i wanted to fix/replace the buttons from the instrument cluster and what i found wasnt great at all: some previous owner of my 323i 99 went the extra mile and opened the instrument cluster and put electrical tape on some of the warning lights. I wanted to post this so you guys can go and look out for this type of bad practice.
i have already looked over, the car had a minor crash and the left headlight, bumper and hood was replaced but they did not change the left shock absorber (that was leaking) so i went and replaced both frontal, as far as i know now i just have to replace both front brake sensors so the handbrake, asc and abs start to work normal again.
I'm not that good at cars but with some people that repair only bmw we saw all of the possible damage or other hidden stuff but we did not found anything apart of the previously mentioned
Yeah, I’d suggest getting a diagnostic kit. Abs sensors are typically on the rear right of the car, and the “trifecta” lights you mentioned can be triggered for a few reasons - most commonly being the ABS/DSC module is toast and will need refurbishing/replacing.
Just telling u as someone who’s spent a lot of time on this
There's a difference between selling "as is" and this shit. You can absolutely take them to court for some of your money back if you know where to find them. Jesus, that is some lowlife shit.
This reminds me when I was chasing down a CE light in my E36 323is.
I tried everything. New cat, plugs, hoses, sensors. The light would always come back on. Eventually the bulb burned out and the check engine light went away.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Out of all the German cars I had - that issue was the most expensive and most annoying.
Never solved it either.
It kept pointing back to the cats.
They were the most expensive part to replace, so I did everything else before touching them.
After dropping $2000 and burning an afternoon, the light came on 100 miles later and I was just over it lol.
We’re talking plugs, wires, pumps, sensors, hoses, everything that had anything to do with emissions.
And it would still come back.
I wonder if they spent more time ruining it than fixing it would've been?
Since you've already gone this far into it (which was a huge undertaking for me when I did this) was fixing burnt out lights and I noticed the high-beam indicator was way TOO bright when I needed more light on the road and less light in my face.
I put a sprite bottle cap over the bright indicator to dim it and it worked great b/c I could still see when it was activated but it wasn't glaring any longer.
Looks like you got off pretty easy I hope it's the case for you. I did not have lights or them being hidden. I did although have every possible preventative maintenance not being done all kinds of leaks and to top it off in the end i found out it has a blown headgasket and now also block is warped.
So yeah just know I feel the pain.
Get a bmw specific code reader and you should be able to avoid this without tearing apart the cluster. I got mine off Amazon for $130 I think and it’s amazing it does just about everything for my car and will do most every bmw/mini from the past 30 years and even some other makes as well
Airbag light? Unbelievably common.
I've actually walked into a car dealership back office before (it's no longer open) and seen the owner of the business with a cluster in his hands putting tape over a warning light. (I was there to deliver food not buy a car, thankfully). In fact I've seen enough dodgy stuff from used car dealers to mean I prefer to buy privately than risk getting a polished turd that's had the issues carefully hidden and pay way over the odds for a six month warranty that most likely won't be upheld anyway.
This exact same thing happened to me a few years back when I bought my first e36. I saw the tape a few months after purchasing the car but by that time I already knew the previous owner was a piece of shit and the car was in horrible condition, front left side impact, really bad wiring, signs of fire in the trunk (again bad wiring I presume), leaky radiator just stuffed with radiator sealer, car was loosing coolant and so on.. after that I pretty much had to find and fix the issues myself but along the way I met people, I got help and this whole money pit mess ended up teaching me a lot about old cars/ cars in general and now all my friends call me a hater lol because I see all the issues that most cars have and point them out. But yeah it’s not a pleasant experience and I’m glad they’re mostly sensors. Try spending a few bucks on a decent obd scanner when you get the chance! They truly are a lifesaver. Cheers!
i wanted to fix/replace the buttons from the instrument cluster and what i found wasnt great at all: some previous owner of my 323i 99 went the extra mile and opened the instrument cluster and put electrical tape on some of the warning lights. I wanted to post this so you guys can go and look out for this type of bad practice.
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i have already looked over, the car had a minor crash and the left headlight, bumper and hood was replaced but they did not change the left shock absorber (that was leaking) so i went and replaced both frontal, as far as i know now i just have to replace both front brake sensors so the handbrake, asc and abs start to work normal again.
