Hi Tanis8472, sorry, I missed your post. I will give that a try once the rain has stopped.

One thing - does that relay jobby work with the diesel engine, or is it the one for the petrol V8 engine ? I know that the two systems are quite different in the way that they work, and my car is a diesel.

Pierre3.

Hi, thanks for the information. I am pretty sure that I don't have any dodgy battery drain, I fitted Marty's key fob filter two years ago, and I don't think that power is draining off anywhere else. I expect that I won't be driving the car much after August so it will be interesting to see then whether it will last four or five weeks between starts. It would be great if it can !!

Incidentally, in answer to your question on another thread about the bonnet seals - they are available, with difficulty, but they are expensive. The two sides cost £89 or thereabouts plus post. The only reason I bought them is because I feel that my car is in A1+ condition, and I like to try to fit new original, or OEM, parts whenever required.

So small stuff, such as the headlight wipers, the three washer motors, the non-return valves for the washers, anything like that, have all been replaced with new parts over the last 18 months, even small bits like a new clip that joins the sunroof internal soft trim, and holds up the roof panel. That took a lot of finding in Lightstone, but I eventually found one at a dealer in Belgium. Along with the major items, such as servicing etc.

Pierre3.

I thought that it would be of help to update this thread.

I bought a Yuasa YBX3642 Super Heavy Duty battery, from Battery Megastore. It's 925CC and 110A/H, and cost £112 delivered to Edinburgh.

It has made a big difference to starting, but the biggest gain for me is that the car starts after two weeks being left alone. I was very pleased to find that the car burst into life having been left for a fortnight, even though I had locked and unlocked the car six or seven times, and done a few small jobs under the bonnet.

Previously, the battery would have gone flat after about eight days so I am very pleased that the new battery is holding its' charge well. I checked the voltage before starting the car, and after a fortnight of sitting, with the alarm on etc. etc., the voltage was 12.45vdc, which I think is close to a full charge.

I doubt if I will leave the car for much more than two weeks at a time, but I think that the battery may well last quite a while longer. Anyway, a good result as far as I am concerned.

Pierre3.

I got a new seal today, and it has a sticky pad on the largest part of the bottom of it, or so it appears. I haven't actually taken it out of the bag yet !!

Pierre3.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I will go out and check mine. One has fallen into two pieces and I glued it back together, but it looks as if it is held in place by a thin metal strip. I am afraid that if I pull either of them up they will just disintergrate, although I suppose it won't do any harm if they are not in place, at least for a week or two.

Pierre3.

Hi, I wonder if someone can tell me how to remove the two foam rubber seals that are fitted around the bottom of the bonnet struts. They look like they may be held on with adhesive tape, but I can see a piece of metal inside te seal.

The seals on my car have started to fall apart, and I have been able to get two new ones, and I would like to know how to get the old ones off before the new ones arrive.

These are the pieces that I am talking about:

Pierre3.

Very good explanation of how to fit a new regulator.

The only thing that is tricky to remove on my P38 is the inside damp membrane. It isn't plastic, it's the original sort of foam type material, held in with black sealant. It is pretty messy to move, and it can tear very easily. I have had to go inside the drivers side door a few times, to fit a new cable to the inner door release, and to fit a complete new door handle, and a couple of other things.

I am on quite good terms with the inside of my drivers door !!!

Pierre3.

I managed to buy a brand new set of original P38 carpet mats, last year. They were old stock found in a store-room, never used, and still in their original LR packaging. They were not cheap, however, but they are brand new so I didn't mind. A really rare find.

I got a full set of the fasteners from a breaker, not new but in good condition none the less.

One guy I know sent me this:

They do seem pretty difficult to obtain as I think they usually get junked if a car is scrapped.

Pierre3.

Having looked through the i/net and using the query for BMW 2.5 cruise control I came across a webpage that pointed to the Electrical repair section in RAVE. Section B5.

There is a full description of the CC operation, and a Problem Solving schematic. However, I was correct in my suspicion about the system being completely electronic.

Pierre3.

Brian, thanks for your reply. I have a feeling that te CC on the diesel is a purely electronic system. I'm beginning to think that the accelorator peddle gives a signal to the BeCM, which then controls the engine speed. When you press the CC button on the steering wheel the BeCM keeps the engine running at the selected speed. That's my take on it, anyway.

I won't bother trying to fix it, at this stage, but I will just check it again when I am next on a motorway.

Pierre3.

Thanks for your reply, Brian. I had a vague suspicion, while I was looking this issue up, that diesel engines use a different method of CC.

