Re: 735i blows fuses when shifting gears, HELP! (archive)

I had a similar problem with my 89 735iL. On very hot days it would blow a fuse preventing the car from starting. It seems like it may have been fuse 22 but not sure. The power wire feeding the shifter switch had a bad place in the insulation causing the fuse to blow. The part where the hot days came in is the fact that the insulation was open under the dash and the sun would get the dash extremely hot causing the insulation to soften and go to ground on a bracket under the dash. The short melted the internals of the switch on gear shift. After many days hot days in the car with my trusty Fluke meter I found the short. Sounds strange but true. You may be lucky enough to simply have a defective switch. Get a new switch and make sure ther are not shorted wires before installing the new one. This switch uses a combination of binary values to determine position, this could explain the fuse not blowing in certain positions. Hope this helps !

I have a '87 735i that, when I move the shifter back and forth, it blows fuses. It only blows fuses though when I shift down to the lower gears. It is an automatic, and has the selector lights on the instrument panel. Once the fuse blows, I cannot reach high gears. Sometimes it makes a weird clank when shifting out of neutral, too. I have a feeling the safety nuetral switch is going bad, but I dont see why this would blow fuses? Has anyone had this problem?

Follow Ups:

[ Follow Ups ] [ 7-series (E23) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]

Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.