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Cars have a lot of different electrical hardware. These components must work together for the car to start and run properly. If any of these components becomes faulty, it will most likely stop you in your tracks. Luckily, after you understand the different electrical systems in a car and how they work, you can start to diagnose your own electrical problems.

The main electrical components of a vehicle are the alternator, battery, the starter, and the solenoid. If any of these components goes bad, you’ll most likely not even be able to start your car, much less drive. Most everybody in their lives, has once or twice had a battery die on them. They have either had to jump start their vehicle, or go out and get a new battery and install it. That’s reasonably straightforward.

But the other components are a bit more tough to identify. The alternator is like a mini generator. It powers your vehicle’s electrical systems after the car is started. The battery is only ever really used to start the vehicle. After the vehicle is started, the motor powers the alternator, which in its turn powers your electrical systems and also recharges the battery.

If your alternator ever becomes faulty on you while driving, you will begin to lose power and your car will eventually just shut down. Often it occurs gradually, and sometimes it occurs quickly, depending on the circumstance. When the alternator goes bad, you are stopped in your tracks. You might be able to wait a little and restart your car, but it won’t go very far.

The starter and the solenoid are part of starting the car. The solenoid simply bridges the link between the battery and the starter to allow electricity to flow, and thus engaging the starter. The starter simply turns over the motor with a nice jolt of electricity. If either of these systems is faulty, your vehicle won’t start and you will be stuck in your tracks.

Vehicle electrical problems are sometimes a pain.Alternator problems and other electrical issues can stop you cold in your tracks. Another problem that commonly really annoys car owners is belt squeal.

Most of us take the brakes on our cars for granted, but an outright failure – although rare – could cost us our lives. Brakes that work but are not at peak efficiency put us in danger by increasing stopping distances.

On average a driver uses their brakes more than 75,000 times a year, and in the UK we are perhaps more reliant on good brakes due to our crowded roads. Closing speeds on narrow country roads can approach 100mph, and think of the times when we touch our brakes in heavy but briskly moving traffic in urban and suburban roads.

What to do if your brakes fail?

Although total brake failure is unlikely, especially with modern brakes, it is worth knowing what to do if it does occur.

If your brakes fail when you’re driving, you need to stay calm as much as possible. Leave your car in gear and do not touch the accelerator, concentrate on steering to avoid other cars and any obstacles. Turn off your cruise control if you have one and it’s on.

Try pumping your brakes if they feel soft and your pedal has gone towards the floor. This can help the brake system regain some pressure, engaging the brakes a little. Use your engine to slow down by shifting into a lower gear, but don’t force it. If your car is still going very fast, this could cause damage and may cause you to lose control. Changing down gradually, applies to both manual and automatic transmissions.

Applying the handbrake carefully can help as it is cable operated and separate from the main braking system. Pulling the handbrake when you are going too fast could cause you to lose control.

If you’re on a fast multi-lane road, move into the left-hand lane, if possible, and then as your car loses speed move on to the hard shoulder, if there is one. When your car is moving slowly, shift in to neutral and let it come to a natural stop, try to do this out of the main flow of traffic if possible. Ensure the handbrake is on, then get out of the car and walk to a safer place. Call your recovery company to get your car to a garage, but only once you’re safe.

What can make our brakes fail?

A number of factors can lead to bad brake performance or failure. These include manufacturing problems, poor or lack of servicing, and infrequent maintenance. Old brake fluid, worn pads or shoes and discs or drums, or leaky brake pipes are some of the most common issues.

Whatever the cause of the problem, a car with brake problems is going to have an accident.

Sorting out brake problems

Thankfully, it is easy to spot most problems and careful DIY is often an option to fix your brakes. Take notice of unusual noises, vibration of the car or brake pedal, changes in pedal resistance when braking, and get them checked by your garage. Remember, you and your family’s lives could be at stake.

If you get a warning light on your brakes, things have probably gone too far. You’ve missed warnings in use or your maintenance intervals have become too long. Immediately take action to fix the fault, and make changes to the way you inspect your brakes and shorten the time between checks.

You may encounter you own one of the BMWs that suffer from an overheating problem. The BMW 3 series E36 example is known for an intermittent overheating problem. It seems to affect the 316 4 cylinder models roughly around the years of 1996 to 1999. This particular 3 series BMW cars For Sale in this time period tended to leave the factory with suspect water pumps and head gaskets on certain cars.

Drivers of this BMW age car heard their water pumps getting louder. This meant the plastic impellers inside the pump had probably snapped causing the cars to begin overheating. This means although the pump is spinning it may not really be pumping any water through the system. If your pump sounds noisy and your temperature gauge seems to be going into the red then get this pump changed as your first precaution. The new pumps contain modified impellers made of metal which are better.

If the car is still overheating and the heater is also blowing out cold air, check the thermostat is not jammed shut, preventing the water from circulating and causing an air lock.

Some garages have pointed the finger straight at the head gasket or the head might be cracked and passing water by. It has been known that people have found that after going to the expense of changing the head gasket they have still had the same problem. Thermostat housings can also be at fault every so often. The thermostat houses are known to somewhat warp, enabling a slight gap for air to be drawn in. An airlock can then happen, causing the water to stop flowing round the engine. It has been established that this fault is not easily found even when the engine is pressure tested for leaks.

So my advice would be to check this item as your next port of call as it is a less costly option than going to change the head or gasket and then finding out that this was the cause all along. Any hoses that look like they might need changing, should be done at the same time, to make sure there are definitely no other leaks in the system. The newer versions of the BMW 3 series and BMW 5 Series normally didn’t seem to suffer from these type of overheating trouble.