Car cuts out when using blinkers or wipers, also lost of power

[Bimmersaurus]

My car cuts out whenever I use the blinkers or windshield wipers. For the blinkers, it starts when the blinkers are on for more than 5 seconds or so. For the wipers, it takes a couple of minutes. I could be driving the car, put my signal lights on and then the car will cut out. It seems like I still have electrical power when it cuts out because the radio and everything else works. The car will not start immediately and I will need to wait a few minutes and then it'll start up again.

I've been pretty busy and tried to just live with this problem but now the car has a loss of power as well. I don't know if this has anything to do with my first issue but the car struggles to get up to 40-50 mph. RPM goes up quickly but acceleration does not.

Any clues fellow e21 people? Thanks

[Pelican Parts]

Do the headlights or interior lights flicker at all when you turn them on?

[cgifool]

Sounds really strange.. And strange issues like this always seem to be due to bad grounds.

I would start by disconnecting the battery, and really thoroughly wirebrush and resecure both ends of the big engine ground strap by the motor mount, and the smaller one off the valve cover. And the big ground connection under the battery.

I'd also clean and resecure the B+ and ground wires to the alternator just for fun.

Personally, I also put a smear of dielectric grease on all connections before reconnecting them (to add a little corrosion-resistance), and maybe also a star-washer to keep things secure.

[Bimmersaurus]

Do the headlights or interior lights flicker at all when you turn them on?

No, they do not

[Bimmersaurus]

Sounds really strange.. And strange issues like this always seem to be due to bad grounds.

I would start by disconnecting the battery, and really thoroughly wirebrush and resecure both ends of the big engine ground strap by the motor mount, and the smaller one off the valve cover. And the big ground connection under the battery.

I'd also clean and resecure the B+ and ground wires to the alternator just for fun.

Personally, I also put a smear of dielectric grease on all connections before reconnecting them (to add a little corrosion-resistance), and maybe also a star-washer to keep things secure.

Thanks. Would I be able to do all of this without getting under the car?

[cgifool]

Yes, I think so! Might need to pull the battery out to access the ground point underneath it - I'm not sure because a prior owner relocated my battery to the trunk and cut the old tray out. It's where a zillion brown wires are attached together and to the body in one place.

[epmedia]

Also check both ends of the wire between "Batt +" and the fuse box. Supposedly there was a recall on this wire connection because of it coming loose or corroding? in/under the fuse box.

More common - that same wire may just have a bad connection at the battery end. Check the other wire on the "Batt -" side of the battery too. These two wires power the whole car!

[Tom D]

....."Batt +"under the fuse box....

i have seen this before on a 320 my son and i had. we installed some H4 headlamps and that created all sorts of electrical problems. what we found was the B+ connection at the fuse box had overheated melting the plastic box and contaminating the connection, most likely this was done by somebody shorting the battery while trying to jumpstart the car. we cleaned up the resistance and all was well.

[Bimmersaurus]

Yes, I think so! Might need to pull the battery out to access the ground point underneath it - I'm not sure because a prior owner relocated my battery to the trunk and cut the old tray out. It's where a zillion brown wires are attached together and to the body in one place.

Thank you. I'll try that.

- - - Updated - - -

Also check both ends of the wire between "Batt +" and the fuse box. Supposedly there was a recall on this wire connection because of it coming loose or corroding? in/under the fuse box.

More common - that same wire may just have a bad connection at the battery end. Check the other wire on the "Batt -" side of the battery too. These two wires power the whole car!

Thank you for your response. I will try that.

- - - Updated - - -

i have seen this before on a 320 my son and i had. we installed some H4 headlamps and that created all sorts of electrical problems. what we found was the B+ connection at the fuse box had overheated melting the plastic box and contaminating the connection, most likely this was done by somebody shorting the battery while trying to jumpstart the car. we cleaned up the resistance and all was well.

Thanks, hopefully I can get this sorted this week.

[Somjuan]

If you replace that wire with a heftier gauge a lot of electrical gremlins can just vanish