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OUTCOME OF CD WHINE & DETAILING WOE PROBLEMS

Let me begin by thanking all the kind folks who took the time to response to
my call for help.  The response has been overwhelming and very instructional.
 At the risk of being repetitive, it’s great to have a forum such as this
Digest!  I couldn’t have done it by myself.  With that said, let me get on
with the problem solving. 

CD Whine
Problem:  The dealer recognizes that all 1996 E36’s w/H/K upgraded sound has
a high pitched whine.  The whine is accentuated during acceleration while the
CD player is in use, but can be heard even with the stereo system turned off.


Solution:  A BMW AG Technical Support person was contacted to come to my
dealership after three unsuccessful attempts to fix the problem.  According
to my service writer, the fix was to disconnect the ground wire from the
wiring harness located along the right side of the car.  He then grounded
both the CD player and the head unit (separately of course) to the chassis.
 Bingo, the noise went away.  This was apparently a big deal, as it took
almost an entire day to complete the job. 

What didn’t work:
1.  Swapping out all the individual components - each piece three separate
times
2.  Running a separate DIN cable along the left side of the car.
3.  Inserting capacitors of varying degrees.

Unfortunately, this is all the technical information that I have.  If more
information is needed, call Dan Warren at Braman BMW in West Palm Beach, FL.
 His number is 
561-640-2900  x2403.  This fix should be appearing in a technical bulletin in
the near future.


Streaking/Scratches In Trunk
I wish to extend special thanks to Phil Marx who's been extremely helpful and
generous with his time and efforts.  Richard Fontana from Zymol has also been
very helpful and patient. And last but certainly not least, my eternal
gratitude to John Walsh, Technical Director of Zymol who knew exactly what
was going on and how to fixed the problem on the first try.  When is comes to
customer service, it would be tough to be Zymol - thanks a million guys,
you’ve made me a customer for life!!

Problem:  Streaks/Hazing on the paint that wouldn’t come out – even with
repeated applications of HD Cleanse.  

During our initial Q&A, I told John that I followed the directions in the
handbook (and on the bottle) to the letter, using 100% cotton towels with
pressure.  Well, guess what, those directions are for the masses and not for
car fanatics.  John shuddered when I told him that I used medium to heavy
pressure.  

Here are John’s recommendations for how to apply HD Cleanse & Creme/Carbon.
 Keep an open mind as you read this, as his method was the only way I could
eliminate the problem.  (the streaking was most evident while viewed at night
in the garage under fluorescent lights – but could also be seen in direct
sunlight at certain angles.)

Solution:
1.  Apply HD Cleanse with a cotton/terry applicator pad to an entire area of
the car.  In my case it was the trunk lid. 
2.  Allow to dry for approximately 10 minutes.  You can let dry for as long
as 60-90  minutes without hurting anything.  (Yes, I said dry!).  I did the
roof the other day and allowed the HD Cleanse to dry for 30 minutes -- worked
great.
3.  Go back to the now dry HD Cleanse area with your applicator and liberally
reapply more HD Cleanse -- while simultaneously wiping it off with a 100%
cotton towel.  This is a two fisted operation.  You are using a Kung Fu type
motion to both re-apply the HD Cleanse while wiping it off the surface – all
at the same time.
4.  The HD Cleanse should come right off without clumping.  If it does clump,
then there is still dirt on the paint and that area should be re-done.
 Simply re-do the area following the Kung Fu method.  No need to let dry
again, unless the spot is really bad.
5.  If a problem spot persists, 10-20 light rapid strokes over the troubled
area.  Allow to dry and repeat Step 3.
6.  This entire procedure is done with LIGHT pressure.  Never, never, never
use heavy pressure.  Heavy pressure can cause scratches with any towel.
7.  Follow-up with Creme or Carbon.  Always use a very light coat of wax.
 Take a section of the car such as the trunk and apply to ¼ of the area.
 Wipe & buff using very light pressure.  Once you put some wax on the foam
applicator, John recommends covering & putting the container down.  This will
minimize the number of times you dip the applicator into the wax and helps
assure a light coat.

General rules to follow, most of which you already know:
· Always apply HD Cleanse in full shade per the method described above.  
· Move your rag/applicator in a North & South direction only.
· Always light pressure, never medium to heavy force.
· Short of wet sanding, swirls are really never removed, only filled in and
therefore 
  less visible.
· Take care to only use 100% cotton towels.  
· Constantly rotate your towel to use a clean surface for rubbing.
· You should be able to wax your car around 15 times from one container of
wax.
· Don’t wax your car more than once a month. 
· Use HD Cleanse between 2-4 times per year, depending on conditions.

My Comments & Thoughts:
John’s methods seemed contrary to a lot of the advice I received, but I
maintained an open mind.  Every time I used HD Cleanse according to the
handbook instructions, I was left with some hazing and had these spots over
the entire car.  When I went back and used the "John Walsh Method," all the
spots were completely removed and the surface looks awesome -- even under
fluorescents.

I found that removing the HD Cleanse worked best when I used two towels.  One
towel for the initial removal (happened to be a Zymol wax towel) and another
for a quick follow-up buffing.  (the wax towel from the Griot’s Garage
catalog worked great as the second towel – 800/345/5789)  I used more than
twice the amount HD Cleanse then I did previously, but it was much easy to
work – since I wasn’t using a lot of pressure.  Once the entire trunk was
done, I surveyed the area with the terry towel to make sure it all squeaked.
 I went back and used more HD Cleanse to the areas that clumped, applying &
wiping up immediately until the entire trunk got squeaky clean.  This sound
was only heard when I used a Zymol waxing towel (or similar 100% cotton terry
towel) for buffing.  When complete, I followed up with a flannel cotton
buffing towel before applying Carbon.  Note, I didn’t get the squeaky clean
sound with the flannel buffing towel.

I believe the hardest advice to follow will be to only wax the car once a
month.  Peanut Butter really did remove the hazing from the side moldings.  I
followed up with Black Again.  

Once again, thanks to everyone who gave me a hand.  I hope this summary
helps.

Gratefully Yours,

Stuart M.
96-M3  (Boston Green that’s squeaky clean)