Auction buy - couple of questions

[cafj85]

I just took delivery of a 2011 Crimson Red 128i that I bought from Copart. The car is from an insurance company and it needs minor work in the sense that it's just bolt on bolt off stuff.

Pulled carfax before purchase and through two owners it had all its services done at the same dealership.

The first car I bought brand new was a 2010 Audi A3, I loved its german refinement but the dsg and the valve body both failed twice under warranty. It coincided with the birth of my daughter so I went the way of a Honda CRV which in 100k plus miles has been bullet proof, not a single thing has gone wrong. I know I will not get this from my 128i but I sat inside the car for 5 minutes today and I can't wait to drive it out on country roads, I feel like I'm 10 and just got the bike of my dreams.

2 things I wanted to ask:

1. Car has a blown driver steering wheel airbag and both roof airbags (I don't know why those deployed). I assume the BST is blown and I will require a new one, I will replace the airbags and have the module reset. I tried to jump start the vehicle to see if some form of power would be restored without luck (tried it for about 3 minutes with my CRV as the donor). I've ordered the positive terminal cable to make the swap. In the mean time, if I open the bst terminal and push the end back in, will I have power albeit with lights on dashboard? The car sat for 3 months, how can I test battery is still alive? Car has 82k miles on it.

2. I also lifted the rear compartment to have access to the battery and found goo beneath the battery. Pictures attached. The smell of the trunk is really really sweet. The water drops that you see are because it was about to start raining. There doesn't seem to be any water anywhere in the trunk. The previous owner did have an empty growler in the trunk. Wanted to get your thoughts. Should I remove the battery and clean it? What happens if I disconnect and reconnect? Could the battery have caused this? I'm a noob to the 10th power, I apologize for the million questions.

Thank you!

[JimD]

Could the goo be something that spilled in the trunk?

It's OK to disconnect the battery. You loose the presets and any adjustments the car has done to tune itself but nothing that is a real problem.

I don't know would trigger the airbags other than a collision. That would be my biggest concern.

[mfindigital]

just remove the battery and take it to an automotive place, most places that sell batteries also have battery testers.

[cafj85]

Originally Posted by JimD

Could the goo be something that spilled in the trunk?

It's OK to disconnect the battery. You loose the presets and any adjustments the car has done to tune itself but nothing that is a real problem.

I don't know would trigger the airbags other than a collision. That would be my biggest concern.

Thank you for your reply. The car did have a front impact on the passenger side. Passenger air bag on dash did not deploy (guessing no one was in the seat). Both curtain airbags did though and there is no side damage.

[NorthernDancer]

As I often do, I would strongly recommend you join your local BMWCCA club. Many members local to you willing to help. They'll also recommend good indy garages and places to buy parts. Air bags can be expensive and I wouldn't play around with them without good knowledge.

[Rmtt]

Originally Posted by cafj85

I just took delivery of a 2011 Crimson Red 128i that I bought from Copart. The car is from an insurance company and it needs minor work in the sense that it's just bolt on bolt off stuff.

Pulled carfax before purchase and through two owners it had all its services done at the same dealership.

The first car I bought brand new was a 2010 Audi A3, I loved its german refinement but the dsg and the valve body both failed twice under warranty. It coincided with the birth of my daughter so I went the way of a Honda CRV which in 100k plus miles has been bullet proof, not a single thing has gone wrong. I know I will not get this from my 128i but I sat inside the car for 5 minutes today and I can't wait to drive it out on country roads, I feel like I'm 10 and just got the bike of my dreams.

2 things I wanted to ask:

1. Car has a blown driver steering wheel airbag and both roof airbags (I don't know why those deployed). I assume the BST is blown and I will require a new one, I will replace the airbags and have the module reset. I tried to jump start the vehicle to see if some form of power would be restored without luck (tried it for about 3 minutes with my CRV as the donor). I've ordered the positive terminal cable to make the swap. In the mean time, if I open the bst terminal and push the end back in, will I have power albeit with lights on dashboard? The car sat for 3 months, how can I test battery is still alive? Car has 82k miles on it.

2. I also lifted the rear compartment to have access to the battery and found goo beneath the battery. Pictures attached. The smell of the trunk is really really sweet. The water drops that you see are because it was about to start raining. There doesn't seem to be any water anywhere in the trunk. The previous owner did have an empty growler in the trunk. Wanted to get your thoughts. Should I remove the battery and clean it? What happens if I disconnect and reconnect? Could the battery have caused this? I'm a noob to the 10th power, I apologize for the million questions.

Thank you!

