Need help with Crazy instrument cluster issue!

[sprp85]

Hello all,

Recently, I have been experiencing the infamous instrument cluster of F's.

The car is 2011 128i with about 100k miles.

It began randomly while cruising on highway.

Symptoms include random turning off and turning back on of the cluster

As well as 20+ codes which includes CDA8, CDA0, 2DC3, 2DE5, 2DE4, etc...

Random warning lights: Red car on lift, ABS, Traction, Brake (Parking) light. Sometimes it just shows yellow parking brake light without any other lights.

From searching online... I began troubleshooting:

1. Wheel speed sensor check using INPA. All four corners are reading fine

2. Battery was replaced about a year and half ago. Registered properly.

3. Battery voltage while running shows steady 14.4+, I have not checked battery with the car off as I have no issues with it starting.

4. I tried checking RDC module as some mentioned it being wet in the trunk, but failed to locate the unit. Any lead on its location on a 128i would be appreciated!

5. Checked fuses that behind glovebox. Interesting thing I noted was that once I pulled and reinstalled 74 fuse, which is for instrument cluster, all the codes disappeared and car became normal for a bit.

So far I have no clue what to do. It is extremely random and once it kicks in, it lingers around for a while.

Any help or lead would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you all in advance.

[Chitown135]

Maybe you need to just replace the fuse? Seems like a viable option.

[NorthernDancer]

1. have you had ANY work done on car last 6 months?
2. 85% of the time issues like this are caused by loose and/or dirty connections

You may have to go to a dealer or good BMW indy.

[sprp85]

Thanks for the inputs .

The only work done was OFHG that was done by me. However the duration between getting that sorted out and this ape shit cluster is a couple months apart.

Another thing I just realized is I did take the car in for a quick wash (self wash bay) after recent snow storm. The whole shebang kicked in 1 day after the event. Not sure if it's just a coincidence or related tho.

Fuse wise, I will do place an order for a few different ones just to have then around.

On a bright note, I did locate the RDC module. It is actually underneath the car, in between diff and battery box.

So that kind of eliminates probable submerged RDC module.

[tracer bullet]

There was a battery cable recall, I think the odds of it affecting anyone without being replaced are probably very slim, but if it became an issue it might show up like this. Did you have that done?

It feels like something electrical is loose or weak, question is finding out what. It could be as simple as a wire or as deep as an ECM board connection. Crappy problem to have, it might not be easy to track down.

[quicksilver3121]

Footwell module?

[rowsdower]

I had all sorts of crazy stuff happening with my cluster, similar to what you describe. Turning on and off on the freeway at 80mph, all lights turning on and off. The codes said footwell module, but it ended up being the battery. I know you said it was replaced recently but definitely double-check it. Mine was 5 years old and died in a particularly cold week of winter. It did not seem to be the battery, because the car started just fine... your issue seems identical to mine.

[sprp85]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

There was a battery cable recall, I think the odds of it affecting anyone without being replaced are probably very slim, but if it became an issue it might show up like this. Did you have that done?

It feels like something electrical is loose or weak, question is finding out what. It could be as simple as a wire or as deep as an ECM board connection. Crappy problem to have, it might not be easy to track down.

Battery cable recall was performed in 2013 @ 45k miles, according to service history.

It has been quite normal for the day, fortunately, exception of a hiccup very early in the morning. I am still trying to get it to act up but with no avail.

Thank you for the inputs though!

Originally Posted by quicksilver3121

Footwell module?

I will locate it down and check on it as well. Thank you!

Originally Posted by rowsdower

I had all sorts of crazy stuff happening with my cluster, similar to what you describe. Turning on and off on the freeway at 80mph, all lights turning on and off. The codes said footwell module, but it ended up being the battery. I know you said it was replaced recently but definitely double-check it. Mine was 5 years old and died in a particularly cold week of winter. It did not seem to be the battery, because the car started just fine... your issue seems identical to mine.

I used a multimeter and while the car is off with trunk and interior lights on, it is reading 12.3v, which seems quite normal?? Is there instances where voltage reads alright but something is bad internally?

Also I've monitored voltage while driving to work today and it seems to be constantly hoovering 14.3 - 15.1v, does not matter what load it is under. Which eliminates alternator/voltage regulator issue?

I am somewhat running out of ideas now. The best theory that I have on my deck at this moment would be RDC module.

My reasoning is that: If the car wash did, in fact, caused this issue, the only thing that might have gotten hit in a wrong way would be the RDC module that is underneath the car, mounted between rear diff & muffler.

I blindly shot up water @ under carriage to wash off road grim & salts. So it might be possible that somehow the RDC module got wonky & causing shorts?

Any inputs are still more than welcome as I am afraid this issue will reveal its ugly head again soon..........

[PDXE82]

I believe that the resting voltage on a healthy battery should be 12.6. Might want to have the battery load tested for a bad cell. 12.3 doesn't seem low but I've read that at that level the battery is less than 50% charged.

[sprp85]

Update..

It has been fine for the last two days. No hiccup, no codes.

One thing I noticed while this was happening...

My blower fan that began squealing actually stopped squealing when all this happened. However blower function still worked. Not sure if the air volume was identical?

