to pot doors that won’t open or lock with the fob. It’s the same again I will just end up replacing it all. As for your boot not opening. Get one of your mates round. Get them to fold the rear seats down and climb inside the boot and push up as you push the lock. Hopefully this will free the lock. Sounds like you have a good car, she will just be needing some tlc. Let us know how you get on? Tommo :)

No problem we are here to help. As with any electrical problem its always logical to start at the beginning. First thing was to check the battery. When I did this the battery was drawing 2.3 amps when the car was not running. It should only be about 0.6 to 0.9 amps. This is for things like your clock and alarm as they continually draw a small amount of power. I put a new battery on it and it was just the same. As you can imagine 2.3 amps is a lot of power (for a car) to be losing while the car is not running. So the next logical step was the alternator. When I replaced the alternator the problem disappeared. It was on its way out. It was still charging the battery when the car was running, however the minute you switched the engine off it would start to draw power back into the alternator. Tommo :)

Hi there. I had the same sort of problem with mine a few months ago where my alarm kept going off for no reason. After a bit of investigation I discovered that it was caused by a faulty Alternator. The alternator was draining power from the battery when the car was not running. Since replacing the alternator I haven’t had a problem. Tommo :)

Your welcome, that’s what we’re here for. Good luck with your search and let us know how you get on? I am going to fully recondition my engine when it’s done around 150K. I know where you’re coming from with regards to the engine being the heart of the car. Tommo :)

Hi there, How are you doing. managed to get hold of a list of phone numbers for you. follow this link Engine Builders . I hope it is of some use to you. Tam... :D

Process Engineer for a cable manufacturing company.

Most of these are pretty straight forward to do if you have a little mechanical experience The ABS rings can be found at the end of the drive shafts. These are found on all four wheels. You will have to remove the wheel to have a look. I have supplied a picture of a split ring for your reference. If they are dirty they may require cleaning with a wire brush. If they are split you may consider putting the car into a garage for repair as they are tricky to get on and off as they require a lot of heat. As for the rest of the work if you just Google the information that you require you will find loads of help. I would also recommend that you buy a Haynes repair manual for your car. They cost about £15 they are well worth the money. Tommo

Hi there and welcome. Your ABS fault could be caused by a few issues. It might be that you have faulty sensor. Another common fault is the ABS system is the ABS rings. These could either be dirty or one of the rings maybe split, if so this would cause the ABS to kick in even with light breaking. As for the heavy steering, check your power steering fluid levels. It may be worthwhile changing the fluid. Your LED display sounds like you may have a bad earth connection somewhere. And finally as for your winter tyres, not worth the time, you will have to inform your insurance company off the change in tyre type (as this would be considered a modification) and I will guarantee you that your premium will increase. Hope that I have been off some help to you. Tommo

if the fob is mot opening the door, I think that you may have a problem with the door lock actuator.

Bigger picture in the gallery under 3 series. will get more up when the snow melts up here, sometime around June me thinks..........