Trying to help co worker with his car.
2005 bmw 325ci
Other day he got into it and noticed no interior lights coming on, windows won’t work, and inside locks won’t work.
He took it to lot he got it from and according to their mechanics diag machine it’s the BCM. Sounds bout right to me but I don’t speak German. Only shop in town that works on bmws said he needs to take it to dealership which is 2 hours away.
heres my question, I found him used bcm for $50 but I’m not sure if it needs to be reprogrammed by dealer to get it to work, or if it’s plug it in all good. Anyone know if it’s that simple? Or is this dealership required?
I *think* that's going to involve specialized equipment.
Did anybody check fuses and relays?
Not sure if the mechanic that looked at it did. I was going to today but don’t have time. And my co worker is very very auto illiterate, like doesn’t know hot to change tire/oil..
BMW experts know better than to buy one newer than MY2002 ;)
"modules"
IDK if newer BMWs have them, but older ones had a circuit breaker that would trip if the windows overloaded, and would shut down some other electrical stuff. It was an unlabeled button right in the middle of the dash that did nothing except when tripped, the button would reset the breaker. Not sure if a 2005MY BMW has anything like this, but worth looking to see.
02Pilot
SuperDork
10/9/18 5:39 p.m.
First things first. Check the battery voltage after dissipating any surface charge (sit overnight or high beams on for five minutes). If it's anything but perfect, replace it. This is the cause of countless modern BMW problems. If that's not it, and you can confirm diagnosis with a BMW-specific scan tool, then yes, you will need to code the new module to work with the car. If you can, get the exact codes from the shop that looked at it; if they don't have them, or if they only have P-codes, then - despite claims to the contrary - they do not work on BMWs.
Does it have to be programmed to the VIN or just to have the correct features? For example on e39s I know you can switch modules and the characteristics of the car may change, but work fine e.g. DRLs follow the module not the car.
02Pilot
SuperDork
10/9/18 6:08 p.m.
It's safest to assume you need to code it, and the more modern the car the higher the chance it won't work without coding. I'm assuming we're talking about an E46 here, so there's a chance of it working (I don't know enough about the specifics of the E46 setup). If it's an E9x I'd be shocked if it worked without coding to the chassis.
What is the bcm? Battery charge module?
You have to code the headlamp switch on am E46 because it's the backup data center for IKE, the instrument cluster. It's also where the odometer writes back to, to help guard against tampering.
It's probably a fuse, or battery. If the lot says it's some module, it may be because they replaced it / threw parts at it for the same symptoms?
You can get Chinese knockoff of the cable and software to program modules off amazon for about $30.
Tyler! Separate question for ya but my email to you got kicked back. Can you drop me a note at my username at yahoo??
Slippery said:
What is the bcm? Battery charge module?
Body Control Module. Computer for most of the non-drivetrain stuff in the car; modern cars' BCMs control everything from headlights to seats to stereo volume to whether you get a waiver to dismiss on startup. And I think on modern BMWs the ECU has to check with the BCM which checks that the chip in the key matches for anti-theft. I'm probably bobbling that a bit, which is embarrassing because it's an area of particular engine swap interest to me... But I'm pretty sure I got the acronym right!
Turns out this car was in “transport” mode. Anyone have any idea what makes this happen? He did mention the battery died on his key fob, curious if that triggered any issues.
Papabishop said:
Turns out this car was in “transport” mode. Anyone have any idea what makes this happen? He did mention the battery died on his key fob, curious if that triggered any issues.
Sounds like it can happen if the main battery dies. It was gradually introduced in MY2002 vehicles.
jfryjfry said:
Tyler! Separate question for ya but my email to you got kicked back. Can you drop me a note at my username at yahoo??
Just saw this -- emailed you.
Papabishop said:
Turns out this car was in “transport” mode. Anyone have any idea what makes this happen? He did mention the battery died on his key fob, curious if that triggered any issues.
I've heard of the GM getting freaked out and going into transport mode if the battery is low or intermittent. Didn't occur to me earlier. It can be cleared with INPA software and cable, which you can buy a knockoff version of for about 30 bucks.
Weird BMW thing. They want a good, strong battery. Usually E46s aren't AS bad as most of the newer ones. When I change batteries on a BMW, I hook up my charger to the leads before I disconnect it.
Make sure the cables are clean and tight and the battery is good, or it might come back.
