2 electrical glitches HELP PLEASE!!!

[godzilla-1]

Firstly some times I open my drivers door and get in my car and the door glass lowers half way or so by its own accord and sometimes closes again instantly.

Secondly I had my car in storage for 8 months and after getting her back out I have some weird headlight glitch. Firstly drivers side eyebrow is not illuminating on sidelight setting (first click on headlight switch) but it does illuminate when u turn headlights on (Second click on headlight switch) additionally drivers side angel eye will not illuminate at all, I have changed the bulb but still nothing.

Any advice would be greatly received

[E30 Racer]

Did you disconnect the battery while the car was being stored, or was it maintained with a tender?

[godzilla-1]

I Left it to go flat like a proper amateur, it started it after 4 months battery was still good but was dead by the time went to get it out 4 months later

[eeghie]

"after getting her back out" implies you got the car started, right? That means the battery may not be beyond repair, but do try to extend your drives to 20 minutes or more for the time being and asap I'd look into:
1. charging the battery to its maximum with a proper AGM battery dedicated charger (higher voltage, like CTEK MSX-10)
2. re-assessing the lights situation
3. perform the reinitialize procedures for the windows

[godzilla-1]

Sorry you misunderstood me. The car sat for 8 months. Started after 4 months, was dead by 8 months. I charged it and have done 1000 miles now. Battery Is fine.

[eeghie]

Originally Posted by godzilla-1

Sorry you misunderstood me. The car sat for 8 months. Started after 4 months, was dead by 8 months. I charged it and have done 1000 miles now. Battery Is fine.

Now I got you.

- Have you tried reinitializing the window switches?
- Your driver side will be the right side of your UK car I assume. Further assuming you have the turn-indicator stalk on the middle position while doing the broken brow and AE observations, i'm afraid we're bordering gremlin territory: suggestions of possible root causes will become weird fast:

1. Possibly something (like the poor battery condition) damaged the NFRN module (in the foot well, controls light and many basic including window functions) or RSMC light module (your footnote picture seems to indicate you have bi-xenon lights)
2. Have you opened the lid of your headlight enclosure, and subsequently driven through a car wash or the abundant UK rain? I.e. is there possibly water or moisture in the light module?
3. Do you have comfort access and/or PDC and is/was there water or moist in your right trunk floor pocket (extending downwards below the upholstery)?

[godzilla-1]

Thanks for your time by the way. So reinitializing the window switches ? Is this to simply lower the window all the way, hold for a few secs then raise all the way and hold for a few secs.
Just to add I reckon maybe the window catches on closure occasionally and so lowers as a safety thing, its never done it when closing the door leaving the car yet It must have happened 5 or so random times when ive got in and closed the door.
No comfort access, I can roll windows up and down simply holding lock/unlock on the remote.
I have pdc (reverse park sensors)

My main concern Is the lights as they seem really confused my car Is not the one flying through the air in that pic man but I have got uk spec which I believe is bi-zenon headlight. I have lux led angel eye upgrade but have confirmed the problem to be with the car not the bulb/led kit. Covers have always been on, no condensation but a small spiders web that really irritates me. As for condensation in the boot I will inspect when I get in but it may have been damp at time of failure but due to regular use again it may have dried out even if it was damp Also occasionally I wash the car and put it straight away if weather looks iffy and i cover it with my US market only official cover so it may well have sweated up In there if there was residual trapped water from washing sitting in the panel returns but I leather the car and the doorshuts, bootshuts and under the bonnet every few washes.

[eeghie]

Window reset procedure

Based on the aftermarket AE install, I'd favour rootcause candidate #2 for the light problem. Because there's a near 100% correlation between moisture in a headlight enclosure/ECU and bulb replacements. This is not something we as DIY-ers can do a lot about, but it relates to 2 questionable decisions that BMW designers made long ago:
1. The seal used to guard the headlight enclosure of water, by design is compressed too hard at the initial factory assembly. Maximum elastic deformation is exceeded and permanent deformation occurs immediately. This means that if you open the lid and try the seal it a second time, it is very prone to leakage. This is aggravated by the difficult to reach location when closing the lid while the headlights are mounted on the car. The solution is to buy a new lid (includes a new seal) every time you open a headlight enclosure. Alternatively some fill up the seal rim with a silicone kit gun etc, or are extremely careful when closing.
2. The E8X (Xenon) lights have their control module in the bottom of the enclosure, with open connection to the enclosure. this means that any moisture or stream of water just by simple gravity will end up in these control modules (RSMC & LSMC) and will very quickly result in light failure.

No guarantees as this is just an on-paper diagnosis attempt, but with what you're telling me I'd check this out first: take out the failing headlight enclosure and search for leakage and or switch the headlights and thereby confirm or exclude that the problem is light-ECU related.

