Battery dead on 323Ci, now add'n probs...

My SRS light went on when I had a low battery; I reset it myself. There are tools you can buy; for me -- it was cheaper to buy the $100 tool vs. taking it to the dealer.

It probably needs to be re-sync'd -- the owners manual has the procedure I believe.

Can't help you there ...

possibly it's the heater fan; and maybe it's always done it and you just never noticed?

btw: replace your battery -- if you boiled it dry; it won't last & all your problems will probably re-appear.

--- AntiSpam/harvest --- Remove X's to send email to me.

Probably needs a dealer reset.

Needs resynching - so will electric roof etc. if open.

Lock & unlock a few times with the key in the lock and try again.

Dunno what this is. Do you have electrically heated seats?

Probably something to do with the ventialtion settings. Try switching the heating etc. off and see if it persists. Could be faulty electric radiator fan depending on exact positition.

Low volts can cause some strange things. Did you disconnect the battery before re-charging? If not, I'd try disconnecting it for a few minutes then re-connecting.

Others have answered the other questions. My bet is this problem is the fan for blowing extra air into the exhaust upon cold startup - sounds like it has become contaminated with water vapor and is on its way out - relatively common problem, apparently.

Frank

There is an LED next to the gear stick in the E36 3 series. I think this is related to the alarm but I can't remember much more right now.

Thanks for all the replies.

I tried to resync the keyless remote, but got no results. At first I couldn't even find any clear instructions, certainly not in the manual. On a website, I found the 3 LOCK presses procedure, which I did, but without success.

Then, as suggested, I went ahead and disconnected the battery completely. Doing this did the trick as far as restoring the keyless remote AND turning off the LED. However, unfortunately, the airbag light still stays on. I guess I'll have to go to a service guy that I know who can clear it with a diag unit.

BTW, how do I tell if the BMW I have is an E36 or E46 ? It is a 1999

323Ci and the descriptions on the web are a bit equivocal on this point... Anything I can look at to be absolutely sure ? One reason I need to know is that I'd like to replace the rear window as the plastic (its a convertible) has gotten totally murky/cloudy.

I do think I should probably replace the battery, even though it now is capable of starting the car. But it is pushing 7 years ago. The website seem to say that the 49DL from Autozone is the best deal, at $65.

Thanks again for all the help...

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote on 21 Feb 2006 21:28:24 -0800:

Look at the car, it's easy to tell. The nose is a dead giveaway

E36:

E46: :)

Dan

In the U.S., 1999 3 series 4 doors were E46, 2 doors were still E36. Also, IIRC, the E46 convertible top has a glass rear window as opposed to the E36 plastic.

Tom K.

Just an update on the battery situation...

The 49DL, I discovered, will NOT fit. It probably fits a non-convertible, but is about 1.5" too long for the convertible 323Ci.

Interstate and Autozone both sell a Group 92 battery (about $120), that purports to fit, and it looks like it just might. The vent is in the right place. The Interstate version, the MTP-H7 (the Autozone model is the 94R), even looks like the OEM BMW, with white casing. BUT, I found that I just could not get it to fit. It is about 1cm (1/2") too long. Perhaps if I took out the whole battery tray, it could be made to fit, but trying to shoehorn this heavy thing into the very tight trunk compartment just didn't work. It is also a bit too tall (1/2"), and probably won't allow the cover to close.

So I settled for a Group 91, the Interstate MTP-91 ($95). Autozone also sells one for $60. It is about 1" too short. But it is vented and plenty of CCA. Unfortunately my 323ci (1999) DOES NOT have the alternate tapped mounting holes that apparently other models have (and therefore would allow the '91 to mount just fine. So I am going to have to find a 6"x1.5"x1/4" block of plastic or metal to serve as a spacing adapter to allow the battery to be mounted snugly with the existing mounts.

My only other worry is that the convertible battery is supposed to be "vibration resistant". I am concerned that this MTP-91 is not... I guess we'll see. The alternative was to pay the "stealer" $200 instead of $60-95.

I hope this helps someone...