Unbelievable, biodegradable wiring insulation

[InOmaha]

I'm assuming the new hybrids and EVs have the same issue.

Isn't shoring wires a potential fire hazard? The last thing a person would want is their EV shorting out in the garage.

Fuses work on the small stuff, but the big stuff can keep using the arc in the air when it gets going.

The wires coming out of our power plant turbines prior to the transformers are solid copper bars with no installation. I haven't measured them because the electricity would arc out and touch me from several feet away. But they look like 2x5 inch rectangles of copper 25 to 30 feet long. I'm not qualified to go inside the fence anyway.

 

[skrelnik]

I'm assuming the new hybrids and EVs have the same issue.

Isn't shoring wires a potential fire hazard? The last thing a person would want is their EV shorting out in the garage.

Fuses work on the small stuff, but the big stuff can keep using the arc in the air when it gets going.

The wires coming out of our power plant turbines prior to the transformers are solid copper bars with no installation. I haven't measured them because the electricity would arc out and touch me from several feet away. But they look like 2x5 inch rectangles of copper 25 to 30 feet long. I'm not qualified to go inside the fence anyway.

You could Google that one. BMWs were catching on fire for no reasons, just sitting in the garage and they would light up in flames.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/mysterious-bmw-fires-continue-calls-investigation-grow/story?id=60843215

 

[Zorba]

This reminds me of my late father. He had a '56 (?) MGA with the usual Lucas electrical gremlins. Drove him nuts. He was an electrician - one day I came home from school and he had pulled ALL the wiring out of the car, and completely rewired it with new wire in a manner that he could understand. That meant he added a pair of separate brake lites to the rear - but he never had any further problems with it. If the above referenced BMW was mine, and I wanted to keep it, I'd think about doing something similar and doing away with the extraneous crap.

My old Mercedes is fine (although its too complicated with a bunch of electrical crap it shouldn't have) - the wiring is in good shape. But it predates this biodegradable nonsense. I love me an old Mercedes, but there's NO WAY I'd buy a newer one.

 

[astjp2]

It's fine. Pigeons don't like soy based food. They consider it similar to tofu. Now if rats had wings, we'd all be in trouble.

They do, they are called seagulls...

 

[Moab]

Read up on prius wiring and mice. They love the wire coating. A friend has massive problems with mice in her prius. Short of a mice proof garage. Shes had mice climb on her feet while driving. They eat the wire coating. And come thru the firewall in places ypu cant reach to block them out.

Its a real problem. Shes tried everything. Bleach around her tires. Etc etc. Its a nightmare.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

All this makes me long for my old 57 Chevy and Triumph TR-6.

And yeah Lucas deserves the above bad mention and the funny jokes. "Lucas, Prince of Darkness" and Why do the British drink their beer warm? Because their refrigerators were made by Lucas. But at least in my Triumph, its electrical Lucas electrical system never gave me any problems. In fact the only thing I ever had to do to it was change its oil and brakes.

 

[InOmaha]

Read up on prius wiring and mice. They love the wire coating. A friend has massive problems with mice in her prius. Short of a mice proof garage. Shes had mice climb on her feet while driving. They eat the wire coating. And come thru the firewall in places ypu cant reach to block them out.

Its a real problem. Shes tried everything. Bleach around her tires. Etc etc. Its a nightmare.

I had some move into my Mini Cooper. They nested in the cabin filter by striping off the material in the hood liner. I trapped them all along my house for multiple weeks and put Irish spring soap in the car and moth balls under the hood. I moved the car away from the bushes and onto the street. I finally got all the mice by all setting 8-10 traps out at a time and catching 2 a week.

We get mice, voles, and rabbits at various times because we live near a large city park/drainage lake system with trails on it. Plus the occasional coyote, deer, skunk, raccoon, wild turkey, and possum. Bobcats and mountain lions are really rare, but we've had those too. No bears though, but a large buck standing at your back door in the morning is cool. They eat grain out of the neighbors bird feeders.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

So thankful, my BMW is now gone. I just bought a used Hyundai Genesis and after saying I couldn't buy it unless he took the BMW (which he did not want) in trade he finally agreed. Brake lights stuck on, dash lit up like a Christmas tree, radio turned on & off as it felt like it. I am so HAPPY! I actually miss the BMW's driving and handling but the brake lights being stuck on made me worry about tickets and people getting pissed off at me thinking I was riding the brakes.

The final straw convincing me it was time to get rid of it was only after calling several well respected German auto repair shops this past week and asking if they would install a new wiring harness into it. All said it was such a huge job that they wouldn't take it on, recommending I sell it or trade it in.

 

[skrelnik]

So thankful, my BMW is now gone. I just bought a used Hyundai Genesis and after saying I couldn't buy it unless he took the BMW (which he did not want) in trade he finally agreed. Brake lights stuck on, dash lit up like a Christmas tree, radio turned on & off as it felt like it. I am so HAPPY! I actually miss the BMW's driving and handling but the brake lights being stuck on made me worry about tickets and people getting pissed off at me thinking I was riding the brakes.

The final straw convincing me it was time to get rid of it was only after calling several well respected German auto repair shops this past week and asking if they would install a new wiring harness into it. All said it was such a huge job that they wouldn't take it on, recommending I sell it or trade it in.

When the BMW is working, it is a damn fun car to drive, but that is maybe half of the year. Plus when I drove mine I always had an eery feeling the CEL would come on if I stepped on the peddle. Hated that feeling and oddly enough our Dodge Challenger is better all around.