[TXmtrhed]

In regards to the windows problem, in my case when the battery was replaced by BMW I had problems controlling the windows. They were either full up or full down and delayed rolling up after closing the door. The dealership ending up having BMWNA remote in and completely reprogram the computer. They suspect there must have been some voltage spike during the battery install.
Perhaps your problem is similar to this? Hope not.

[godzilla-1]

Surely a window reset procedure should have been all you needed. I'm sure I have done this since the battery went flat but my drivers glass still drops halfway on occasions and then closes.
I'm going to remove one of the headlights for thorough inspection for water ingress.

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by godzilla-1

I Left it to go flat like a proper amateur, it started it after 4 months battery was still good but was dead by the time went to get it out 4 months later

I do let my car sit for periods of time. Like you found... surprisingly.. after 3-4 months.. believe it or not the car will definitely start...
I have been surprised it has not gone flat sooner... That said... if you are going to leave it this long.. it should be on a tender.

As my car and battery get to be 4 years old... I have endeavored to put mine on a tender more to make sure that I don't kill it completely.

I came here because I was literally thinking of posting how my trunk lid button does not operate when the battery is low... My car had been sitting for a month or two recently, and I went and opened the trunk and the trunk release button in the rear decklid wouldn't work... so I decided to post a little about it and found your post here ha! There are many functions that the car will turn off for you when your battery is NOT 100 percent.

1- Comfort Access will not work.
2- Angel Eyes and taillights will not stay lit after key off until driver door opens
3- rear decklid open button becomes inoperable ( use remote or trunk release button inside the car)
4- subwoofers for car stereo don't play
5- headlights illuminate at night only on auto mode

I am sure there are others but these are what I have noticed.

Originally Posted by eeghie

"after getting her back out" implies you got the car started, right? That means the battery may not be beyond repair, but do try to extend your drives to 20 minutes or more for the time being and asap I'd look into:
1. charging the battery to its maximum with a proper AGM battery dedicated charger (higher voltage, like CTEK MSX-10)
2. re-assessing the lights situation
3. perform the reinitialize procedures for the windows

Exactly... except I would say extend your drives to 30 minutes! Even though the low battery sign doesn't illuminate... if you have seen it once and managed to get the car started.. it will take several days of normal driving to get the battery back to 100 percent. If you make short drives or use a lot of the accessories ( like the stereo) then it will take longer to charge.

Get thee a battery tender... charge the battery FULLY... then proceed to reset and check all functions

[RS375]

I'm from the UK and my 1M is not a daily.

If it doesn't get used for a week it gets hooked up to a CTEK battery conditioner - and 'conditioner' is the pertinent word rather than 'charger'.

The CTEK conditioners are worth their weight in gold, especially if you own a car that's mainly a hobby/fun car.

[godzilla-1]

As I said I have been using regularly, I charged it with a battery charger on slow charge for 24hrs. It is not the battery I have checked it.

[godzilla-1]

UPDATE:

so it turns out that the window drops half way when you open the door if you have double pressed the unlock button on the remote. This is a feature to make it easier to get in when you have restricted space to open the door properly.

Regarding the headlights issue, I cannot see any dampness in the trunk and have left the car out for a week or so, I even checked after a night of rain.

[eeghie]

Originally Posted by eeghie

...
1. Battery charge ...
2. ... I.e. is there possibly water or moisture in the light module?
3. ... is/was there water or moist in your right trunk floor pocket ...)?

Seems that you've ruled out 1 and 3. The install of the LUX AE (or regular bulb switches) may have caused #2.

If I may ask, how did you confirm the problem is with the car not the headlights? Did you connect an identical spare headlight enclosure, or switch the headlights side2side?

[godzilla-1]

I have not reached a conclusion as to what's up with the headlights yet as I have not had the time to remove the headlights as suggested but its my next job

[eeghie]

A great additional frugal tip for everyone that ever touches their headlight enclosure: Tip on how to avoid moisture leaks after bulb changes. It counters root cause #1 below.

Originally Posted by eeghie

... it relates to 2 questionable decisions that BMW designers made long ago:
1. The seal used to guard the headlight enclosure of water, by design is compressed too hard at the initial factory assembly. Maximum elastic deformation is exceeded and permanent deformation occurs immediately. This means that if you open the lid and try the seal it a second time, it is very prone to leakage. This is aggravated by the difficult to reach location when closing the lid while the headlights are mounted on the car. The solution is to buy a new lid (includes a new seal) every time you open a headlight enclosure. Alternatively some fill up the seal rim with a silicone kit gun etc, or are extremely careful when closing.
2. The E8X (Xenon) lights have their control module in the bottom of the enclosure, with open connection to the enclosure. this means that any moisture or stream of water just by simple gravity will end up in these control modules (RSMC & LSMC) and will very quickly result in light failures. ...