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Thread: Not your average "dead battery, how to open hatch?" thread

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    Join Date
    Apr 2015
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    1999 528iT

    Not your average "dead battery, how to open hatch?" thread

    So... I bought a 2000 323i Touring for an Ls1 swap. Last summer I pulled most of the BMW stuff out of the engine bay.
    I removed the engine, wiring harness, and apparently the "jump start lead cable" that attaches on the passenger side shock tower.

    Afterwards, the car sat for ~9months, and the battery died...I think? Crazy how the details get fuzzy in just a year's time...
    I'm trying to get power to it to open the rear hatch, but I've tried everything I can think of.

    I looked for about 20 minutes, and I couldn't find where the fat red jump wire connects to in the driver's corner windshield area where the ECU is.
    At this point, I kind of assume that it connects into a wiring harness that connects into the ECU area, but I don't know.
    Also, re-reading this has made me assume that the red cable attaches to the starter motor on the engine, which then leads to the battery. So if someone removes the engine, then they effectively don't have a 12V lead.


    Things I've tried:
    Looking for where the red 12V lead wire connects
    Crawling to the back of the car, looking for a manual hatch release. Nothing.
    Using a battery tender and connecting it to the battery at the back of the car. Even on 50A "emergency start" mode, the car doesn't get power, but the charger does show that the system is drawing power, so maybe the battery is bad now? I removed the terminals to the battery and fed 50A directly into the car and no difference. Hazards or dome lights don't even have power.


    I have a feeling I the car doesn't get power because I have pulled out too many wires.
    Here's a picture for reference. Let me know if anything is necessary to get power to the car just to like pop the hatch open and close the sunroof.

    Okay, another question - how do I unlock the other 3 doors? I unlocked the driver's door via using the key in the lock, but the other 3 doors won't pop up the lock, even when I pull on the handle.

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    Last edited by fast5speed; 05-12-2018 at 01:47 PM.

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