Cracked air intake hose

[roseglowjourneys]

The air intake hose is cracked, and temp fixed with duct tape-

could this cause a grinding noise? 
 

could it impact the power steering? 
 

[Greydog]

Morning 

Welcome to the Forum

Simple answer NO you need to check tensioners and pulleys ASAP. Thrown drive belt can cause a lot of damage you don't want

Dave

[roseglowjourneys]

Thank you-I love this car!

Only 55k miles on her-

I’ve never had any problems until now-

When it rains, it pours-

climate control goes off and on intermittently-I pulled the blower fuse to stop hot air blowing at my feet-No warning on check engine-

Break lights stopped working-

Check engine light says “check owners manual”  for “brake light circuit”-warning (it’s done that forever)-there’s  nothing about break light circuit in owners manual-

Vert top is sticking when putting top down-Gets stuck on the boot-Vert top closes perfectly-‘

i “think” it may all be wiring related-

love this forum-

 

Thank you again!

[Greydog]

Morning

Sounds as though you either need the help of a Garage or you're on a steep learning curve 😁

If you are serious about keeping the car, get a copy of BMW 1.4.0 (only about £25) get it loaded on a laptop and then you will be able to run Diagnostics on the car and know what is happening. A Check Engine Light is just that a good reason to get diagnostics run.

Brake lights a common problem is corrosion around the bulb mounting and holder, a good clean and a smear of electrical contact paste often sorts it.

The folding top needs investigation to identify what is sticking and repair it (it won't get better on its own)

Climate control it could be the FSR (Final Stage Resistor) or simply the Air Con needing re-charging 

Did you get the grinding noise sorted ?  and the cracked air hose ?

Dave

[roseglowjourneys]

Thank you for your reply!

the grinding noise was from low power steering fluid-I unfortunately had some guy check my car out-BIG mistake!

he told me I needed a new power steering pump-all it needed was the fluid topped off😵‍💫

the top, yeah, that’s a problem-

might need to replace-

now, all lights work, battery was checked and it’s fine-

however-Now car battery goes dead, and needs a jump-

i was told by same guy, that the voltage alternator is bad-but, all lights work, I’m confused- it “seems” to me, (with limited knowledge), as you pointed out, that this might be wiring in the trunk-

 

i will NEVER sell this car!!!!

 

[Greydog]

OK if the battery is draining there is an issue TIP, if jump starting or charging only ever use the charging points under the bonnet if you connect at the battery, you can cause damage to other components. You can test for yourself with a multi-meter at the charge points under the bonnet. Engine Off you should measure 12.5 to 12.8v (healthy battery) with the Engine running you should see 14.5v + With the engine off and the Muti-meter set on amps check at the charging points and the alternator for any current flow. Alternators do die but very rarely, more often than not the fault is with the Voltage regulator on the back of the alternator. Remember that Garage work on an hourly rate and it is easier/quicker often to change parts at the Customers expense than actually fix them.

If you are a logical person there is very little you won't be able to fix/improve on your car with the help of a Diagnostic program and some basic tools. Not only will you learn about your car and how it works but you will be in position to decide what jobs you may need the help of a Garage with. There is a tremendous amount of information available 

Dave

[X5smw]

Afternoon all. Could it be that the alternator is on its way out? The battery will keep the lights on etc but is it getting recharged? 
my first thought about the grinding noise was alternator bearing or power steering pump, but obviously that was solved! 
can you check the alternator output? 
is the belt ok? The aircon clutch can also an issue causing grinding and dragging, it’s not on the same belt if I remember. 
what car is it?

the older cloth roofs sometimes jumped a tooth on the 3 series and caused sticking. See if one side moves before the other?

 

[roseglowjourneys]

Hi, apologies for delayed reply-family emergency took me away-

Car is 1997 328ic, with 50k miles-Not driven in winter, always garaged, well maintained-sweet drive!

New battery-However-that same guy🤦‍♀️said he did some work on her-no idea what-He was jumping it from the battery, not from under the bonnet-I’ll need to check and see if anything is damaged? I’m jumping it from under the bonnet-lights all still work, inside and out, but the battery isn’t staying charged-It can sit for a day, start right up-then I drive for an hour or 2, and stop, all fine, drive more, then stopped for 5mn, won’t start-all lights still work-

After a lot of research, I think it may be the voltage regulator, and am ordering that part-Of all my research regarding alternator, the symptoms don’t appear to be the same as the alternator being bad-Wondering if it could be a parasitic drain? I’m having a full diagnostic done on her-
Oh, I did find the source of the brake light circuit warning, and know how to address that-

Also found out how to fix the soft top from sticking when putting it down-works perfectly when putting up/closed-Thanks to YouTube-gotta be careful on there too-Some guys tend to be too aggressive, (sorry, personal experience), I can break things myself with enough force-don’t need help with that! 
I’m doing the work myself-I hope!!! Thank you for the reply’s!
WISH ME LUCK! 

You are the best! 
CJS 
 

 

 

 

 

[Greydog]

Morning 

As a precaution et the starter motor checked BMW used Magneti starter motors mid 90's to early 2000;s and there were a number of issues, also check the engine earth straps. 

If the car was jumped from the battery direct it could have caused damage to the LCM (light control module) and or your climate control module. As said earlier if you have an old laptop running Windows 7 or 8 buy a copy of BMW 1.4.0 and load it onto the laptop. It will give Dealer level diagnostics and access for coding/changing stuff it really isn't complicated, and if you need a guy for some of the grubby bits you will at least know more than him about your car 😅 My daughter services her own Horse Lorry only uses the mechanic for specific jobs, it drives him insane that a skinny little girl actually knows more than him 😂 

So Go Girl we are here if you need help

Dave