electrical problems

[ken]

good morning, I am new here today, from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
just imported an E34 525i July 89 sedan auto from Japan, good condition done 92k but even after fitting a new battery and washing all the shipping crud away the windows do not operate, fuse ok, same with wipers and washers and the odometer does not come on. Its 3am here now and I will check the fusible link when it gets light, hoping to find it broken, any help with these problems greatly appreciated.

[Jr ///M5]

Certainly sounds like the fuseable link, it will also take out the power to the sunroof.

We always welcome new subscribers and have a fondness for the likes of the Australian variety. =)

Welcome to the fold, we're glad you're here!

PS......the odometer is a seperate bulb in the gauge cluster. Does your model have an airbag? Right-hand drive I presume?

Again, welcome aboard and good luck with your 5'er....

Jr
'91 ///M5

[ken]

thankyou, at first light I checked the link, sure enough a hair line crack, pushed in slightly and bingo, a few little sparks and we have central locking, windows and wipers yippee.
the odometer needs a bulb? I thought they were all electronic, will check, and yes rhd but no airbag.
ken

[Jr ///M5]

I'm sorry Ken, I misunderstood you to mean that the backlight for the odometer wasn't working.

You really meant that the odometer wasn't working at all.....

Stupid me...

If you haven't heard of the capacitors that lurk in the back of the instrument cluster, now is the time to learn about them. There are several small electrolyte capacitors that store the necessary charge for the inital start up of certain functions of the instrument cluster. You will learn that the E34 is very voltage sensitive, and buying a fresh new battery is one of the best things you could have done. This will weed out any quirks in the electrical system and can help pinpoint other problems without chasing your tail.

Do a search on this site, and others, regarding the capacitors for the E34 model. You should find a ton of information about this problem.

Our own Bill Rickard of this board has an excellent write up and procedure, complete with pictures. If you've got an ounce of soldering skill, then it will be most rewarding to repair a board with $5 worth of capacitors instead of shelling out $800 USD for a new one.

Even if you aren't skilled with a soldering iron, take your information and replacement capacitors to a local electronics shop and tell them what you want replaced. Just want you to know your options here.

There's nothing more fun than learning about another car, and as far as the E34 is concerned, you've come to the right place.

Good luck with it, and enjoy, let us know if you do not find Bill's write up, and someone will make sure you find out the right information.

Jr
'91 ///M5

[ken]

thanks Jr, I will do the capacitor thing, have already read it and am ok with electroncis, just cant spell it.
ken

[ken]

spot on Jr, the globe behind the odometer had blown, borrowed one from nearby, all fixed and looking at 92767km, pretty low for an 89 model.

When I opened my cluster it was quite different from the ones I have seen pics of on the internet, back to front in fact, track side out and with globes poking through to this track side, component side hidden. I will try and post a couple of pics here showing this.

[Jr ///M5]

Good job Ken, you will have a lot of fun with the E34 and this site.

Jr