In a right pickle ( of my own making )

[milkomark]

Hi everyone,
I'm in a right pickle and could do with some constructive advice. I've made a real mess of things to be honest. I have the dreaded airbag light on which occurred probably after I took the seats out without disconnecting the battery. I was told then that I needed to purchase another module off eBay which I did ( 2 in fact ) so consequently threw the original module out which I now find out may have been a catastrophic error. Colb kindly spent quite a few hours going through the faults and decided it needed to be sent off to Crashdata. It seems now that Crashdata cannot repair these modules as they are not coded to the car. Are there any alternatives left for me? Is it case of a brand new BMW module?
Thanks for any advice. I need it. Mark

 

[colb]

Just to add to Marks tale of woe when code read with one of the used replacements in it comes back with F0 internal error plus codes for driver and passenger tensioner and the pass seat occupancy sensor, both tensioner are intact the have not been fired. Someone else carried out a wire repair on the under seat loom on the drivers seat looks intact and well insulated with tape. Mark tells me it was a soldered repair and watched it being done. The second used module also has the same F0 internal fault code. Is the next move to find a used module without the F0 fault and install that and code it to the car with NCS Expert?
If Crashdata can't clear these used modules without the original module I wonder how Able on Bimmer. Forum in USA manages it?

 

[mrscalex]

There seem to be 3 separate problems here.

1. Quite likely being told incorrectly you needed a new module just because you removed the seats. That's nonsense unless you caused a short that affected the SRS module. Which is another reason to always disconnect from the battery. It should have just been an error code reset. And of course subsequently throwing away the original module, which probably wasn't faulty. Not much you can do about either now.

2. Being supplied with 2 duff replacement modules. Or is it possible they are the wrong part? Or is it possible there is a fault elsewhere on the car? Seems strange 2 are duff. Crashdata would, I think, only reset a module after a crash rather than repair a faulty module. If it's faulty the conversation should ideally be with the person bought from.

3. Then the coding issue once a good module is procured. I've always taken a copy of the existing module config and loaded that on the replacement module. But it's not necessary, the other version of the procedure is to download from the master source of config data on the car. I can't remember which module it comes from (might be eg the EWS) and I don't have the procedure doing it this way bookmarked. But I think @gookah has posted this before.

So in theory, just get a good module. Use NCS Expert to download the backup config. It should be fine like that unless there is something else going on with the car.

 

[milkomark]

Hi mrscalex,
thank you very much for your reply. As far as I know both replacement parts are the same as the original. 65.778386192. I'm sure Colin will be appraising your reply. He's got the patience of a saint with me. Both modules were purchased off eBay and relatively cheap at £30 perhaps that's why they were so cheap.

 

[colb]

From what I have found on line research that F0 internal fault can only be removed by clearing the fault memory via the eeprom inside the module which entails using a eeprom reader connected to the processor and software on a laptop to edit the data file. My worry is if Mark finds a matching part number module that is free of error codes will it end up getting the internal error because of something else being at fault in the system? Have studied posts by user Able on the Bimmer forum, he seems to be expert at fixing airbag modules may be we will end up sending one of Marks modules on a trip. Other than that I think Rob @mrscalex suggestion of finding a code free module to plug in and code to the car may well be the next step.
Will see who else can come up with any suggestions on a fix

 

[gookah]

This is how I coded mine and my son's ABS units, I would think it should be the same for the airbag module, (however the ABS units we had could communicate)

I used NCS expert

Coding ABS with NCS

1. Go to the main INPA start up menu and you will see on the right side the program called NCS …….. (don't open INPA)
2. Open NCS
3. In the file menu at the top select ‘load profile’
4. Select ‘Expertenmodus (Werkseinstellung)’ and press OK
5. Now press F1 (described as FG/ZCS/FA)
6. Press F3 (described as ZCS/FAf.ECU)

(In other words you want to interrogate the ECU's) What you will now do is select the chassis type and a module where you want to copy the code from, so

1. In the box that opens choose E36,
2. Choose EWS. This is where your cars code will be copied from (you can choose another but I used the immobiliser system)
   

After choosing this you should now have VIN number details filled in from your car, meaning this code is now selected and copied. Check they are correct. (If not start the program again until the details are correct)

1. Press F6 (back)

you will see the words "Get Coded" appear and "all Modules" however you do not want to copy this to all modules, just the replacement ABS ECU , so:

1. Select F4…. Process ECU
2. choose MK20… for ABS
3. press F3….. execute job

That’s it……………. Completed….. the coding is copied!

