I have had two BMW's come in this week that the wiring insulation for the headlights has already broken down and deteriorated. When you replace the bulb the insulation crumbles as shown in the attached picture. One was a 04 5 series and the other was an 06 3 series. They must have hired that ex Mercedes engineer from 94/95 that came up with the self destructing engine wiring harness.

Personally, the more I work on BMW's the less impressed I am with them.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Jim

Break-My-Wallet. Is the '06 still under warranty?

This should be reported to NHTSA as a safety defect (fire risk). Maybe they can get a recall going.

A well respected mechanic that I have known for years and has a shop in Raleigh, NC and who works on all M/B and BMW vehicles once commented:

The E38 is a beautiful and excellent driving vehicle. Just be sure you have the $3K per year that is necessary to maintain it.

I don't spend quite that much due to the limited mileage that it gets (maybe 5K per year) but the point is well founded.

It's been to the shop five times since I owned it (four years now) and the costs were $600, $750, $400, $2500, and $400. The large expense included a new ABS front bumper insert with paint.

I've never been very impressed with B-M-Trouble You's but after a stint working on them, I wouldn't let you give me one. In fact on one occasion I declined the offer.

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90 300TE 4-M
Turbo 103, T3/T04E 50 trim
T04B cover .60 AR
Stage 3 turbine .63 AR
A2W I/C, 40 LB/HR
MS2E, 60-2 Direct Coil Control
3" Exh, AEM W/B O2
Underdrive Alt. and P/S Pulleys,
Vented Rear Discs, .034 Booster.
3.07 diffs 1st Gear Start

90 300CE 104.980
Milled & ported head, 10.3:1 compression
197° intake cam w/20° advancer
Tuned CIS ECU
4° ignition advance
PCS TCM2000, built 722.6
600W networked suction fan
Sportline sway bars
V8 rear subframe, Quaife ATB 3.06 diff

the probably sourced it from the same place as the W124 harness housing.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Volvo also had this problem in the 80's, but at least they resolved it after 1987.

Before I bought my 1995 e420 a year and a half ago, I needed to be sure of two things: that the AC blew cold (it did)and the notorious biodegadeable wiring harness had been replace (it had and the Ukainians that owned the w124 specialty repair shop that had the car up for sale, proudly showed me the repair.

Those things cleared up, I bought the car immediately.

A bit of online research revealed to me that the real reason for these harnesses that were known beforehand, to likely come apart eventually, but were installed anyhow, was because the German government, in a misguided effort to have things "green" and "environmentally friendly", passed a law MANDATING them. Politically correct, but nevertheless stupid and WRONG in my opinion.

I have spent a fortune updating the car and adding things like a Lorinser spoiler, AMG 17" monoblocks, euro front corners, new paint and so on, but confess I really love this car. Ran it up over 25k so far and without a single misstep. The build quality is so perfect, as is the iconic Brunoi Sacco design, plus, it is the as year of thes, and that philosophy applied to the e class and the e420 is the top of the line, sold only in USA and Japan in the the w124 guise. I made contact with the original owner, a Silicon Valley engineer from India, who sold it to the Ukrainians tha kept it a few months) and he told me it was the best car he ever had owned , named "Penelope" after the most faithful wife in Literature (he said) and said if had known of the changes I had done to the car could have been done he would have kept it for sure, but likes his new Audi Avant too yet misses the wonderful e420's V8 engine.



Should I change the "Red Plum's" name back to Penny ("Penelope") the original owner gave it?


.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

An '06 and an '04? Sheesh, that's lame.

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Remember, Safety Third!
'99 E300 Turbodiesel, '82 300TD, 1996 12V Cummins Turbo, '94 Neoplan - Detroit 6V92TA

Is the entire harness falling apart?

If it's only disintegrating inside the headlamp housing it's probably due to heat. Does the car have daytime running lamps? If so that would accelerate the heat problem since the lights would be on whenever the car was running, day or night.

X2 with Jim's comment about biodegradable desires - they are meant to be that way! It was a selling point not that long ago - they seemed to have dropped that angle (here) at the moment though.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I found out from my friend Steve B at Continental Imports that BMW has a technical service bulletin out on this issue in both the 3 and 5 series cars.

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Jim

Yes, in light of the faithful service she gave its original owner, along with the fact that she's still costing you less than your ex-wife, I think she should be Penelope!

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

BMW- the official pace car of hell.

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Alain
independant MBZ tech since 1981
http://www.motorsportlegendsks.com/

And I was thinking of getting an M3 or M5 rethinking that one

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

I've been doing some more research in regards to the wiring issue and it seems that the "fix" is to replace the headlight assembly. BMW wants over $1100/side for the new headlight assemblies or the 545i.

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Jim