Hey Javier, Bill R. and Ryan. I think the

[KeithW '91 535i]

electrical nightmare is finally over. It is my '91 535i. Symptoms- Collectively intermittant power windows,sunroof,locks. Wipers only work on high. Interior lights don't come on when doors open. They work when switch is in other postion only. All intermittant, but fail a lot more than they work. Changed the fuseable link and all fuses under rear seat, apply Stabilant 22a to the connections and reassemble. No change. Changed the Relay Module with a good donor. No Change. Disconnect neg cable on battery, pull both Relay and General Modules, the 2 orange relays, and the 1 gray relay. The orange and gray relays have a tarnished/burned brass appearance on the spade connectors. No sign of electrical arcing, just discolored and look kind of burned. I clean them like a shiny nickel. Next. Apply Stabilant 22a liberally to all module pins and their sockets as well as the 3 relays and their sockets using a modeling paint brush and reinstall. Next, unbolted the 2 ground straps that attach to the driveshaft tunnel, shine-up the eyelet connectors on the straps and all hardware, apply Stabilant and re-assemble.
Reconnect the battery and so far, the past 8 hours of testing have been perfect. By now, it should have failed for sure. The next few days will tell the tale, but I think I'm done here. Javier and Bill R. , thanks again for the great suggestions that brought me to this point. Ryan, you have the same symptoms, so hope this fixes you, too.

Keith in AZ.
'91 535i 193,400
'89 735il 243,500

[Paul in NZ]

ryan when you do it try working backwards from the earth connections...

[Kalevera]

where'd you pick up Stabilant 22? I've been looking for that stuff for a while...

Best, whit

[Javier]

must challenging battles in electrical maintenance, intermittent failures can become a nightmare.

Hope it stays long, as I've heard miracles about Stabilant 22.

Javier

[Bill R.]

selling it anymore. This bottle is the same size Gordon was selling and you cut it just as stated on the instructions since this is the raw material. The 99% isopropanol isn't that easy to find at drug stores but you can find it.
The mixed up 30ml is enough to last most people a very long time
Or you can buy it at napa ,checkers etc but its about the same price for half as much stabilant since they only sell the 22a version which is already cut, actually its more from them, from partsamerica its 59.99. This link is the best price i've seen it at here. (http://www.micro-tools.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MT&Product_Code=22)









where'd you pick up Stabilant 22? I've been looking for that stuff for a while...

Best, whit

[KeithW '91 535i]

where'd you pick up Stabilant 22? I've been looking for that stuff for a while...

Best, whit
Part Number ZVW 186 001
$40.00 for a 15ml bottle

Keith in AZ.

[ryan roopnarine]

good for you!

i was gearing up to fight this battle today (i bought two $4 multimeters from harbor freight yesterday) but its raining too much out. one of my symptoms seems to be depending on the gm reset, either wipers in high only, or wipers on medium or high, no off. i was thinking it was maybe a dead relay. i cracked them all open to make sure there wasn't a fire hazard in any one of them. i did notice a number of them with a brown/copper corrosion on the terminals. i don't have any stabilant, but do have two cans of aerosol contact cleaner, so hopefully that will do. like i told you in the pm, i felt one of the relays down there getting much warmer than the others, hopefully this is just a matter of cleaning rather than replacement. just curious, what do you mean by driveshaft grounds? i've done a guibo before, disassembly down there and all, and i'm not sure of what you speak.

[KeithW '91 535i]

'tunnel' ground mounts, these are under the rear seat and attach to the hump under the seat. Know what I mean?

Just went to Ace Hardware and bought a set of modeling files to clean the sockets out. They are very fine grade, so I can carefully, safely clean out, then hit it with Radio Shack contact cleaner to rinse and further clean, then compressed air to dry (Making sure I have eye protection on at all times!). I know I am on the right track here as I had some success without first cleaning contacts. I will post my results later. In prayer for now....
Keith in AZ.