1989 535i - advice needed

[carolyn9999]

Hello,

I have an '89 535i BMW. My ex-hubby always took care of mechanical problems and I'd like a little advice.

The headlight (passenger's side) works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. Also, a couple of days ago the messages on the message center quit appearing. First, the words appeared in German, instead of English but now no messages are displayed. And to top it off, my cruise control suddenly quit working!

Anyway, I seem to be having some sort of electrical problem. And I don't want to take the car into the shop for nothing. Plus, I'd like to have a little knowledge of what's going on so I don't get snowed by the mechanic. (Do I sound a little cynical?)

So...any advice would be greatly appreciated. I really like my BMW and want to drive it for many more years, even though it's an '89.

Thanks so much!

Sincerely,
Carolyn

[4-Door Flunky]

Hi, Carolyn-
I've got a 1985 535i. Lots of the electrical problems are caused by old fuses. You can pop the hood and look right at them on the driver's side above the wheel well.
These fuses can LOOK fine and actually be crappy. I bought about 30 of them on eBay for $10 and replaced every last one of them.
The little tabs that hold them in place can lose their resilience, so sometimes the fuse makes contact, and sometimes it doesn't. That's probably what's up with your headlight troubles.
Your cruise control is wired to your computer about 600 other little sensors that also get screwed up by bad fuses. If any one of those inputs quits, the cruise control thows up its hands and pouts.
You should carefully inspect your fusebox and see if there's anything melted around the box itself.
I have no advice about the display...but one electrical problem can cascade through other systems. The good thing is, once you fix that one problem, lots of stuff can clear up magically.
Good luck!
Flunky
PS-I personally recommend buying a Bentley Manual at Amazon.com. Mine cost $43...and it has paid for itself in advice and savings.