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Terrible Electrical Problem

2K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  BMDub325is 
#1 ·
My cousin was messing with my car a few weeks ago trying to find a way to install my aftermarket alarm. We took out the glove box and for some reason, he unplugged all the wiring harnesses (about 6 of them). When he plugged them back in, my windows, power door locks, and sunroof stopped working. I did some research and replaced my comfort relay -- that didnt work. It's not the electrical connections in the trunk lid, either. Does anybody have any idea what's wrong? Thanks a lot.

It really sucks driving up to drive-thrus then realizing your windows won't go down.
 
#2 ·
that suckssssss
 
#3 ·
why u trying that anyway?? i would never touch anykind of harness other than stereo... dealership will prolly rape u on charges.. should have gotten that done professionally!!
 
#5 ·
This may sound obvious, but check that he plugged ALL of the harnesses back in and that there isn't one hidden in the back that he overlooked. Then check that they all have unique plug configurations to eliminate the possibility that he plugged them in incorrectly. Also, make sure that all the plugs are fully seated, the check fuses.
 
#8 ·
u check the fuse box, any fuses blown maybe?
 
#9 ·
The first thing i did was check the fuses. They're all fine. I've double checked all the connections and they're all in correctly, too. There is no other way for them to go. I took apart the comfort relay and found out that if i touch 2 contacts in it, the sunroof would work (why only the sunroof?). So, im thinking it could be the relay, but how? I replaced it with another one (i found in the car) and it did the same thing. I also checked the wiring diagrams in the Bentley manual and there's nothing else running on that circuit besides the window switches. Any other suggestions?
 
#11 ·
So, any more ideas?
 
#12 ·
Hehehe , had the same problem but when I pulled the plugs my windows were down and I could not get them up :) What sucks more with only 2-3 degrees outside.

I suggest re checking the plugs , maybe you got something switched.
Then push them one by one to be 100% sure they are plugged deep enough.

Then take the battery off for a few minutes and put it back on.
Try your windows , should work.
If not , I will guide you a bit more deep in the problem :)
 
#13 ·
Originally posted by JAX@Dec 15 2004, 02:53 AM
Hehehe , had the same problem but when I pulled the plugs my windows were down and I could not get them up :) What sucks more with only 2-3 degrees outside.
Yea, my windows were down, too... I had to get some speaker wire and connect the window motors directly to the battery to make them go back up. It sucked pretty bad, but now i can leave my car outside. I'll check out what you said tomorrow and let you know. Thanks.
 
#14 ·
There a little black box that controls all the power windows, sunroofs, etc which is located under the glove box. You don't need to unplug that to install the alarm. Make sure you pluged that back in, otherwise that would definitely be the cause of your problem. I found this out when I was poking around for things to remove in my car and yanked that out. My power windows stopped working. I plugged it back in and it worked again.

That's all I can think of.

Also, if you aren't a professional, why would you install the alarm yourself? The whole point of an alarm is to prevent other people from breaking into the car. If you wire things yourself, how easy do you think it would be for a car theif to disable the alarm? Seriously, you have to make sure all the soldering is done properly, and all wires hidden and tucked away. Otherwise just yank on some wires and your alarm is disabled.

Don't mess with the BMW electrical system, if you screw things up, you'll have a huge headache figuring out what you've done wrong. Also, you might blow out a lot of expensive parts. Pay the $50-$100 to have it installed properly.

Bry
 
#15 ·
E36 BMWs are real easy to wire an alarm in. Most of the connections come off of the pre wired harness under the glove box. Then ignition and accessory come from under the stearing column. Finally you run the horn under the hood right by the + terminal (wires are easy to run through there). Then wallah a working alarm. I used directeds web site to find out which wires are which and where they are located.
 
#16 ·
Hey, i got great news! I finally fixed the "terrible electrical problem"! Everybody else who had the same problem said that they just plugged the connectors back in and it worked fine, so i tried taking it all back apart and plugging it back in. As i was doing so, i pulled out the "little black box" that Autotechnica was talking about and the wiring harness that was attached to the back of it came out. That's not supposed to happen b/c it locks in place. After plugging that back in, everything started working again. I'm glad it was such an easy fix!

Thanks a lot for the help, everybody. Now, on to the alarm... If i were to get it professionally installed, does anybody have any suggestions as to which places i should check out?

BMDub325is - I'm going to need some more information from you about installing the alarm. Also, you mentioned you used "directeds" website to help you out. What's the address? Let's keep in touch. By the way, i like your user name. My friend used to call my car the BMDub. Haha, Later.
 
#17 ·
You have to be a dealer to access that part of Directed's site. Gimme some info on your car (year, model, etc...) I will copy that page from Directed and e mail it to you. Oh yeah e-mail address also?
 
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