Unusual problem with E39 Touring

[Davy_b]

Car failed the nct last week because of corroded brake lines. So i left it into the garage to have them replaced and on my way home after collecting it i notice that the radio controls on the steering wheel arent working and and the light for the self leveling suspension is on. when i use the indicators they dont light up on the dash and i dont get the ticking noise . Also the blue light for the full beams doesnt come on . On the outside the indicators and headlights are fine but it doesnt say it on the dash . Its a PITA because i could have indicators or full beams on without realiseing it . I also noticed this morning that the clock on the radio is frozen at 7.41 . I plugged out the battery and reconnected it and everything is fine for a while and then it happens again out of nowhere . Has anyone any ideas what it could be ?

[Mackers]

This might sound crazy but I had the same issue in mine, it turned out to be something to do with the webasto heater connections.:surprised: (Strange I know) My mechanic said he had the same problem with his and he ran the diagnostics and it said aux heater fault so he disconnected the heater connections and that fixed it, I did the same and the issue was gone and never returned.

Very random I know but it worked.

EDIT: think it was a bad earth causing the issue

[535d]

was it jump started??

[Davy_b]

was it jump started??

No never

[Davy_b]

hey darran
how do i disconnect the webasto heater ? is there just a fuse i can pull ?

This might sound crazy but I had the same issue in mine, it turned out to be something to do with the webasto heater connections.:surprised: (Strange I know) My mechanic said he had the same problem with his and he ran the diagnostics and it said aux heater fault so he disconnected the heater connections and that fixed it, I did the same and the issue was gone and never returned.

Very random I know but it worked.

EDIT: think it was a bad earth causing the issue

[Mackers]

No pulling then fuse is not enough because that is only killing the power the comms is still live, it's a earth problem that will still be connected.

A small bit of work needed.
Jack her up take the front left/passenger wheel off and loosen the wheel liner at the back of the arch/footwell, the heater is located there. You shouldn't need to take the whole liner out, just enough to get your hand in and disconnect the plugs.
If the fault is fixed then just tape up the plugs and put it back together.

Obviously there is more work needed if you want to replace the heater to keep it working.

[e.salmus]

Hi!

I'm new here.
I had similar issue with my friend BMW e39 530d where diferent car modules were not working correctly. Couldn't connect with central body electronics module and A/C started with delay and front turn signals started to act as corner lights. Also air suspension self level didn't work.

There were more issues but the solution was kinda bizarre.
Overall, problems started when it was raining and lasted for several days after rain. Then after that everything was OK. When faults were present and I scanned car with BMW scan, then I saw K bus fault in instrument cluster.

You don't believe but k bus fault was generated from webasto. Unplug webasto and K bus voltage rised up again and car worked fine. You can't just remove webasto fuse because k bus is still connected and shorted. Additionally you can disconnect webasto k bus from slicer behind glovebox and over central body electronics module to be sure that webasto k bus wire is not shorted to body. This could happen... Ow, by the way, when car was acting fine, then webasto was also working fine.

Best wishes
Edward