Fuse Box Replacement

[chrisificti0n]

Hello all,

I have an old 328i that I've put 40k+ on in the last two years, now sitting around 220k. I was going to sell the car soon, but with the new electrical issue, it may just end up in the junk yard.

I have been dealing with an electrical issue that I managed to compound lately and was looking for some advice.

Whenever I would flash the brights or push the stalk forward to turn them on, fuse 25 would blow. I replaced the high beam relay under the dash and was able to use brights for maybe a few hundred miles before it, once again, blew fuse 25.

I replaced the relay again and it did not fix anything this time . At one point, I went to put in a new fuse and rather than a 5a, I inserted a 20a. Unfortunately, I had also forgotten that I pushed the stalk forward. The short loaded up the small gauge wire -- I had smoke from fuse box area as well as a little visible in the cabin. I quickly pulled that fuse (and everything around it), then went and disconnected the battery until I worked out exactly what happened.

Fast forward next day: got in the car and pressed the brake pedal, saw my headlights come on. What? Released brake, headlights off. Current behavior: if brake pedal is pressed, brake lights work but headlights come on with the brake lights. If headlights are turned on with switch, headlights work but brake lights stay illuminated.

My working assumption is that the smoke was insulation melting off of one or more wires- one attached to or related to fuse 25 and one attached to or related to fuse 46 (brake lights).

I pulled the interior dash apart and was not able to find any damage in the visible loom. I pulled the fuse box lid and top half up and was also unable to see damage. I ended up ripping out the entire fuse box tonight and at the moment, still no obvious damage yet.

There are two 10mm nuts on the top box- one on the exterior and one on the interior blocking the removal of one of the relays. Attempting to remove one of these cracked the top cover in half. Is there anywhere to source a new fuse box (bottom and top piece?) other than a junkyard?

Does anyone have any suggestions on which wires in particular I should focus my tracing efforts on? I have a Bentley manual, but fuse 25 is involved with so many things that I don't know where to start. Appreciate any input! I have this car as well as an 06 Z4 and an 08 X3, this forum has kept all three running for ages now.

[chrisificti0n]

Hello all,

I have an old 328i that I've put 40k+ on in the last two years, now sitting around 220k. I was going to sell the car soon, but with the new electrical issue, it may just end up in the junk yard.

I have been dealing with an electrical issue that I managed to compound lately and was looking for some advice.

Whenever I would flash the brights or push the stalk forward to turn them on, fuse 25 would blow. I replaced the high beam relay under the dash and was able to use brights for maybe a few hundred miles before it, once again, blew fuse 25.

I replaced the relay again and it did not fix anything this time . At one point, I went to put in a new fuse and rather than a 5a, I inserted a 20a. Unfortunately, I had also forgotten that I pushed the stalk forward. The short loaded up the small gauge wire -- I had smoke from fuse box area as well as a little visible in the cabin. I quickly pulled that fuse (and everything around it), then went and disconnected the battery until I worked out exactly what happened.

Fast forward next day: got in the car and pressed the brake pedal, saw my headlights come on. What? Released brake, headlights off. Current behavior: if brake pedal is pressed, brake lights work but headlights come on with the brake lights. If headlights are turned on with switch, headlights work but brake lights stay illuminated.

My working assumption is that the smoke was insulation melting off of one or more wires- one attached to or related to fuse 25 and one attached to or related to fuse 46 (brake lights).

I pulled the interior dash apart and was not able to find any damage in the visible loom. I pulled the fuse box lid and top half up and was also unable to see damage. I ended up ripping out the entire fuse box tonight and at the moment, still no obvious damage yet.

There are two 10mm nuts on the top box- one on the exterior and one on the interior blocking the removal of one of the relays. Attempting to remove one of these cracked the top cover in half. Is there anywhere to source a new fuse box (bottom and top piece?) other than a junkyard?

Does anyone have any suggestions on which wires in particular I should focus my tracing efforts on? I have a Bentley manual, but fuse 25 is involved with so many things that I don't know where to start. Appreciate any input! I have this car as well as an 06 Z4 and an 08 X3, this forum has kept all three running for ages now.

For anyone searching, found the parts:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=61_4886

Have not found any wires melted yet. crossing my fingers this was not a waste of effort!

[chrisificti0n]

For anyone reading this in the future, fuse box components are available and relatively cheap on Ebay and new from a few other sites. Part numbers here:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=61_4886

Still have not located any damaged wiring.