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1994 bmw 740iL electrical problems


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bimmerfan1
New User

Mar 29, 2012, 11:19 PM

Post #1 of 7 (4381 views)
1994 bmw 740iL electrical problems Sign In

Ok. just bought a 1994 BMW 740iL with 179,000 miles on it. found out that it does and runs funny things when parked causing the battery to die, and me to be locked out of the car. so i opened the hood attempting to find my problem and quickly identified the sound of an electric motor or servo runnung and found that my throttle body would kind of open, i.e. i would see the stainless wire be tugged, and then the throttle body would open up, and then close again. also found an annoying buzzing noise to be coming seemingly from the right hand side under the window, could be actuator or window motor, not too big of a problem, but then i also found a similar noise coming from seemingly under the dash close to firewall. checked bosch computers and they weren't the cause of noise on that side. also took out ac and redio and window fuses in hopes of stopping problem. now my battery is fried from all the times it has died. HELP please. anything could be helpful. thanks


nickwarner
Veteran / Moderator
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Mar 30, 2012, 2:47 PM

Post #2 of 7 (4307 views)
Re: 1994 bmw 740iL electrical problems Sign In

Is this car a swimmer?


bimmerfan1
New User

Mar 31, 2012, 4:20 PM

Post #3 of 7 (4279 views)
Re: 1994 bmw 740iL electrical problems Sign In

Mmm haha no dont think so...in fact it seems to have no water damage at all...i'm just tryin to figure out the fuse box and why those certain things seem to not want to turn off...


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Mar 31, 2012, 4:41 PM

Post #4 of 7 (4274 views)
Re: 1994 bmw 740iL electrical problems Sign In

That wasn't meant to be a joke. Your car has all the symptoms of a car with previous water damage. A car can be totally submerged and cleaned up sufficiently that the untrained eye will never spot it.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



nickwarner
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Apr 1, 2012, 6:05 AM

Post #5 of 7 (4259 views)
Re: 1994 bmw 740iL electrical problems Sign In

Exactly. Any decent detailer could mask a flood damaged vehicle and make it look great. But you can't hide the electrical damage. Pull some lower interior panels and get a real good light. Start looking for signs of water, like mud streaks inside panels, green corrosion in connectors and such. If you find this is a swimmer there is no fix for it, thats why they consider them totalled. Dealerships have had entire inventories with only a dozen miles on them wrecked this way. Once its flooded its a parts car. A nice looking parts car, but a parts car nonetheless. If you find this stuff have a licensed shop verify your findings in writing and go have a chat with who sold you the car.


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Apr 1, 2012, 6:22 AM

Post #6 of 7 (4255 views)
Re: 1994 bmw 740iL electrical problems Sign In

I hope this wasn't a "swimmer" as Nick said. Cars where I am are totalled by just that including brand new ones! Chance if so that is might have been fast and very clean water leaving little hidden evidence but could be figured out.

All the electrical items, motors, actuators, relays were NOT designed to be submerged even for a short while,

T



Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Apr 1, 2012, 6:24 AM

Post #7 of 7 (4250 views)
Re: 1994 bmw 740iL electrical problems Sign In

Cars don't swim, so wouldn't that be sinker instead? Cool

First thing is to have your battery inspected and check the terminal connections on the battery. You can also voltage drop the negative and positive cable to check for excessive resistance.

If that is good, your going to have to isolate a component that is wigging out and check its circuit all they way back to it's source to find out what is causing it. If you don't have any electrical skills in using a multimeter, experience of reading track style wiring schematics, or the knowledge of the system your checking, your going to have to take it to someone that does. There is no way for us to build a strategy off the information you provided to assist you in determining the culprit.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.

(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Apr 1, 2012, 6:34 AM)






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