2 niggling issues - fuel gauge and electric steering wheel

[psoma]

Hiya all,

Had my E39 540i for 5 years now and love it. Of late, it's developed two annoying traits however:

1) When turning the key to accessory, the steering wheel starts to lower into position (I have it right down low), however as soon as I turn the key to fire the engine, it stops descending. Likewise, the sunroof stops opening/closing as soon as the engine goes to start. Once running, I need to manually pull the lever to get the steering wheel down to the lowest position. Tried removing the battery for a while, no luck. Seems very strange?!? Note that it doesn't happen ALL the time, just most times.

2) Fuel gauge is right when totally full, but on subsequent starts, it always misreads under, and then 10-15 minutes into the trip it slowly works up to the right fuel level. You'll see here the mismatch between the gauge and the onboard computer tank reading. Very annoying!

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=518421&stc=1

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Cheers,

Tom

[RuskiE39]

http://thedmbarlow.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/waitwhat.png


Niggling?

[jicaino]

It's the ignition switch

[Qsilver7]

Hiya all,

Had my E39 540i for 5 years now and love it. Of late, it's developed two annoying traits however:

1) When turning the key to accessory, the steering wheel starts to lower into position (I have it right down low), however as soon as I turn the key to fire the engine, it stops descending. Likewise, the sunroof stops opening/closing as soon as the engine goes to start. Once running, I need to manually pull the lever to get the steering wheel down to the lowest position. Tried removing the battery for a while, no luck. Seems very strange?!? Note that it doesn't happen ALL the time, just most times.

2) Fuel gauge is right when totally full, but on subsequent starts, it always misreads under, and then 10-15 minutes into the trip it slowly works up to the right fuel level. You'll see here the mismatch between the gauge and the onboard computer tank reading. Very annoying!

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=518421&stc=1

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Cheers,

Tom

As far as the fuel gauge...what are you getting on the other screen of TEST 6...does it show PHASE 1, 2, or 3? If you're not getting PHASE 1...then one of your fuel level sensors may be failing or sticking.


http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/OBC%20TEST%206%20-%20Remaining%20Fuel%20in%20Tank%201.jpg

(see description of TEST 6)

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/OBC%20TESTS%204-7.jpg

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/Test%206%20Fuel%20Tank%20Level%20Sensors%20High%20 Cluster.jpg

[psoma]

http://thedmbarlow.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/waitwhat.png


Niggling?

:)

niggling (ˈnɪɡlɪŋ)adj1. petty
2. fussy
3. irritating
4. requiring painstaking work
5. persistently troubling: a niggling back pain.

n6. an act or instance of niggling

ˈnigglingly adv

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks about the fuel gauge info... Will check it out.

With respect to the ignition switch, is there something/anything I can do?

Cheers,

Tom

[sleuth255]

...2) Fuel gauge is right when totally full, but on subsequent starts, it always misreads under, and then 10-15 minutes into the trip it slowly works up to the right fuel level. You'll see here the mismatch between the gauge and the onboard computer tank reading. Very annoying!



Mine has done this since the day it was new and it has to do with the fact that my analog gauge is actually showing range not the amount of gasoline left in the tank. When the car is cold, MPG is much lower, so the range is less too. The fuel gauge is actually showing this... ie, when the car is out of gas, the needle is on empty because the range is 0. This is also why when I cold start the car and I have about an eighth of a tank or less, the needle will be very close to empty and the low fuel light will come on. Then, as the engine warms up, the needle will climb up to the point where the low fuel light will go back off. You can actually watch this happening by setting your BC to display remaining range. Mileage will increase as the engine warms up.

Again, my car has behaved this way since the day I bought it new in 2003. In fact, iirc my 2000 528i behaved this way also.