Trans code but no limp, car got hot but wasn't

I have a 2001 325i with an automatic. I experienced a weird conflation of electrical/cluster warrnings this afternoon after working on the radio.

1) Left the house to run errands. Temp jumped up into the red zone, pulled over and shut off immediately, opened the hood and the engine was cool like it was supposed to be after three minutes of driving. No steam, block still cool. Coolant level was fine and fan clutch was working. Never did boil over or get hot.

2) I also noticed my transmission control light was on, but the car was not in limp mode. The car shifted through all the gears on the way home like you would expect. The exclamation point was also lit.

Got home. Checked fluid levels again - all fine. Check oil - no coolant in it. Checked all fuses pertaining to items and they were fine. I came in and spent extensive time on google search feature of this board and another one but was not having symptoms of any problems one would associate with temp in red zone and tranny light.

Did I screw something up putting the radio back in? My harness was hard to get out and I did pull on it, but no yanking like trying to pull all the damn wiring out of the dash. Or, do you think I have two separate issues that occured at the same time.

Thanks in advance for any ideas, suggestions, etc.

How old is your battery ?

That is a good question. It was in the car when I bought it in 9/12. I'll go to Advance tomorrow and have them test it and the alternator.

I got in touch with my mechanic friend. He said there were several harnesses in that general vicinity and that I may have disconntected something. It is also making a funny whooshing noise as the engine starts. I drove it tonight to see if tthe lights cycle off - no go. I don't want to drive it too much while getting false temp readings.

This is bizarre. Now my power windows, sunroof and turn signals don't work.

Another interesting aside - the battery was put in by Advance in 2006! It tested for more cranking amps than it actually is listed for and the alternator is perfec t. When we tried running codes, the machine couldn't even begin. I checked the fuses again, but could it be a bad fuse, relay or coomputer?

Originally Posted by vandyboy

This is bizarre. Now my power windows, sunroof and turn signals don't work.

Another interesting aside - the battery was put in by Advance in 2006! It tested for more cranking amps than it actually is listed for and the alternator is perfec t. When we tried running codes, the machine couldn't even begin. I checked the fuses again, but could it be a bad fuse, relay or coomputer?

Try removing & cleaning the battery`s ground wire, especially where it bolts to the chassis, clean it, and reconnect to make sure of a solid ground connection. Even though that battery *tested* OK, at 6 years old, it would shoot right to the top of my "Prime Suspects" list. Can you swap in (temporarily) another battery that is known to be good just for the process of elimination ?

in addition to what Bob said, unplug the battery overnight. this will do a reset and "might" solve the car goin all crazy

I need to buy all of you a beer. I disconnected the negative battery cable last night for a half hour and reconnected. All problems/warning lights are gone except that my fog light and high beam indicators do not work - but the lights themselves are operable. I did some radio work this weekend without disconnecting the negative cable and probably screwed up everything,

One other thing - the computer readings on the dash will not reset.

Thanks again for the sage advice and your responses.