BMW E81 Ignition and electrical issue?
Discussion
I recently bought a 58 plate 116i and it was fine for about a week but now it seems to have developed an intermittent electrical/ignition fault.
I have asked the garage to have a look at it and they say that they have but as the car isn't showing any warning lights or codes then there is nothing they can do.
I've made a note of what happened when the car played up below:
1. Ignition turned off. Accessories (all power) goes off. Won’t turn back on. Won’t release key. Can open door to unlock (comfort access still works) but window stays up. Have to slam door (with window still stuck up) for car to turn power back on and function normally.
2. Ignition turned off - fine. Open boot and close - fine. Lock car - fine. Alarm then goes off intermittently. Car won’t unlock. Unlock car with mechanical key and alarm continues to go off intermittently. Passenger door won’t unlock. Can’t unlock from dashboard button. No power at all. Won’t hold onto key in slot. After ~5 minutes alarm stops going off and everything else the same. Goes into the same state at issue 1. Slam door with window jammed to make car function normally again.
Potential issues
1. Fuses - Can’t be because the car turns back on
2. Battery - Car turns back on, can't be
3. Alternator - Unlikely, doesn’t fit any common symptoms
4. Ignition problem?
5. Immobiliser problem? - Would explain not being able to turn car back on or use any power.
6. Flat battery in key? - Wouldn't explain windows/no power though
7. Dodgy connections? - Battery is connected fine, not sure about the rest
I'm really just lost as for what to do, hopefully you might have some ideas of what the issue could be or if anyone else has experienced this issue? Thanks
I have asked the garage to have a look at it and they say that they have but as the car isn't showing any warning lights or codes then there is nothing they can do.
I've made a note of what happened when the car played up below:
1. Ignition turned off. Accessories (all power) goes off. Won’t turn back on. Won’t release key. Can open door to unlock (comfort access still works) but window stays up. Have to slam door (with window still stuck up) for car to turn power back on and function normally.
2. Ignition turned off - fine. Open boot and close - fine. Lock car - fine. Alarm then goes off intermittently. Car won’t unlock. Unlock car with mechanical key and alarm continues to go off intermittently. Passenger door won’t unlock. Can’t unlock from dashboard button. No power at all. Won’t hold onto key in slot. After ~5 minutes alarm stops going off and everything else the same. Goes into the same state at issue 1. Slam door with window jammed to make car function normally again.
Potential issues
1. Fuses - Can’t be because the car turns back on
2. Battery - Car turns back on, can't be
3. Alternator - Unlikely, doesn’t fit any common symptoms
4. Ignition problem?
5. Immobiliser problem? - Would explain not being able to turn car back on or use any power.
6. Flat battery in key? - Wouldn't explain windows/no power though
7. Dodgy connections? - Battery is connected fine, not sure about the rest
I'm really just lost as for what to do, hopefully you might have some ideas of what the issue could be or if anyone else has experienced this issue? Thanks
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