PLEASE HELP!!
 

I have a 2001 bmw x5 4.4 and my airbag light is on, the controls on the steering wheel doesn't work, my horn doesn't work, the back window arm doesn't move when u turn it on. I checked the fuses and it seems fine but when i take the fuse off the airbag light turns off and all of the stuff start to work again. Ive also changed the clock spring and its still the same. Please help

What do you mean by back window arm? The wiper. If yes, open your hatch, and look for the wires coming through the body to the hatch. Open that up, and look for damaged wires. You prolly have a short there.

Would it be anything else excpet that?

How new/old is your battery and alternator?

Alternator i changed this year (bosch) the battery i changed last year (interstate i think)

try this.

http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...-ms43-edk.html

m54 though.

Didnt work

I think it's time to get the car hooked up to a GT1 or Autologic and see what faults are present.

Yeah. I love the power but i hate the constant problems

which fuse did you check? check fuse #9 in the glove compartment

I checked all the fuses. I take off the fuse and i check to see if theres electricity and it shows there isn't a lot of electricity going

faulty ignition switch

your description is confusing - when a fuse is removed, there is no electricity to go through the circuit. When you check the removed fuse using an OhmMeter, there is either continuity or not. Checking all fuses does not resolve the issue - you need to check specific fuse and note the behaviour. If you are checking the for the electricity, you need to define "not a lot of electricity", as electricity is measured in definite values

Tell us more about the problem - since we do not have the car in front of us, we are only relying on your description of the problem and the symptoms, and we do not know your level of expertise - do we need to hold your hand and walk you through the process, or you are an expert and need minimal guidance...

tell us how the problem started. was there any work done on the car? how old is your battery? was the battery recently drained? we need the details...

Thats what the guy who worked on my car told me. I put aftermarket horns on the car, thats the only thing i put on the car. It was raining in la like a week ago and thats when it all started. Ive taken off the negative and i left off for about a good hour i turned it on and still the same thing. Do you guys think the computer needs to be reset?

aftermarket horns? interesting.. were those horns designed for the X5? this car has very sensitive electronics, with callibrated, balance signal and power lines - that means if the values of the replacement electrical component are not what the microcontroller is expecting, it will compensate by either increasing or reducing the power supply, but it can not overcompensate for grossly mismatched values.

Depending on the quality of the workmanship, the rain may have contributed to the issue - if the contacts were not properly insulated, or the system was not properly grounded.

There are multiple computers in this car, responsible for specific areas - the horns don't seem to be controlled by the computers though...

what I suspect, that
1. the battery may have been drained
2. depending where the work was performed, the steering wheel ring may have been damaged
3. as it was indicated before, ignition coil

if this is power related issue, then it could be the battery or the alternator... however, i would think, that the battery issues would be secondary to the horn installation - do you know where the replacement horns were introduced, and if there was any work done in the steering wheel vicinity?

The horns were made in taiwan or somewhere like that but , they had everything inside of the horn replaced to sound better.

was any work done around the steering wheel?

No i recently took replaced the clock spring when the airbag light went on, but the light was still like that

so you replaced the clock spring? is it the one that is in the steering wheel column? and now the buttons on the wheel, the horn and the rear wiper do not work? how about the turn signals and the high beam -do they work?

Yeah they work but the seat heater doesnt work

did you do the install of the clock spring yourself, or you paid someone do it for you? could it be that a ribbon cable is pinched/jammed/bent or whatever?

Not sure about the rear wiper as I didn't try mine during the time. I had the airbag & seatbelt lights, radio was intermittently working, no power steering, seat heaters didn't work, visor mirror lights didn't work and steering wheel buttons didn't work to name a few. Changed the ignition switch myself and everything returned to normal.

Scott

I changed the clock spring my self

you might need to retrace your steps with the clock spring to make sure that no wires are nicked or pinched - an alternative electrical path can create unexpected results in these electrical circuits

>Arakhoper

It sounds like at least some of your problems are due to the recent work you performed or had done at your local shop. You just replace the horns...and they don't work. You just took apart the steering column, and the airbag light is on and the rear wiper and steering wheel controls won't work. Are you sure you're not out of your depth working on this car?

X5's can be VERY tricky cars to work on, especially if you're new to BMWs. Anything electrical can be diabolically difficult to work on, and many jobs involving electrical components are impossible to diagnose or put right without a dealer level scan tool.

There are a LOT of jobs a non-technician owner can do, especially with the help of the tutorials found on this site, TIS, and Bentley manual. But it's certainly possible to foul things up if you're not careful.

All this random stuff not working, I now have a feeling its is the ignition switch as well.

But in all honesty, a good diagnostic computer is worth it's weight in gold. Seriously.

Did you disconnect the battery before removing the airbag/steering wheel or did you leave it on?