Serious Electrical problems with 95' 318

[cwcline]

I am having serious electrical problems with my 95' 318. The passenger side window acts up, but I think that is just the switch in the door that senses when you open the door. The things I can't figure out are why most of the time my control panel lights dont work, unless you hit the side of it, all the gauges go crazy when you turn on the turn signals, and the radio also acts up and does not want to play all the time. I am thinking this all might be a problem with the grounds, but I am unsure where to check.

Any ideas ?

Thanks, Chris

[Rossco]

Yea, it defintely sounds like a grounding fault.
Or possibly a faulty connection on your fuse box.

Sorry, don't know where you should start looking.
Try asking an Auto Electrcian.

Rossco
1996 E36 320i

[TLK]

You need to start looking for the major ground points. On my USA 93 325i, there is a grounding point under the driver's side dash (left side of car). You need to take the covers off, lay on your back with a flashlight and look around. The ground point will look like a vortex of wires all coming together to bolt onto a common point on the frame metal. All wires will have ring terminals on them, so they just slip over a bolt that pokes through a hole in the sheetmetal. The hex bolt that tightens the whole mass down may have come loose in your case.