Temporary loss of power - Flickering Cluster

[tjn182]

Tried doing a search -- but I'm at work and I can't spend all day searching... so sorry if this is a reposted problem.

I have an 95' OBD1 325i with OBD2 S52 engine, tranny, diff etc. A wrecked 98' M3 donated ALL (possible) parts to the 325i.

The car runs fine all around (actually it's been idle hunting lately...) but I have a quite random gremlin problem.

Every once in a while (1-2 weeks) my car will lose all power and the gauges will flicker to max back and forth 3-6 times. This has thrown my tachometer off by about 600rpm because of the sheer speed it flicks it - causes it to get off-point.

I first noticed this problem when the car would sit and idle and overheat with the A/C (no reception where I live, I drive out someone and sit in car to talk on phone... i would never let it touch the red zone or even close - but I have the fan delete so the car will overheat if it doesn't move w/ the A/C on after about 10-15 minutes) Once I noticed the temp gauge moving past the 1/2 way point I would kill it and just roll down the windows, yet I would get this exact problem - except it was failure to start with gauges flickering like crazy. I would usually have to let it sit and give it 5x tries before it reluctantly started (like it was flooded... had to pump the revs to keep her alive until she idled on her own). Now this problem occurs when I'm driving down the road randomly - I only lose power for about 3-5 seconds but I lose power none-the-less and the gauges flicker like crazy. The car isn't overheating, it operates almost flawlessly otherwise.

My first thought is - a short/ground somewhere. But geez... where? The battery has nothing touching it - and in all my digging around I've never found raw wires touching anything.

.....Ideas?

[Nik1703]

Frankenstein-mobile, eh?

that's the problem with frankensteining a car.. you sound like you have phantom electrical problems.

the overheating is a whole different story.

[tjn182]

Touche!

I guess I should be grateful that it's in as good condition as it is. The once in a while 'burp' shouldn't be too much.

Yet - I would still like to fix the problem - get her running 100% So if anyone has had similar problems or any idea where to look lemmie know!

And I refer to it as an M-Poster - Frankenstein-Mobile won't fit on a license plate

[thirtyhourpunch]

Does your car lose power in relation to the flickering of the cluster lights? Is it just the cluster lights or all lights in and out of the car? If you answered yes to all of those questions, it's the brushes in the alternator. They have gone bad. A new alternator will fix the problem.

Tried doing a search -- but I'm at work and I can't spend all day searching... so sorry if this is a reposted problem.

I have an 95' OBD1 325i with OBD2 S52 engine, tranny, diff etc. A wrecked 98' M3 donated ALL (possible) parts to the 325i.

The car runs fine all around (actually it's been idle hunting lately...) but I have a quite random gremlin problem.

Every once in a while (1-2 weeks) my car will lose all power and the gauges will flicker to max back and forth 3-6 times. This has thrown my tachometer off by about 600rpm because of the sheer speed it flicks it - causes it to get off-point.

I first noticed this problem when the car would sit and idle and overheat with the A/C (no reception where I live, I drive out someone and sit in car to talk on phone... i would never let it touch the red zone or even close - but I have the fan delete so the car will overheat if it doesn't move w/ the A/C on after about 10-15 minutes) Once I noticed the temp gauge moving past the 1/2 way point I would kill it and just roll down the windows, yet I would get this exact problem - except it was failure to start with gauges flickering like crazy. I would usually have to let it sit and give it 5x tries before it reluctantly started (like it was flooded... had to pump the revs to keep her alive until she idled on her own). Now this problem occurs when I'm driving down the road randomly - I only lose power for about 3-5 seconds but I lose power none-the-less and the gauges flicker like crazy. The car isn't overheating, it operates almost flawlessly otherwise.

My first thought is - a short/ground somewhere. But geez... where? The battery has nothing touching it - and in all my digging around I've never found raw wires touching anything.

.....Ideas?

[tjn182]

It hasn't happened to me when the lights are on... yet - but yes, it happens in relation to the instrument cluster gauges & needles flickering. Alternator doesn't whine , battery is always charged - can it really be a problem with it? Any way to see besides replacing..?

[eThirtySick]

It hasn't happened to me when the lights are on... yet - but yes, it happens in relation to the instrument cluster gauges & needles flickering. Alternator doesn't whine , battery is always charged - can it really be a problem with it? Any way to see besides replacing..?

Have you ever noticed the red battery light come on in the dash? And before replacing an alt, I would check the voltage regulator. And before replacing a voltage regulator I would check any plausible connections, check for power etc.

[tjn182]

Nope no battery light - no warning lights of any type. The car runs like an M3 I just rolled off the lot until this burp happens. Zero problems, lights, warnings, issues. I nip everything in the bud when it happens and apparently so did the previous owners - she's a gem!! .... until it does this 'burp'.

I guess I'll wait till the weekend and I'll try and give her a more hardcore diagnostics.

