My E39 520i torched...

[Bimmer525e34]

Hello, about a months ago my 96 520i (Euro version) was torched i dont know exact reason, but i'm almost sure fire started from coil pack wiring harness. I have other bimmers in garage, but i really loved that car, so i want to repair everything and get the car back to road. I know it will take a big time and lot of work. It'll be something like project IMO, Just want some advices and help in this thread. P.S. sorry for my English, it's not my native language.


















After some junk cleaning...

[ross1]

several years ago I worked on a car that had an under hood fire. It was far less severe than yours. The then owner of the car "repaired" it but had continuing electrical faults which he addressed by using fuses with higher amperages which only made things worse.
The problem wound up being a huge wire bundle inside the car over the transmission tunnel. The engine fire had generated enough heat to melt many of the wires in that bundle shorting them to other circuits. The symptoms were bizarre and the owner had thrown a bunch of components at the problem before discovering the melted harness. Not only was the harness melted at the site of the fire but in many other places due to all the short circuiting and wrong fuse values.
Do yourself a favor and be sure to remove the entire dash assembly and heater box and examine those wires inside the car before you even think of powering it up again. If you find any damage, you will, find a replacement harness. The collateral damage you'll cause powering up a car with a bunch of short circuits can be extensive.
The car I repaired was a friend's so he wasn't charged but it was pretty much a solid week's worth of tracing circuits(tough to identify burnt wires BTW), repairing wires, tracing some more, replacing a bunch of $$ modules that had been fried, tracing some more, etc., etc. I wouldn't do it again unless there was no replacement available.
With the correct replacement harnesses it should be a straightforward, if messy job.
There is a member here or the (likely)E34 forum that successfully repaired his car after a similar event, you might be able to find his thread.
Good luck lots of work ahead of you. Is the car worth it?

[sleuth255]

Now that's a project!

[jicaino]

I gotta support anybody loving a car so much that tries to bring it back from a certain death.
Good luck!
Ross1's advice is rock solid. Disassemble as much as possible and trace everything before even connecting power again.

[crdiscoverer]

There are way better projects that you can spend your money on, pal.

Let this one go...

[MtnGn]

Where should we send flowers?

[Bimmer525e34]

Hi,

Thanks for your replys.

Just a quick update, assembled DME wiring harness, manifold and other stuff just to start & test the car, checked voltage, fuses etc, everything seems working as it should.

Installed M50 manifold with B28 injectors engine is 2.8l.

DME tuning process and some wiring before start:




I'll make a list later for parts i need, of course i'll remove dash, will look up there also, interrior needs good cleaning.

[kallekula]

Have you calculated an estimate on how much it will cost to bring it back to a presentable state?

[Jason5driver]

Cool !
Love a come back !

[sleuth255]

yup, same! Really interested in this one since I know next to nothing about the engine/DME wiring harness in my car.