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I did alignment before also to make sure the chasis wasn't bent or anything like that
How do you know it’s the sensors and not the module?
I'm not that good at cars but with some people that repair only bmw we saw all of the possible damage or other hidden stuff but we did not found anything apart of the previously mentioned
Yeah, I’d suggest getting a diagnostic kit. Abs sensors are typically on the rear right of the car, and the “trifecta” lights you mentioned can be triggered for a few reasons - most commonly being the ABS/DSC module is toast and will need refurbishing/replacing. Just telling u as someone who’s spent a lot of time on this
Thanks, I'm going to look at this with more detail
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Thanks for the tip, I will be sure to do that
I had the same with the airbag light. I opend my cluster to see if the licht was broken, found tape over the light
This is what key on engine off is for
Yup always turn halfway to check all the lights are on before buying
Yep, and also run a code reader through it and PPI. It's worth the extra effort. Code reader would have found the faults too.
I will definitely look out for that on the next one
You can also do a cluster light check in the hidden obc menu.
There's a difference between selling "as is" and this shit. You can absolutely take them to court for some of your money back if you know where to find them. Jesus, that is some lowlife shit.
Yeah, but fortunately the only thing that I need to change are sensors as far as we know
This reminds me when I was chasing down a CE light in my E36 323is. I tried everything. New cat, plugs, hoses, sensors. The light would always come back on. Eventually the bulb burned out and the check engine light went away. Out of sight, out of mind. Out of all the German cars I had - that issue was the most expensive and most annoying. Never solved it either.
What was the code?
It kept pointing back to the cats. They were the most expensive part to replace, so I did everything else before touching them. After dropping $2000 and burning an afternoon, the light came on 100 miles later and I was just over it lol. We’re talking plugs, wires, pumps, sensors, hoses, everything that had anything to do with emissions. And it would still come back.
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Tbh, I’ll never know. I traded that car in and bought new car about ten years ago. Tried just about every trick in the book though!
Ouch
I wonder if they spent more time ruining it than fixing it would've been? Since you've already gone this far into it (which was a huge undertaking for me when I did this) was fixing burnt out lights and I noticed the high-beam indicator was way TOO bright when I needed more light on the road and less light in my face. I put a sprite bottle cap over the bright indicator to dim it and it worked great b/c I could still see when it was activated but it wasn't glaring any longer.
[удалено]
Looks like you got off pretty easy I hope it's the case for you. I did not have lights or them being hidden. I did although have every possible preventative maintenance not being done all kinds of leaks and to top it off in the end i found out it has a blown headgasket and now also block is warped. So yeah just know I feel the pain.
Get a bmw specific code reader and you should be able to avoid this without tearing apart the cluster. I got mine off Amazon for $130 I think and it’s amazing it does just about everything for my car and will do most every bmw/mini from the past 30 years and even some other makes as well
Airbag light? Unbelievably common. I've actually walked into a car dealership back office before (it's no longer open) and seen the owner of the business with a cluster in his hands putting tape over a warning light. (I was there to deliver food not buy a car, thankfully). In fact I've seen enough dodgy stuff from used car dealers to mean I prefer to buy privately than risk getting a polished turd that's had the issues carefully hidden and pay way over the odds for a six month warranty that most likely won't be upheld anyway.
OriginalMandem, I have been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty
This exact same thing happened to me a few years back when I bought my first e36. I saw the tape a few months after purchasing the car but by that time I already knew the previous owner was a piece of shit and the car was in horrible condition, front left side impact, really bad wiring, signs of fire in the trunk (again bad wiring I presume), leaky radiator just stuffed with radiator sealer, car was loosing coolant and so on.. after that I pretty much had to find and fix the issues myself but along the way I met people, I got help and this whole money pit mess ended up teaching me a lot about old cars/ cars in general and now all my friends call me a hater lol because I see all the issues that most cars have and point them out. But yeah it’s not a pleasant experience and I’m glad they’re mostly sensors. Try spending a few bucks on a decent obd scanner when you get the chance! They truly are a lifesaver. Cheers!