Anyhow, as my car functions normally again, the squealing is back.

Is blower fan shorting out could cause the whole car to trip batshit crazy mode..?

I will be replacing the fan unit as it was on my list anyways and will report back with its condition when I take the old unit out.

[JimVonBaden]

The canbus can be causing all kinds of issues based on odd loads. If it happens again, turn off the HVAC, maybe pull the fuse, and see if that makes a difference. It still could be the battery. Definitely have it load tested.

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

The canbus can be causing al kinds of issues based on odd loads. If it happens again, turn off the HVAC, maybe pull the fuse, and see if that makes a difference. It still could be the battery. Definitely have it load tested.

Agreed to both!

[smeard]

Originally Posted by sprp85

Hello all,

Recently, I have been experiencing the infamous instrument cluster of F's.

The car is 2011 128i with about 100k miles.

It began randomly while cruising on highway.

Symptoms include random turning off and turning back on of the cluster

As well as 20+ codes which includes CDA8, CDA0, 2DC3, 2DE5, 2DE4, etc...

Random warning lights: Red car on lift, ABS, Traction, Brake (Parking) light. Sometimes it just shows yellow parking brake light without any other lights.

From searching online... I began troubleshooting:

1. Wheel speed sensor check using INPA. All four corners are reading fine

2. Battery was replaced about a year and half ago. Registered properly.

3. Battery voltage while running shows steady 14.4+, I have not checked battery with the car off as I have no issues with it starting.

4. I tried checking RDC module as some mentioned it being wet in the trunk, but failed to locate the unit. Any lead on its location on a 128i would be appreciated!

5. Checked fuses that behind glovebox. Interesting thing I noted was that once I pulled and reinstalled 74 fuse, which is for instrument cluster, all the codes disappeared and car became normal for a bit.

So far I have no clue what to do. It is extremely random and once it kicks in, it lingers around for a while.

Any help or lead would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you all in advance.

recently had this issue. turned out family member let a half gallon of water leak into my trunk few days ago (didnt know til now). TPMS was acting up since then, and then the crazy gauge cluster. The water leaked on the right hand side of the trunk, just beside the right tail light.

[JimD]

Harbor Freight sells an inexpensive battery load tester, I think it is about $20. It has a big resister that you can put in circuit with the battery for a few seconds. It is just a voltmeter but the scale is in green, yellow or red to tell you if your battery (or alternator, can be used multiple ways) is good.

Unless the car wash corroded a connection (the timing seems odd) my guess is battery. They do go bad quickly sometimes. That is an excuse for why I am still using a 9 year old battery.

[smeard]

Indy checked it out and battery/OBD memory checked out, no codes. I hope it was a fluke. No more dead cluster but my TPMS is still on.

[sprp85]

Forgot to update this thread.

I began to notice consistent random codes popping up for various modules.
So I went ahead and checked on the TPMS module that is actually located underneath the car, right by its muffler.

TPMS module had a faint rattle in it as if something was loose in the module. Once TPMS was disconnected & codes cleared, the persistent random codes did not return, crazy cluster issue never showed up again.

So in short, my TPMS module was shot and that was causing all sorts of issues with communication between different modules.

Solution was either disconnect & disable TPMS via coding OR replace the TPMS module which costs $200+. I went ahead with coding out the TPMS..

[smeard]

I know this thread is old, but here's my $.02: The gallon of water in my trunk spilled into the cubby behind rear right wheel well arch in the trunk. Cleaned out all water, dried carpets, disconnected TPMS (RDC module). Module was shot, so I have been running with a TPMS light. But, no more crazy gauges!! I can live with the light, so I can wait on coding out TPMS.

[Tejay75]

Had pretty much the same symptoms in my car. It ended being my park distance control module being soaked with water as smeard described above.

[Havocsteve]

Originally Posted by Tejay75

Had pretty much the same symptoms in my car. It ended being my park distance control module being soaked with water as smeard described above.

Happened to me also during our 40+ heat wave we had here in Ontario Canada. It was the window washer fluid bottle that kinked and leaked into the trunk footwell. I had to take it out and use electrical cleaner and soak the board while scrubbing it, otherwise it would have costed me $500 CAD for a new PDC module.

[agarciaN52]

Originally Posted by smeard

I know this thread is old, but here's my $.02: The gallon of water in my trunk spilled into the cubby behind rear right wheel well arch in the trunk. Cleaned out all water, dried carpets, disconnected TPMS (RDC module). Module was shot, so I have been running with a TPMS light. But, no more crazy gauges!! I can live with the light, so I can wait on coding out TPMS.

You saved my life

[NorthernDancer]

Originally Posted by Havocsteve

Happened to me also during our 40+ heat wave we had here in Ontario Canada. It was the window washer fluid bottle that kinked and leaked into the trunk footwell. I had to take it out and use electrical cleaner and soak the board while scrubbing it, otherwise it would have costed me $500 CAD for a new PDC module.

What windshield washer line is located anywhere close to the trunk?

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

What windshield washer line is located anywhere close to the trunk?

I think he just meant it was a spare / extra container of windshield washer fluid that he kept in the trunk...