Bongo Fury

your right! getting a bit too dark to start messing around with it now, but first thing in the morning I'll remove the tape and look for any breaks in the wire into the door and then check for any wire breaks on the clock and radio as well.
If anyone can give me anymore pointers, I'll be very greatfull.

I don't think there is any circuit in the Passenger door that can cause that particular fuse to go, neither the Mirrors or the Window use that fuse.
However the Drivers door is a different matter, the loom does contain the a wire powered from that fuse (Door lock switch), and if this snapped and touches earth then yes it could be the cause of the problem.

The Cab light itself won't come on as that is powered by that fuse, hence my slight concern before, the Dashboard light will come on if the wire coming from the Fuse is earthed anywhere along its length. If you dig far enough back behind the Fuse panel itself into the loom the wire coming from that fuse goes into a connector from which all the other wires for each circuit are connected together - if you broke that connection down then you could test each wire separately for a short to earth with your meter, but I'm not sure how easy it is to reach.

I will take your advice and try to trace back the wires behind the fuse panel, but I won't promise anything as electrics and me don't go together,Ha! as for a meter? I haven't got one.
I'll just have to look around and see what I can find, but if nothing comes of it, I'll just have to get an expert in. I'll keep you informed of my findings
thanks again

oshkosh wrote:I will take your advice and try to trace back the wires behind the fuse panel, but I won't promise anything as electrics and me don't go together,Ha! as for a meter? I haven't got one.
I'll just have to look around and see what I can find, but if nothing comes of it, I'll just have to get an expert in. I'll keep you informed of my findings
thanks again

I'm no electrician (trust me!) but the £13 or so (and you can get them cheaper than that) I spent on a multimeter was one of my best post Bongo purchases. Its easy to use, absolutely invaluable, and has allowed me to take on wiring jobs I would/could not otherwise have been able to do (and fact nobody could safely - I doubt you'd ever see a car electrician, or any good electrician for that matter, without one).

Get one!

Hi, all,
I've got a result! I followed the advice you guys gave me and after checking back of the fuse board and everything lookin ok, I took out the BMW clock and then the radio. all the wiring looked ok ( no loose wires etc) I turned the ignition on and still got the flashing coil warning light and door open light on dashboard .I turned the ignition off and unplugged the radio connection block, turned the ignition back on and the coil warning light and door open light were off, Hooray!!
I replaced the fuse and the central locking, cab light etc are all working again. I 've kept the radio out, but can't find any faults with it. the only thing I have noticed is the aerial lead is short at the back of the dashboard and I think it had come out , could the aerial lead cause a short? if not any ideas?
thanks again to everyone for all your help

I doubt that the aerial lead if it was still plugged in would be the problem, but if it had come loose and was perhaps poking in the back of the ISO connector plug (assuming its an add on radio) then that could be a problem - it might just have shorted out the +12volts.
What radio is it ?
If the aerial lead was actually loose before you removed the radio connector, it might be worth trying the radio again making sure either that the aerial is plugged in solid, or keep it well clear of any connectors!

Great result

Ps - don't forget to buy that multimeter anyway

The fault must be with the radio itself! I plugged the radio ,with the ISO lead into the back of the dashboard connection block and the fuse blew. I then left the ISO lead plugged into the dashboard connection block and unplugged it from the radio itself . The central locking /interior lights all work normally, so it looks like a new radio is on the shopping list ( as well as a multimeter!)
thanks guys