DonovanPorter said:
sory for the dumb question were are those sensors , anything that looks like it can be uncliped or were water might get in has been checked i dont know were else to check , ihave no more ideas anymore
Hi Donovan - found the following on the web - sometimes it helps checking there
Looks like this is something that all 3-series owners should check that they do - drill a draining hole where the ECU is housed. I am sure if you do a search on net it will show how.
Not sure how you will be able to diagnose whether it is the DME.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news - this looks bad.... however i am also sure that you can get a second hand one pretty easy - if it is DME that is - pls confirm...
Source:
http://www.complaints.com/complaintofthedayjune142000.2.htm
Do not take your BMW 3 series to a car wash. Better yet, do not buy a BMW 3 series automobile. I own a BWM 325i. A couple of years ago I made a fatal mistake. I took the car through a "brushless" car wash. The car would not start after coming out of the car wash. The car wash manager told me that they see this problem quite often with the 3 series BMW. The DME (computer brain) gets wet and has to be replaced. I took it to Crevier BMW who told me that the DME unit was indeed destroyed from water and it would cost me over $1000 to replace it. This seemed like a major design flaw to me. I should be able to take my car to the car wash. Anyway, although Crevier BMW did not mention it, I did some research on the Internet and found this to be a common problem. BMW had a "bulletin" out for this problem, but not a recall (too cheap, I guess). When I asked Crevier about it they admitted that this was the case and that they would drill a hole in the box that holds the DME for me "free of charge," but they would do nothing else. I then checked with my insurance company and they were going to cover it until they went to Crevier to inspect the car and the technician there told him that "oh yeah, this happens all the time with this car." Because of that, the insurance company denied my claim. A big thank you to Crevier for that one. Not only did they not do anything about the incident, they sabotaged my insurance claim as well. After arguing with Crevier they did finally agree to waive the labor charges - although I found out after the fact that it takes all of about 5 minutes to replace the thing. They proudly told me that they made the "fix" (drilling a hole in the box) so that this would not happen again. Well, paranoid me would not take my car to the car wash anyway and washed it myself for the past couple of years. It is finally time to trade in my car on a new one (I even was considering a new BMW 323). Because of that, I took it to a "brushless" car wash to get a good wash before I took it in. Big mistake. I had the exact same problem happen again. I called Crevier and asked them what they could do. Since it had been more than two years since they did the work, they told me they could not help me, that I should take it up with BMW. I called BMW and explained the situation. They said they would research it and get back to me later that day. Of course they didn't get back to me until the next day (all this time being without a working automobile) and when they get back to me it was to tell me that they couldn't do anything for me. If this were just a freak thing that happened to just me I guess I would be willing to accept it, but it is an extremely common problem that BMW will not accept responsibility for. My complaints are as follows: 1) From a BMW standpoint, this is a major design flaw that needed a better fix than to "drill a hole" in a box. BWM falsey advertises superior engineering when anyone with an electrical/computer experience can tell you that you don't put computer equipment in an area vulnerable to water. It is amazing to me that BMW won't step up more aggressively to this issue. A person should be able to take their car to the car wash. 2) From a dealer standpoint, I feel like Crevier BMW should warranty this work even though the warranty period has expired. They told me that the "drilling" would fix the problem. It did not. I purchased the car at this dealership. I have given them several thousand dollars in repair business over the past 4 years. They boast about their service. They should accept some responsibility in this case. I am including Crevier's email address; I couldn't include one for BMW as their customer service would not give me one. Ironic.
Also found this:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-DME-Repair/E36-DME-Repair.htm
Early E36 DME Compartment Flooding Problem
On E36 BMWs manufactured prior to July of 1994, there is a design problem with the car that has caused a lot of problems with the main DME computer. The water relief channels of the car are not beefy enough to withstand a significant influx of water onto the car, or the windshield. While perfectly adequate for anything that nature may throw at the car, the channels are woefully inadequate for a car wash. If too much water is used, or if the water channels are clogged with leaves or debris, the water will overflow and leak into the compartment where the DME is stored (see the Pelican Technical Article on DME Chip Replacements for the location of the DME in the engine compartment). I have heard stories of owners who have opened this compartment, only to have a gallon of water or more come flowing out. Needless to say, having the main computer for the car submerged in water is not a good thing.
How exactly does the water get into the box? The DME compartment is located right next to the intake plenum cowl for the heating and air conditioning system. This cowl is open to the enviroment, and thus will get rain water deposited into it. There are drains at the bottom designed to drain this rainwater. However, if the volume of water is too great, or the channels become clogged with leaves or other debris, this plenum will overflow directly into the DME compartment. If enough water fills this chamber, it may also leak into the passenger side foot well, although this often goes unnoticed, as the water will leak under the passenger floor mat.
BMW has issued a Service Bulletin and a relatively inexpensive fix for the problem. The fix is to install a third drain and use an improved style of drainage hose. The BMW factory bulletin that describes this repair is 41 03 93 (3914), and is dated July 1994. Begin by removing the plastic screen covering the plenum, the portion of the plenum that covers the firewall, and move the wiring harness out of the way on the left side of the engine compartment. Then remove the cylinder head valve cover - you will need to do this to gain clearance for working (see the Pelican Technical Article on Valve Cover Gasket Replacement). Cover the top of the engine with a drop cloth or plastic garbage bag to prevent anything from falling in.
Now, pull back the insulation that is located against the rear firewall. Remove and throw away the right side plenum drain hose at this time (Figure 1). Behind the firewall material, there is a circular area pre-stamped in the firewall just above and to the right of the original drain location. You will be drilling out this hole and installing the new drain hose in this hole. BMW specifically recommends against using a hole saw here - the metal shavings are too likely to contaminate either the engine or the plenum area. Instead, start with a .375" pilot hole and use a 1/2" conduit punch. Then, use a 3/4" conduit punch and enlarge the hole to 28.2mm (1.11"). File off the edges, paint with a small bit of primer, and then reinstall the firewall insulation. Drill a corresponding hole in the installation, and install your two new drain hoses (part number BW-51-73-8-144-152), slightly angled 30 degrees towards the center of the car. That's the BMW fix described for this problem. Figure 2 shows the area where you need to drill (yellow arrow), and also points to the oil drain hose (green arrow) that should be pulled out and replaced.
If you are not fortunate enough to have read this article before your DME got toasted, you may still have a chance to revive it. Open the DME compartment and remove the DME unit (see the Pelican Technical Article on Chip Upgrades for more details). If your DME is covered and soaked with water, then you may be able to save it. Take the unit apart and expose the two circuit boards (Figure 3). Although I have not used it myself, I have had several Pelican Parts customers tell me that spraying the board with WD-40 helps to dispel any water, dries the board, and sometimes works. The board is already soaked in water at this point, what could it hurt? Take the DME boards and place them in an oven set at about 100 degrees, and let it sit for a few hours. This should help evaporate any remaining water that may have made it into the unit. Reassemble the unit, and plug it back into your car to see if the problem still exists. If it does, then you will probably have to replace the unit with another one (see this topic later in this article).
