E32, 750iL, 1991

Hi;

I recently acquired a 7 series BMW, and I want to iron out a couple of
hopefully small details, I would be happy to hear the insights of
owners of other middle aged E32s.

1. The 'D' for Drive indicator (LED) in the dashboard is intermittent,
the other indicators (S, M, P, 3, 2, 1) are steady. I can cause the 'D'
to appear by jigling the shift lever when it is missing.

2. The front passenger side window makes a nasty sound when 2/3 the way
up, more noticable when closing.

3. The rear left window switch sticks in one of the positions, is it
difficult to change the windows switches?

4. The memory seat recall works, but I seem to be unable to reprogram
the positions, I never get to the point where the 'memory' button gets
illuminated. How can I troubleshoot further?

Jan Fure

"Jan Fure" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi;
>
> I recently acquired a 7 series BMW, and I want to iron out a couple of
> hopefully small details, I would be happy to hear the insights of
> owners of other middle aged E32s.
>
> 1. The 'D' for Drive indicator (LED) in the dashboard is intermittent,
> the other indicators (S, M, P, 3, 2, 1) are steady. I can cause the 'D'
> to appear by jigling the shift lever when it is missing.

Replace microswitch on selector.
>
> 2. The front passenger side window makes a nasty sound when 2/3 the way
> up, more noticable when closing.

Grit in guide - clean guide and / or squirt some WD 40 down it.

>
> 3. The rear left window switch sticks in one of the positions, is it
> difficult to change the windows switches?

Which switch? IIRC the tunnel ones are easier than the door ones (or was it
the other way round).

>
> 4. The memory seat recall works, but I seem to be unable to reprogram
> the positions, I never get to the point where the 'memory' button gets
> illuminated. How can I troubleshoot further?

RTFM or perhaps the LED is not working. Does the ignition have to be on to
reprogram?

>
> Jan Fure
>

Jan Fure wrote:
> Hi;
>
> I recently acquired a 7 series BMW, and I want to iron out a couple of
> hopefully small details, I would be happy to hear the insights of
> owners of other middle aged E32s.

SG: Welcome to the world of BMW ownership - the only car I've ever owned
that needs more TLC than my 1970 Land Rover :-)

>
> 1. The 'D' for Drive indicator (LED) in the dashboard is intermittent,
> the other indicators (S, M, P, 3, 2, 1) are steady. I can cause the 'D'
> to appear by jigling the shift lever when it is missing.

SG: Sounds like the microswitch in the selector mechanism.

>
> 2. The front passenger side window makes a nasty sound when 2/3 the way
> up, more noticable when closing.

SG: What kind of sound? My front passenger window was making a fairly
loud snapping sound (as if something had been stressed and had finally
given way). This turned into a situation where the back part of the
window wouldn't go down but the front did. The winder mechanism connects
to the window itself via two plastic sliders and one of those had
broken. I swapped it with one from one of the rear windows (they're all
the same) and it's now working okay again.

>
> 3. The rear left window switch sticks in one of the positions, is it
> difficult to change the windows switches?

SG: If it's the door mounted switch then remove the door lining and the
switch will pop out. Be careful when doing this as there are two small
chromed metal clips attached to the switch body that you might need to
fit to the new switch and they are easy to loose ... voice of experience ;-)

>
> 4. The memory seat recall works, but I seem to be unable to reprogram
> the positions, I never get to the point where the 'memory' button gets
> illuminated. How can I troubleshoot further?

SG: Sorry, can't help here ... my 730 doesn't have memory (except that
it knows where all the petrol stations are ;-))

>
> Jan Fure
>

HTH
--
Regards

Steve G

Thanks for your answers Mark;

1. I have ordered the Bentley manuals, so I might have some more
questions about how to get to the microswitch.

3. The window switch is on the center console, how can I remove it, pry
it out with a screwdriver, or pull it straight up, possibly holding the
center ridge of the switch with a pair of pliers?

4. I Read The Fine Manual, and it says the ignition key needs to be in
position 1 or 2. It seems like it is worth changing the switch whether
that is the problem or not, as memory button 1 stays permanently
deprerssed (physically, not electrically)

Jan

Thanks for the answers Steve;

2. The sound is definetly like a snapping sound, and more distinct on
closing the window compared to opening it.

3. It is not a door switch, it is located on the center console.

Jan

Jan Fure wrote:
> Thanks for the answers Steve;
>
> 2. The sound is definetly like a snapping sound, and more distinct on
> closing the window compared to opening it.

SG: The symptoms sound the same as mine, but who knows? I would suggest
removing the inner door panel and watching the mechanism to see what's
happening. The panel is held in by a series of plastic press studs
around the front, bottom and back edges plus two 8mm bolts which are
hidden behind the wooden strips - these just pop out. Remove the door
lock button and lift the panel upwards to release it fully. Took me
about 10 minutes once I'd found the two bolts :-)

To get a better view simply unhook the door catch cable and the panel
can be removed completely.

>
> 3. It is not a door switch, it is located on the center console.

SG: Okay, sorry but no experience of removing those.

>
> Jan
>

HTH
--
Regards

Steve G

New report after 2 weeks of ownership:

I had thought the brake pressure warnings were the result of poor
electrical connections, but the warnings went away only momentarily
after cleaning the connectors. A replacement of the pressure switch has
kept the brake pressure warnling from returning for 4 days.

I replaced the (somewhat black) oil immediatly with dino oil, and after
2 weeks/300 miles, replaced the dino oil with Mobil 1, 0W-40. There is
some noticable grit/metal stuck in the filter, bot not a large amount.
I don't know if the previous owner used synthetic oil, as there appears
to be some sludge or varnish visible when the oil filler cap is off.

I have seen some comments about filling the oil filter cannister as
part of the oil change, to avoid low oil pressure at first startup. On
my 750iL, there is hardly any oil in the cannister when I replace the
filter, does that mean the anti drainback valve is leaking? The oil
pressure light took maybe 4-5 seconds to turn off after the oil change,
versus one second or less after a normal start. Does it make sense to
poor oil into the oil filter cannister after the filter change?

Any other maintenance which is recommended? The car did get regular
service, but is not mint, it seems like the Service Indicator board has
shot NiCad batteries, as shorting pins 7 and 19 did not reset the oil
change interval, how big job is it to take out the instrument cluster?

Jan