The EWS is the immobiliser unit. It is just one of the modules that hold the coding details of the car.
The code can be transferred to other modules, including swapped out units.
So in the above don't choose MK20 (ABS), instead choose the airbag unit is under the description 'SRS'

 

[milkomark]

Hi gookah, thank you very much for taking the time to reply and your advice. Much appreciated. I've said before that it doesn't make much sense to me as I admit to being absolutely useless at these matters. I'm hoping Colin can work out what could be done. If you're ever in South Wales I will buy you a good few pints. Cheers Mark

 

[colb]

Thanks @gookah for your post coding the module, have been reading here https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/...-Finally-found-a-fix!&highlight=Airbag+module which is full of details on the module it appears Marks problem is that both the replacements are locked up with the F0 internal error and can’t be reset or codes cleared with normal tools INPA BMW Scanner 1.4 or coded with NCS. Also noted in that thread is the fact that the module if same part number as original should not need to be coded to the car, had a look at mine and indeed it doesn’t show my chassis number in the module and my airbag system works ok. I think the next step will be to find a fault free module and plug that in to see what that shows up. My concern would be that the other tensioner faults we have seen may lock the next module up if they have been the cause. The Bimmer thread reckons it shouldn’t do that immediately but may do over an extended time if left unattended to. Anyone out there with a known fault free module for Mark?

 

[gookah]

yep, I posted the way I did it, but that was for a working ABS module which would comunicate,
I have not tried with a non-communicating one, (or even an airbag one) but I thought I would post it as you never know, it may just work.
I know my son had a non comunicating airbag module on his first Zed, and the replacement second hand one also wouldnt communicate at first when the Indy tried to program it, but he did something on his machine that made it happen, At that time I was not aware of much z3 related stuff, but he may have done similar to the above?

 

[mrscalex]

The problem with SRS modules is if they come from a salvage yard they are likely to be from a write off. With the module being crippled as part of the car’s crash detection programming. The F0 error may just be the code set when a crash is detected. So why couldn’t Crashdata reset it if that’s the case? I think they can. But they’re saying they can’t restore the coding as well to give you a plug-and-play unit. Because you no longer have the original module to send them. But you can restore it using Gookah’s procedure pulling the data from the backup in the EWS.

My gut feel is still nothing that can’t be easily fixed. Perhaps get another module from someone who is a breaking a non-accident damaged car. Or get Crashdata to look at the module, confirm if it’s a crashed unit and if so reset it, telling them to leave the coding with you.

 

[milkomark]

Hi mrscalex what you say may be worth following up on regarding crashdata. I will chat with them again tomorrow and see what they have to say.

Thanks again for all your input guys.

 

[mrscalex]

Hi mrscalex what you say may be worth following up on regarding crashdata. I will chat with them again tomorrow and see what they have to say.

Thanks again for all your input guys.

Personally I’d be sending the faulty units back. Although I’m probably in a better position with more than 1 car to plug in elsewhere and prove it’s not the car.

 

[milkomark]

I've just had a reply from the firm of Autotronics who say they can repair the ECU with the faults for £180 plus vat. At least there's a possible option.

 

[mrscalex]

I've just had a reply from the firm of Autotronics who say they can repair the ECU with the faults for £180 plus vat. At least there's a possible option.

Autotronics did a cluster for me recently for similar money. Bit slow and unresponsive but the job was good so no worries.

However a working pull from a breaker would typically only be around £40. But as there are several versions then Sod’s law the one you want is not around at that time.

 

[milkomark]

I mentioned to them the F0 fault when emailing. Wouldn't one of the ones I already have do the job or would that be risky?

 

[colb]

All hinges on the part number from what I see and finding one without the F0 internal error to allow it to be plug and play the Bimmer thread says it shouldn’t need to be coded but if it needs it then I have NCS on the laptop to give it a go. Once we have a working module it should be simple to see if there are any codes for faults with the tensioner, the occupancy sensor can be coded out from what I see on BMW scanner 1.4

 

[mrscalex]

All hinges on the part number from what I see and finding one without the F0 internal error to allow it to be plug and play the Bimmer thread says it shouldn’t need to be coded but if it needs it then I have NCS on the laptop to give it a go. Once we have a working module it should be simple to see if there are any codes for faults with the tensioner, the occupancy sensor can be coded out from what I see on BMW scanner 1.4

I would always code it anyway. I’d be wondering if something wouldn’t work in an accident.

But if it comes from a different model of BMW or even a Z3 with a different airbag config it could complain. Eg donor car has side airbags. Receiving car doesn’t. Error.

 

[colb]

Yes some mention about that cropping up in the Bimmer thread it says code the module to your car which leads us back to getting the data from the EWS as previously suggested in Marks case without the original a/bag module

 

[mrscalex]

Yes some mention about that cropping up in the Bimmer thread it says code the module to your car which leads us back to getting the data from the EWS as previously suggested in Marks case without the original a/bag module

Easy peasy with a working module and good install of NCS Expert. Plus Gookah's instructions. Honest guv. Well as long as nothing else is wrong with the car and my punt is not. Any problems and I'll swing by if I can. But give it a go.

I'll also check if I have the correct SRS module myself spare - probably not.

 

[milkomark]

Hello all,
I'm most grateful for all your input. Without it I fear I'd be in a right mess. Much appreciated. I have told Colin that there's a very talented chap in Pontypridd that might have the expertise to help out. I will chase him up next week but, anyone who has a module to sell then that would be great by the sound of it. I'm wondering now whether to shun eBay at all regarding a replacement module after the last 2 I bought .