1997 328i Convertible problems - BMW Forum

conceptts · 10-08-2009, 09:14 AM

New here,
I just bought my 15-1/2 year old daughter this car for her 16th birthday.
The car is in good used condition for its age and milage ( 212,000 )but has a couple of issuses I need to fix. First is there is no power to the automatic top
The button doesen't light up and when pushed you hear nothing no noise what so ever. I checked all the fuses in the engine compartment and the one at the battery, but they were all good. Second item is the radio it is also dead. no lights nothing. Any help would be great, Thanks

witeshark · 10-08-2009, 09:54 AM

Has the motor the drives the top been checked? Good luck, and

ef1x · 10-08-2009, 10:02 AM

try to download service manual , and look for relays and fuses problem , also look at the fusible link. the other thing could be that motors of the roof arent working.

johnnyBgood · 10-08-2009, 11:50 AM

Welcome to Bimmerwerkz.......

1st, Is the stock radio still in the car? Security code maybe?

2nd, I agree with witeshark, maybe a motor issue.....also this link should help you with the top:

http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/BMW_docs/converttops.pdf

jb

conceptts · 10-09-2009, 06:23 AM

Thanks for all the replies,
Update on the car, I took the radio out and I have 12 volts going to the unit,
so I'm thinking the stock radio is bad,since nothing was working and I pushed all the buttons on the radio with no response. I thought if it was a code issuse after pushing all buttons screen would a least say enter code.
On the top I checked to see if motors are engage and they are. Looking at the file it says when you push the top down button the windows will go down first. This does not happen when i push top down button. nothing happens at all, also the central locking doesn't work in the car . Is the top and the central locking tied together somehow? Just a thought.Thanks

FCPGroton · 10-09-2009, 08:08 AM

The top issue and the locking issue could be related. Just for arguments sake, try putting all the windows down first and then see if the top will go down.

As for the radio, that sounds died in the water.

conceptts · 10-09-2009, 10:20 AM

Yes, I have tried this ,all windows down and pushing the top button either up or down has no effect on the top. This evening I will try to manually lower the top into storage compartment and preform a reset of the top.

witeshark · 10-09-2009, 11:33 AM

Good luck with it!

conceptts · 10-09-2009, 10:06 PM

Found fuse blown, now I have central door locks working and the top open/close switch is flashing. What does this mean? Is there any way to lower the top manually? I can unlock the header part with the allen key, but the other end by the window won't move.
one more question once i replaced the fuse I noticed that my oil/service indicator lights below the mileage turns black after the car starts up, before fuse change it stayed on all the time. is this normal?

johnnyBgood · 10-09-2009, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conceptts

Found fuse blown, now I have central door locks working and the top open/close switch is flashing. What does this mean? Is there any way to lower the top manually? I can unlock the header part with the allen key, but the other end by the window won't move.
one more question once i replaced the fuse I noticed that my oil/service indicator lights below the mileage turns black after the car starts up, before fuse change it stayed on all the time. is this normal?

The oil/service indicator lights going out is normal.....

links below:

YouTube - BMW DIY #3 E36 Top Repair

E36 convertible top problem - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum

BrianXE36 · 10-11-2009, 12:21 AM

First off, welcome to werkz, and I hope your daughter likes the convertible, but I'm sure she does, its a BMW

As for the radio though, I know that in the case containing the owners manual, and other literary goodies (If its still in there) there is a little orange sticker containing the reset code for the radio. If its not in there, I'd call the dealer where it was first purchased from. (I'd try to obtain this info by calling BMW NA at 1-800-831-1117) I think that's going put you on the right track. If that still doesn't work, take it to a dealer or just pop a nice alpine head unit in there, this is my preference This Beauty I like this one for a few reasons, it's one of the very very few that offer an "amber" light configuration and has built in bluetooth. On top of that, BMWs have alpine stereos in their vehicles to start with, and they've always been a favorite of mine. If you need any more help feel free to ask. There's lots of folks here that will try and help you out.

BrianXE36 · 10-11-2009, 12:25 AM

And don't worry about those miles too much, These cars run like champs, I've seen quite a few E30s and E34s pushing 300k easily.

Edit, sorry for the double post.

joseluisbaez · 10-30-2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conceptts

New here,
I just bought my 15-1/2 year old daughter this car for her 16th birthday.
The car is in good used condition for its age and milage ( 212,000 )but has a couple of issuses I need to fix. First is there is no power to the automatic top
The button doesen't light up and when pushed you hear nothing no noise what so ever. I checked all the fuses in the engine compartment and the one at the battery, but they were all good. Second item is the radio it is also dead. no lights nothing. Any help would be great, Thanks

Check the battery area for a fuse on one of the positive leads, usually a 30amp,,,this fuse is not listed in the paperwork.. Also Google and down load re-initialization procedure....Basicly, if fuse is the problem, put finger on the close position for the top and turn key to the on position and hold for ten seconds, at witch time you will hear the top motors checking there positions. Hope this helps you.

AlpineSixAndSeven · 10-31-2009, 01:41 PM

^ yep als check for power or ground at the fuse

nsandric · 01-31-2011, 08:09 AM

Just purchased a 97 328, I assume this is a full auto top, trying to bring down the top manually. I released the lever in back under seat, have used allen wrench to unscrew the front. Guess am confused?? Does the screw come all the way out ? What exactly am I looking for to happen ? So far nothing,,,

can someone help me in this matter....?

Thank you