How's the Genesis? Small and peppy like the 3 series? Did you get an older one or a new G80 variant?

Oh, and as this forum usually posts.

 

[Chris]

So thankful, my BMW is now gone. I just bought a used Hyundai Genesis and after saying I couldn't buy it unless he took the BMW (which he did not want) in trade he finally agreed. Brake lights stuck on, dash lit up like a Christmas tree, radio turned on & off as it felt like it. I am so HAPPY! I actually miss the BMW's driving and handling but the brake lights being stuck on made me worry about tickets and people getting pissed off at me thinking I was riding the brakes.

The final straw convincing me it was time to get rid of it was only after calling several well respected German auto repair shops this past week and asking if they would install a new wiring harness into it. All said it was such a huge job that they wouldn't take it on, recommending I sell it or trade it in.

You just summed up my entire ownership experience with my past BMWs. Amazing vehicles when they are running, but they are so problematic and absolutely nickel and dime you to death.

 

[Apparition]

You just summed up my entire ownership experience with my past BMWs. Amazing vehicles when they are running, but they are so problematic and absolutely nickel and dime you to death.

I was never impressed with the one I bought.

 

[Chris]

I was never impressed with the one I bought.

I had an E39 M5 and an E46 M3, so that likely is why I enjoyed driving them... while they worked

 

[Flivver250]

German cars have been experiencing a steep decline in quality since the 70's. Long gone are the days of the 2002's and 240D's. I doubt there has been a good VW since the old beetle, and that was only good due to being whorishly cheap and easy. The BMW 1600 was better than the 2002, the 320 was truly the beginning of the end. Here in Dubai you can buy very expensive low mileage used German cars cheap because no one wants to face the repairs after they are +6 years old. Zero resale value.

 

[Zorba]

German cars have been experiencing a steep decline in quality since the 70's. Long gone are the days of the 2002's and 240D's. I doubt there has been a good VW since the old beetle, and that was only good due to being whorishly cheap and easy. The BMW 1600 was better than the 2002, the 320 was truly the beginning of the end. Here in Dubai you can buy very expensive low mileage used German cars cheap because no one wants to face the repairs after they are +6 years old. Zero resale value.

Yep. The way I see it, Lexus was the death of Mercedes. Mercedes was pushed into the electronic gadget crap when Lexus hit the scene in 1989 - although they certainly were headed that way already, but Lexus gave them extra impetus. Problem is, whatever else can be said of re-badged Toyotas, as well as too much electronic crap on cars; the Japanese know how to do electronics. The Germans don't.

And yea, my dad had two Beetles ('69 and '73), then bought a '77 Rabbit about which he said "By the time that Rabbit got through with me, I was a broken man!". So I stupidly bought a '96 Passat TDI. It had a lot in common with the Rabbit: They both were green and they both had electrical problems "out the wazoo". Wonderful cars when they ran, although the Rabbit was a bit squirrely.

 

[Flivver250]

Yep. The way I see it, Lexus was the death of Mercedes. Mercedes was pushed into the electronic gadget crap when Lexus hit the scene in 1989 - although they certainly were headed that way already, but Lexus gave them extra impetus. Problem is, whatever else can be said of re-badged Toyotas, as well as too much electronic crap on cars; the Japanese know how to do electronics. The Germans don't.

And yea, my dad had two Beetles ('69 and '73), then bought a '77 Rabbit about which he said "By the time that Rabbit got through with me, I was a broken man!". So I stupidly bought a '96 Passat TDI. It had a lot in common with the Rabbit: They both were green and they both had electrical problems "out the wazoo". Wonderful cars when they ran, although the Rabbit was a bit squirrely.

Maybe Joseph Lucas infiltrated German manufacturing as an act of sabotage and revenge.

 

[Zorba]

Maybe Joseph Lucas infiltrated German manufacturing as an act of sabotage and revenge.

I do happen to recall that Mercedes teamed up with Lucas a number of years ago, I want to say it was in the 90s sometime. And I thought the Krauts like their beer cold!

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Maybe Joseph Lucas infiltrated German manufacturing as an act of sabotage and revenge.

Surprising or not my Triumph TR-6 with its Lucas electrical system was absolutely problem-free. Aside from synching its twin carbs once in a while and replacing brakes it was trouble free and a great fun car. I should have never sold it to the kid who totaled it a few months later.

 

[Flivver250]

I do happen to recall that Mercedes teamed up with Lucas a number of years ago, I want to say it was in the 90s sometime. And I thought the Krauts like their beer cold!

Maybe they were designing Intermittent wipers.

 

[jeepguy03]

I had an E39 M5 and an E46 M3, so that likely is why I enjoyed driving them... while they worked

Oh God, the E46 M3 is one of the biggest money pits BMW ever created. Fun car, and so is the M5, but those era of cars would just fall apart after 100k miles. I own an E90 and fix/maintain several BMWs for friends and those have to be some of the worst.

 

[Chris]

Oh God, the E46 M3 is one of the biggest money pits BMW ever created. Fun car, and so is the M5, but those era of cars would just fall apart after 100k miles. I own an E90 and fix/maintain several BMWs for friends and those have to be some of the worst.

Yes the E46 M3 was terrible in that regard, but believe it or not the E39 M5 was even worse. Those cars ALWAYS have lights on on the dash. You get rid of one and another just pops right up.