I have a '99 528i. Recently a number things started happening. 1.When the vanity mirror flap is opened the steering wheel goes up. Close the mirror flap and it comes down into position. Vanity lights do not illuminate now, but were dim and flickered when the problems started. 2. Cruise control won't engage. 3. Radio wouldn't work early on, but works now. 4. Airbag and Transmission warning lights stay on. Battery checks good. Fuses I have checked so far that control the areas in question appear to be OK. Hoping there may be an easy fix out there before I take it to the shop.
Most of this will need diag and faults with wiring schematics to find and fix the issues. I hate to tell people to take it in but thats a lot of issues. Could all be cause by a couple shorted/ pinched wires but is probably more then that.
The shorted/pinched wires theory may have some merit. I ran over a piece of metal that I believe was flipped up somewhere into the lower engine area. That may have done the damage. I'll have it checked out. Thanks!
Apparently, the problems are related to a bad ignition switch. A local mechanic checked with some of his friends in the business and that is what they came up with. When I searched YouTube, there were 2-3 videos on how to swap out the ignition on an e39. One of the videos showed problems very similar to mine before the new switch was installed.
The simple question to ask for weird electrical issues like this is, if so many things are being activated, where can there be a common connection?