[elonforme]

I am so glad I came across this - I couldn't find my exact same problem anywhere. I don't have a "frankenstein" car - mine's stock with no aftermarket parts of any sort. 1998 BMW 328i convertible. Sometimes the instrument cluster backlights will flicker, the headlights will flicker, pretty much all orange lighting inside will flicker, the radio will go out for a second and come back on and the battery light does show up sometimes. Would you give my car the same diagnosis? And why does this not happen all the time, but rather once every blue moon? I at first thought it was a short somwehere (and didn't know where to check - the battery area looks fine), but why the randomness? And I've had my battery and alternator checked at the AutoZone.. I know they're not pros, but their machine was new and should work... any suggestions? Thank you!

[shellback]

can't remember the part but it sits near the battery + terminal. Looks like a fuse or some sort of relay. I had that part corrode itself off (barely attached by a few strands of wire doing the connection) and my car would exhibit the same symptoms, plus it would also loose engine power. Worth a shot to check out. Hope you get the problem solved.
Regards,
SB

[elonforme]

Thanks for your response. I wanted to add to this some things I noticed today while driving. When I turned off the car and parked in front of a store, I got out, closed the door, and turned the key to lock the door. It locked, but the other door and trunk didn't also lock as usual - there was no battery power behind it. When I got back in the car, the radio was asking for a code and the computer was asking for the time. This tells me there was a complete battery disconnect. When I got home and pulled into the garage, I pressed the button to roll up all the windows at once. As you know, when they all are up, it's a huge strain on the battery. The car cut off. Thankfully I was already parked and in the garage. Does this change your diagnosis? And the battery is in the trunk, I've looked at the area... pretty tight in there.. I see a little box with a couple of fuses.. what are these fuses for, and where is the area you're talking about? Thank you - sorry if I sound stupid.. that's why I'm here! I'm pretty broke and don't have the money for the dealer, or even the non-dealer BMW guy right now. I appreciate all your help. I was about to go get a voltage regulator, but if I can get out even cheaper than that, I'd be so happy! (And I DEFINITELY don't have the money for an alternator right now)

[Andrewmc]

I've had this exact same thing happen to me before, but it sounds like you ruled out the root of my problems. One of my battery terminals chronically comes loose, and when that happens the electrical system has a bit of a cough.

[fun2drive]

There can be a number of things that can cause this. First it has been mentioned that a complete check of your connectors are in order from the battery to the starter to the fuse box. That means loosen, put some dielectric grease on the connection and tighten. Just be careful or disconnect your battery so you don't fry anything when doing this. The fuse panel in the battery area is a fuseable link which can fail or be intermittent.

Poor alternator output. Did Autozone check this under load? Poor alternator performance can play havoc with your car's electrical system. Fuses and relays, I would pull each one and put some dielectric grease on each terminal for the relays and just check your fuses for good contact.

Starter switch/ignition, this can cause your car to do a lot of strange things too given it provides a lot of signal to a lot of relays and connections.

Flickering instrument panel. I have this and I know what it is but it is a hell of a lot of work to fix it. If you panel deflects all gages for maybe a second or two then back to normal you most likely have a cracked or cracking PCB board on the instrument panel. Remember the fix for the climate control panel for 96 on 3 series cars? Cracked PCB board. I know many replace the cap but it is not the cap it is flowing solder in that area which fixes that panel.
Same is true for the instrument panel but I just don't feel like getting a powerful magnifying lens and a lot of light with a very small soldering gun after taking the instrument panel totally apart. For what it is worth E30's have this problem too and I have I think 3-4 old instrument panels left from owning a lot of E30's over the years.

If I was to guess I would be guessing that the main source of the problem is a poor connection someplace in the path between the battery and the fuse box as well as verifying good ground connections...

[elonforme]

I appreciate all the responses. I'm going to start with the fuse box near the battery in the trunk first and going to go from there. I haven't noticed the needles/gauges jumping.. it's just the lighting that is flickering (most noticable: electronic mileage readout). You know, when I bought this car, it had excellent marks across the board except for one exception: electrical. Dangit!

[elonforme]

I think I came to the conclusion that if I turned off the car and turned it back on, that the flickering may or may not reoccur. This morning the flickering started, so I turned the car off (turned the key). I went to turn it back on, and nothing. No clicking, nothing. The key turns, but nothing at all happens. The windows don't roll down automatically (I have a convertible) when you open the door. When you turn the key on the outside, the door locks don't do the power thing. So, no juice at all. I am having the car towed tomorrow to the BAV Auto place and told them to order an ignition switch. If anyone sees this, can you please respond and give me some peace of mind that this is the right move? I am told the switch is $80 and the labor will be 1-1.25 hours and I should get out for $200. That's if this is the problem. I have had the battery and alternator checked in the past and was told they are okay. Thank you for letting me know your thoughts!