Z3 electrical/wiring problems

This car has only 23,00 miles on it and I just repaired my Z3 wiring/electrical problem (with the help of a friend). If your trunk light dosen't work, the alarm dosen't work properly (3 chirps) or the tag lights don't work this is more than likely the problem. If there isn't a problem now, there will be a problem or you have a problem and don't know it.

This is an easy fix and will save you a lot of head aches and $$$$.... UNHOOK THE BATTERY FIRST. The nylon clip that holds the wire harness to the hinge on the left side of the trunk has put the harness in a bind every time the lid is closed and cause the wires to break. You are able the feel through the rubber tube for broken wires or cut a slit in the rubber hose and open it to see what is broken, then split the harness where the wires are broken. If you have 2 brown wires, mark them with a magic marker before you cut. You need to cut them all because they all have fatigued in that area. Reroute the harness through the inside the trunk area through the round hole in the lower left side of the lid, put the rubber water grommets back in their holes that are out side the trunk seal area. Moving the harness to the inside of the trunk will keep the harness from binding and causing wire fatigue but there is potential for snaging onto the wire harness with luggage or over loading the trunk. Plug the wire holes in the grommets. With a small soldering pencil solder the wires back with heat shrink tubing well out of the way until all wire are soldered the use a hair dryer to shrink the tubing. Your local hardware store will have the shrink tubing and a grommet for the trunk lid hole.

If you haven't had any problems with this area of your Z3, you will. If not addressed in time you could have serious problems and they will cost big $$$. This is the weakest point with this car and it should have had a recall.

Don't use your new bath towels to protect the fender and trunk, that might create domestic problems. If there are any questions please ask.

UNHOOK THE BATTERY FIRST.
Pictures of the sequence are attached. [/SIZE]

Good job, I'll bet it felt pretty good to find and repair the problem. Thanks for the tip.

Yep your not the first and will not be the last to report porblems with that wire bundle going to the trunk.

Originally Posted by blairrm

Yep your not the first and will not be the last to report porblems with that wire bundle going to the trunk.

Your right. There is two bulletins on it.

If you do the mod now, you don't have to splice..... just remove from the boards, reoute then reconnect

Mroads,

Yes it was nice to be able to locate this problem and fix it.

I would not be comfortable having a dealer fix this problem. The fix would not have been re-routed to inside the trunk and in a few months you would be back to the same problem. It would be interesting to know the cost from the dealer.
Although they would probably be serving champagne in the customer lounge while you are waiting.

Is that black beauty ok in this area. Wished I had a hard top. Looks quick.

Forget this below. The new radio didn't have the alarm post on it and I removed the one from the Business CD stereo and mounted to newer stereo. Problem solved thanks to the guys that posted info on the 3 chirps problem.... thanks



Hello,

I was reading this thread and it appears to be the one I am looking for so bare with me as I post a question related to this.

I had my headlamps changed today and had my Business CD radio replaced with a pioneer I had removed from another car (did alot of upgrading in the last week on all my cars).

So I get this Z3 2001 Roadster back today, drive home and park it in the garage when I notice that I can't lock or unlock the vehicle with the remote and when I try the horns makes 3 chirps like something is awry. The installer of the headlamps (HIDs) put the old headlamps in the trunk along with all the boxes and such from the other car's audio upgrade. Is this trunk issue most likely the casue of this new arming/disarming problem? Thanks in advance for your response..

Allen

allens what are you going to do with the old headlights?

Hey Explosive Ordinance Disposal Guy...LOL

I have kept them as backup should I ever sell the car, but to be honest, I have thought of Ebay-ing them along with the Business CD radio and 2 rims I replaced. Why do you ask?

Allen

I would be intrested in the head lights.... mine are pitted pretty bad. PM me with a price if you want to sell them. I did Bomb disposal work for 28 yrs in the Army, now I instruct at the Hazardous Devices School....... Great way to make a living.... blowing stuff up!

LOL...I was USAF but not EOD (as clutzy as I am I wouldn't be having this conversation with you right now had I been EOD..LOL).. I will PM you

Originally Posted by EOD Guy

I would be intrested in the head lights.... mine are pitted pretty bad. PM me with a price if you want to sell them. I did Bomb disposal work for 28 yrs in the Army, now I instruct at the Hazardous Devices School....... Great way to make a living.... blowing stuff up!

EOD GUY Earlier this year I was into radiation detectors since my son was working with x-rays. I started reading about radiation and bought a couple of Geiger counters from ebay, I also picked up a couple of Military ones a ADM300 with many different probes used in the Air force and a older military model, interesting stuff.
Did you ever get into any of the radioactive detecting in the military? They have some nice detectors that can't be found anywhere for any price for civilians to buy. It took me a while to get the ADM-300 had to get it from Great Britain.

Oh I wasn't in EOD. I just had alot of friends who were that were stationed at the host airbase. I was a Russian translator at the time when I was in. Great times the 80s ! LOL

Originally Posted by Ron Stygar

Your right. There is two bulletins on it.

Hello Ron,

Can you tell me where I could read those bulletins?

Cheers!

John

See..on the roadies that repair is easy. On the Coupe it is a pain the ass. we have very little slack and it is bundled in the rubber shroud. My rear wiper stopped working....with the hatch closed, but would work with hatch open ....it was a two part problem...I did have a bad wiper motor and my wiring was snapping in half in that bundle...