2 problems driving me crazy , any thoughts?

[jmr898]

1995 525i auto and car runs great, smooth
problem #1 is about once every one to weeks I will get the add coolent on my display, either right when i turn the car off or right when I turn the car on, but never while driving. I check it out and the coolent is low about 3-4 inches , where is it going, I park in a garage and no leaks and as far as i can tell it's not getting burnt, (Checking smell and look at the exhaust while running) and the needle on my tep gauge never over heats , it's right in the middle once warmed up, thats where it's supposed to be rgiht? any ideas on this ?

#2 the passanger door lock only SOMETIMES lock and unlocks when I unlock the drivers door., and also when i go to lock the drivers door , I will lock it and then start to walk away then the car will unlock it self. this is driving me , I bought the car not too long ago , and was never given a remote, and nor was i tild it had a alarm , and nor can i tell that there is an alarm other then a little red led right below the rear passanger vents in the center console. Do you think this probelm becasuse there is an alarm and it's gone or is this somthing else. I wanted to atleast get a alarm soon but, i would like to correct this before someone else goes in there and adds something to the car.

ANy ideas would help, Thank you all

[uscharalph]

"1995 525i auto and car runs great, smooth
problem #1 is about once every one to weeks I will get the add coolent on my display, either right when i turn the car off or right when I turn the car on, but never while driving. I check it out and the coolent is low about 3-4 inches , where is it going, I park in a garage and no leaks and as far as i can tell it's not getting burnt, (Checking smell and look at the exhaust while running) and the needle on my tep gauge never over heats , it's right in the middle once warmed up, thats where it's supposed to be rgiht? any ideas on this?"

On #1 - I had a very slow coolant leak in my heatrer core which until it developed into a little more substantial leak went undetected. Right now I have the heater core bypassed until I have time to fix it.

[emw525E34]

On item #2, there might be an alarm on board already and you were not told about it. If there is, there are two possibilities: a factory alarm (Alpine brand) or a 3rd party alarm. Can be any brand like Viper, BullDog, Autopage, etc.

Here is where you can look. remove the rear seat base. Seat in one of the seats. Reach two hands below the cushion and LIFT. Hard. You will undo the catch below the cushion. Do the same for the other seat. Then you can lift the seat base forward a bit and out of the way completely. Take it out of the car. See the seat on driver side. Yes, rear seat, not the driver seat!. You see a huge Fuse box. IF you have factory alarm, its a module seated ON-TOP of the fusebox cover. It night slide sideways or facing the other seat. Have a good look. Take a digital picture if you ain't sure and post here!.
If there is no stock alarm, a 3rd party alarm might be lurking below the large black cover. Remove it by undoing 3 (or 4) screws. Be careful with these screws as they might drop in the crevices when you undo them. Use a magnetic screwdriver philips head. Remove that cover. There are a couple of slots on the top right side of the fusebox the size of a cigarette pack. If one of them had something inside. Try to lift it out to see if its an alarm. It would be connected to a 12pin , 20pin or 26 pin GREEN connector. Thats the alarm wiring harness. Also, some 3rd party installers might run wires all over the place bypassing this connector.

If you find a stock Alpine alarm. You can purchase the remotes from the dealer or Ebay and programme them for use (ie if the alarm module is still functional). If you got a 3rd party alarm, chances are get another one new same like is and swap it in.

Let us know how you progress.

[jmr898]

OMG I feel like an idiot, I opened the back seat up and what do you know, the BMW/Alpine alarm is right there, so becasue I don't have the remote is why when i go to lock the doors from the drivers door they unlock about 1 sec later?
I want to buy a remote, should i just go to the dealer, and how does one program the remote, I am pretty handy and can follow directions.

On a complete different subject, I changed the oil on my 95 525i for the first time and OMG I scratched my head looking for the damm oil filter , I am used to Honda's and Toyota's Ha HA
Then I gave up and jumped on the BMWe34 site and looked up oil change,
only to find out the filter is on top, I must say those Germans are pretty smart how much do i love the filter like that, Vs. on other cars where you burn your wrist and oil runs all down the block and other parts once you remove the hard to reach oil filter. I Love my BMW even if it's 10 years old this year, Girlfriend gives me crap about buying an old e34 becasue we were looking at a 01 330ci but I liked the fact that the 5251 was just as clean inside and out as the 01 330ci, I will post some pics, I am the second owner and he had a garage so NO door dings at all!!!! and factory paint , but the emblem on front need replacing? Oh well I will get to that. Just thought I would share.

[Kalevera]

OMG I feel like an idiot, I opened the back seat up and what do you know, the BMW/Alpine alarm is right there, so becasue I don't have the remote is why when i go to lock the doors from the drivers door they unlock about 1 sec later?
I want to buy a remote, should i just go to the dealer, and how does one program the remote, I am pretty handy and can follow directions.

On a complete different subject, I changed the oil on my 95 525i for the first time and OMG I scratched my head looking for the damm oil filter , I am used to Honda's and Toyota's Ha HA
Then I gave up and jumped on the BMWe34 site and looked up oil change,
only to find out the filter is on top, I must say those Germans are pretty smart how much do i love the filter like that, Vs. on other cars where you burn your wrist and oil runs all down the block and other parts once you remove the hard to reach oil filter. I Love my BMW even if it's 10 years old this year, Girlfriend gives me crap about buying an old e34 becasue we were looking at a 01 330ci but I liked the fact that the 5251 was just as clean inside and out as the 01 330ci, I will post some pics, I am the second owner and he had a garage so NO door dings at all!!!! and factory paint , but the emblem on front need replacing? Oh well I will get to that. Just thought I would share.

Sounds like you need a new girlfriend.



Welcome!

best, whit

[Kakaire]

Problem #2 Door unlock, you might want to check boot wire harness right under the hinge on the left-hand side, mine dont have an alarm but had issues of doors unlocking right after locking them plus locking from the boot had stopped working. On checking I found about 4 wires were cut by the hinge movement, well I spliced them according to color and am in business.