Appointment at my Indy on Monday morning for some work and I think I might just replace the battery for peace of mind.... it's going to be 15F here tomorrow morning and sitting all day in the work parking garage at that or lower temps could be the end of a weak battery.
I took the 135s with PSS off the car and put them in the corner of the garage for the winter. The winter wheel/tire set are:
Tire Rack 16x7.5 Titanium Gunmetal Sport Edition A8 square set, $60 ea on sale! : x4 205/55R16 Michelin X-Ice Xi3
Oh and the 'Vert went into our friend's barn for the winter. A full tank of gas + some Stabil, air up the tires to full, vacuum out interior, strategically placed anti-vermin Bounce dryer sheets and let it sit on the CTEK battery charger on "winter mode". See you next March or April.... VCG, new rear tires and some other good stuff next Spring!
Last edited by Wisco; 11-13-2017 at 05:11 PM.
"Scarlett" driven by Wisco (His)
2005 BMW 330i Imola Red/Black Leather ZHP | 6MT
MFactory 3.46 Helical LSD | Bilstein PSS | UUC Corsa TSE3
"The Girl with No Name" driven by Mrs. Wisco (Hers)
2006 BMW 330Ci Imola Red/Sand Beige Leather ZHP | 6MT
Box Stock
2007 e90 Black/Terra Leather SOLD
2016 Honda Pilot (The family SUV)
At least other people on the road put winter tires on where you are...and you don't have the worst traffic in the country.
And I replaced battery January 2015. So couldn't hurt. Electrical issues are the #1 gremlin with the E46.
As much as it bothers me to see her touch snow and salt, it's not like I didn't enjoy the winters! I am glad she is getting driven!
Get a video of some snonuts if you get a chance - one of the few Zhp's on here that can do them right. #lsd
Current:
1988 BMW 325is
1996 Toyota Land Cruiser FZJ80 x3 Locked - Restoration/Project Thread on ih8mud.com
Sold:
"Scarlett" the 2005 BMW 330i ZHP 6MT - Project/Maintenance Thread
2011 BMW M3 E92 6MT - Info/Maintenance Thread
^ Don't worry NoVa, I'll take as good care of her as I can! In the end she's a car that begs to be driven and I'll honor that.
Anyway the electrical gremlin plot thickens. I took Scarlett to my trusted Indy with the question: "I just replaced the battery and it ran down over three days leaving me almost stranded in the target parking lot. What do you think, alternator, alternator belt or....?"
He sent me an e-mail about 2 hours later:
" I was checking voltage across different spots when I looked down between the engine block and the alternator from top and saw a glow from the cable that runs between the alternator and the starter. Liquified metal was dripping from this, so the insulation must have melted clean through. I'm so glad you brought the car in now as this could have caused a fire! Got the cable removed, found that the clamping nut on the alternator side is missing! Not sure how that happened. There must have been a lot of arcing on the loose cable at the alternator which caused a burn-spot on the cable's eyelet. The post on the alternator had a burn spot too but I was able to scrape it off. The rest of the surface looks like it is just fine."
Wow, that was not a diagnosis I would have expected. I never thought to look down while poking around the engine cavity and unfortunately he didn't take any pics. Anyway, the part should be at his shop tomorrow and hopefully that is the solution. The alternator itself tests fine as does the battery, so I'm hopeful this is just one of those weird ones.
"Scarlett" driven by Wisco (His)
2005 BMW 330i Imola Red/Black Leather ZHP | 6MT
MFactory 3.46 Helical LSD | Bilstein PSS | UUC Corsa TSE3
"The Girl with No Name" driven by Mrs. Wisco (Hers)
2006 BMW 330Ci Imola Red/Sand Beige Leather ZHP | 6MT
Box Stock
2007 e90 Black/Terra Leather SOLD
2016 Honda Pilot (The family SUV)
So the conclusion from Aaron, owner and head mechanic at my Indy:
"I replaced the cable and also the inner/outer nuts that sandwitch the cable to the alternator so all the mating surfaces are clean.
Full electronics scan, erased all codes, tested charging system and all is working great, including the radio."
I guess we're back in business. We next need some snow around here so I can hoon Scarlett's LSD and see how she enjoys 10 inch snowfall!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited by Wisco; 11-22-2017 at 04:11 PM.
"Scarlett" driven by Wisco (His)
2005 BMW 330i Imola Red/Black Leather ZHP | 6MT
MFactory 3.46 Helical LSD | Bilstein PSS | UUC Corsa TSE3
"The Girl with No Name" driven by Mrs. Wisco (Hers)
2006 BMW 330Ci Imola Red/Sand Beige Leather ZHP | 6MT
Box Stock
2007 e90 Black/Terra Leather SOLD
2016 Honda Pilot (The family SUV)
Has it been nearly one year since I last updated this thread? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness have dominated our lives... where daily driving Scarlett is an important part of happiness, something that has not diminished one bit since I brought her home from Virginia.
Scarlett is a very capable snow car with dedicated snow tires. The 16 inch rim/Michelin X-Ice combination works good in the snow and extreme cold of southern Wisconsin.
In April I decided to put a set of new summer wheels, a set of four (square set-up) 17x8.5 anthracite Apex ARC-8 shod with 245/40R17 Michelin PS4S tires. The grey looks good with Imola, the PS4S tires provide OMG performance and the slightly fatter rubber helps calm down the crap roads we have in southern Wisconsin.
As mileage approached 100k (96,780 to be precise in April 2018), it was time for a whole lot of PM + a few needed repairs:
- Brake fluid flush and fill
- Coolant flush and fill
- Manual transmission flush and fill
- Rear differential (M Factory LSD) flush and fill
- New spark plugs
- New engine air filter
- Replace engine oil pan gasket
Winter driving damage / repairs
- Replace damaged temperature sensor/wiring harness.... I nailed a small snowdrift and managed to trash the sensor, which is mounted behind the drivers side lower bumper.
- Replace underbody reinforcement panel + oil change panel.... the only issue with this lowered ZHP is that it scrapes packed snow on some of the rural road sections of my commute to and from work. With a winter's worth of that, I trashed the panel and ripped off the oil change door. I will be re-evaluating my route home this coming winter.
- Replace leaking power steering hoses to and from cooler
As I am not a DIY guy, this was a major ouch bill, but that is what life is when you love and care for a ZHP.
And an oil and filter change in July and we're otherwise enjoying the drive, now at 103,750 miles. Scarlett has gone on a few 500+ mile road trips to visit kids at college, goes to work and the hardware store, as well as carry bikes on occasion with the hitch mounted Saris rack I use:
This picture of Scarlett soon after we picked her up still warms my heart
I'll conclude with a slightly off topic pic of an M5 that I got sideways and slightly off the track at a one day M School in Spartanburg in July.... but that's a whole other story.
"Scarlett" driven by Wisco (His)
2005 BMW 330i Imola Red/Black Leather ZHP | 6MT
MFactory 3.46 Helical LSD | Bilstein PSS | UUC Corsa TSE3
"The Girl with No Name" driven by Mrs. Wisco (Hers)
2006 BMW 330Ci Imola Red/Sand Beige Leather ZHP | 6MT
Box Stock
2007 e90 Black/Terra Leather SOLD
2016 Honda Pilot (The family SUV)
Thanks for checking in.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
His - 2004 Imola Red / Alcantara 330i | 6MT | ZHP |
Her's - 2005 Black Sapphire Metallic / Black Leather 330i | 6MT | ZHP |
Yeah, I’ve been wondering how you’ve been treating her ;-) thanks for the update.