I think that I will just leave it as I can't really find much about sorting it, and, unfortunately, I don't have a Nanocom. It isn't really a big deal, I would have liked it to work, but I am quite able to keep my right foot at the same postion all day, if required !!!

Pierre3.

I like having the A/C in the car, if only to help in quickly reducing the condensation on the windows, but I have an under-active thyroid gland and I get cold very quickly. Consequently, I usually turn off the A/C in winter because with the A/C on the heat temperature does not get a hot as it does when the A/C is turned off.

I also find that with the A/C off, and the fans on full, the car gets warmer much quicker. I was used to working outside, often after perhaps a two or three hour car journey, and if I ran the heating on "Hot" for an hour or so then I would be warm enough to work outside, even in minus temperatures, for the morning. If I was with someone else who didn't want much heat then I would be cold all day ! Consequently, I always avoided having to travel with other people. It is just a hang-over from my truck driving days !!

Pierre3.

I found out, on a trip two weeks ago, that the cruise control is not working on my 2001 P38 DHSE [BMW diesel].

I have read quite a lot of stuff relating to various issues, mostly the pipework leaking air. My question is - where on earth is the solenoid jobby that is possibly located under the bonnet ? This is a UK car, not a USA model.

I looked at a couple of pictures, which I think are of the V8, and they appear to show that it is right behind the EAS compressor box.

Not in my diesel model, it isn't.

So I thought that it could be behind the battery, but no, it isn't there either.

I have the buttons and switches on the dashboard for CC so I am pretty sure that it is fitted.

I looked through Section 19 in Vehicle repair, in RAVE, and although the manual explains how it works it doesn't show any diagrams about where the various modules are. I saw on diagram on a very old post, on another forum somewhere, that pointed to the ECM and the TCM being under the panel above the drivers knee,

But nothing, anywhere that I can find, about where the vacuum thingy is.

Maybe someone can point it out as I would like to check the vacuum pipe, just to see if it is OK.

Pierre3.

Hi Richard. I thought the same thing. I couldn't see it being a temperature sensor after looking up details for the temp sensor. It is completely different.

I thought it odd, as well, that it seems to have been moved a little bit at some time. I couldn't see that you would need to do that if whatever it is was an original factory-fit item. The copper bracket thing looks a bit Heath-Robinson !!

I will have to remove it now that I know about it because the "polis" in Ireland do not take kindly to the fitting of them. One could be fined €500 or more.

Pierre3.

Hi, just a quick question - is this item with the two lenses the outside temperature sensor ? I have only just noticed it !!!!

It is in the lower grille under the front bumper.

Pierre3.

My camera looks down at the tow-bar, and the camera red line is about two feet behind the tow bar. It's very good when you get used to the distances.

The display unit is is 7 inches wide by about 5 inches inches high, and gives good camera resolution.

Pierre3.

I had a ear-view camera fitted a while back. It is screwed to the plastic number plate light unit/tailgate handle panel thingy. The cable is fed through the plastic and run in the cavity in the tailgate frame and then loops into the tailgate door seal at the top of the tailgate.

As I had to re-upholster the roof lining I fed the very thin camera cable along the top of the car roof, tie-wrapped to existing cables along the passenger side of the roof panel but above the panel. The cable comes back down in the passenger side "A" pillar [beside the windscreen] and behind the glove box.

I have a Pioneer AVH-Z7100DAB radio fitted which folds down into a standard radio-sized slot. I could get a double DIN sized display fitted as there would be lots a cutting of the centre column panel, which I didn't want.

Looking at the photograph reminds me that I have to do a small bit of paint repair as there are two black marks either side of the camera.

Pierre3.

Well done guys, I would imagine that all members are very grateful for your work. I, personally, wouldn't know where to start !!! Thanks again.

Pierre3.

I had a mobile air conditioning guy out today, and I know why the AC isn't working - the compressor isn't compressing !!

He put some gas into the system, although there was still some there, and after running the AC and the engine he said that either the clutch is knackered or the compressor is knackered. He said that as the drive belt is still on the car the issue is with the compressor and it would make sense just to buy a replacement compressor.

I have ordered a Hella-made unit from P38Spares. Not as expensive as I thought that it might be, especially as I see that Brit-Car are looking for £970 plus VAT for an original Denso [?] compressor.

I will just have to drive it for the next two weeks with just fresh air doing the cooling [ of which there isn't much].

Pierre3.

By the way, what was the difference between the ordinary P38 DHSE, or the 4.6 petrol P38, and the Ascot ? Why are the battery leads different ?

Pierre3.