I disagree about the part in bold. With the proper preventative maintenance, I think these models hold up surprisingly well!

[cafj85]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

I disagree about the part in bold. With the proper preventative maintenance, I think these models hold up surprisingly well!

Yup, this is why I chose the 128i over a 135i. What I meant was that I know I can't expect the exact same as with my CRV but no doubt I'm willing to put up with what comes, it will definitely be worth it. I'm counting the hours at work so I can get home and work on it

[dtla1]

I would pull the rest of the back carpet and side interior covers off as well (just some plastic rivets and a couple screws at the trunk edge) to check for any other water intrusion. There are a few other electronic modules hiding back there including the "combox" and the amp is back there, etc. Better to make sure everything is dry and clean now rather than have to hunt down issues later.

As someone else said, no harm in removing the battery to check if it's good. Also, when jumping, use the terminals under the hood, not directly at the battery.

[cafj85]

Originally Posted by dtla1

I would pull the rest of the back carpet and side interior covers off as well (just some plastic rivets and a couple screws at the trunk edge) to check for any other water intrusion. There are a few other electronic modules hiding back there including the "combox" and the amp is back there, etc. Better to make sure everything is dry and clean now rather than have to hunt down issues later.

As someone else said, no harm in removing the battery to check if it's good. Also, when jumping, use the terminals under the hood, not directly at the battery.

Thank you!

First thing I did before trying to start the car was to check how to do it on a BMW and everyone state it like you mention to do it through connections on the back.

Would anyone know how long OEM batteries last usually on E82s?

I had one last 8 years on a dodge stratus (I drive a dodge stratus!), 1.5 on the Audi and 3 on the CRV.

[cafj85]

update, I took the battery to autozone, they kept for an hour and called that it didn't hold charge.

Picture of battery attached.

Open to recommendations. I've read so far that it needs to be coded and registered.

What is the most cost effective way to do that?

Thank you!

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by cafj85

update, I took the battery to autozone, they kept for an hour and called that it didn't hold charge.

Picture of battery attached.

Open to recommendations. I've read so far that it needs to be coded and registered.

What is the most cost effective way to do that?

Thank you!

The coding and registration is the same procedure. You can pick up the appropriate battery at pretty much any autoparts (autozone, pepboys, etc) and hopefully a local member can help you coding it? It literally takes less than 5 minutes. Maybe try to find a local independent mechanic that seems to be pretty well liked, maybe they'll do it for free.

Other than that, there are a couple of smartphone based apps that can do it such as Carly or BimmerGeek's ProTool App. You'll also need a cable or someway to connect to the car.

[Tommm]

The shop needs the car to code the battery. Pep boys will code it for a fee. you can probably buy the battery at pep boys, install it, and drive it over to be coded.

if you are assembling the car and need to move it, done worry about coding it immediately. install the battery, do what you need to get it on the road, then code it.

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by Tommm

The shop needs the car to code the battery. Pep boys will code it for a fee. you can probably buy the battery at pep boys, install it, and drive it over to be coded.

if you are assembling the car and need to move it, done worry about coding it immediately. install the battery, do what you need to get it on the road, then code it.

I had mine bought, installed and coded at PepBoys for $135 IIRC, 6 months ago.

[cafj85]

Originally Posted by dtla1

The coding and registration is the same procedure. You can pick up the appropriate battery at pretty much any autoparts (autozone, pepboys, etc) and hopefully a local member can help you coding it? It literally takes less than 5 minutes. Maybe try to find a local independent mechanic that seems to be pretty well liked, maybe they'll do it for free.

Other than that, there are a couple of smartphone based apps that can do it such as Carly or BimmerGeek's ProTool App. You'll also need a cable or someway to connect to the car.

Thank you!

I've seen people recommend going with "obd2 cable aka (D+KCAN cable) + OTG adaptor" I'm guessing this is to connect to a pc and use INPA?

Random question about the car, would you happen to know where the air bag module in the vehicle is? I need to have that reset.

Thanks again

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by cafj85

Thank you!

I've seen people recommend going with "obd2 cable aka (D+KCAN cable) + OTG adaptor" I'm guessing this is to connect to a pc and use INPA?

Random question about the car, would you happen to know where the air bag module in the vehicle is? I need to have that reset.

Thanks again

If you have an Android smart device (phone or tablet), then the OBD2 cable is the K+Dcan cable connects to the OBD2 port on the car, most cables have a regular USB 2.0 or whatever plug on the end. That's where the OTG adapter comes in, that goes from the big regular USB plug on the end of the OBD2 K+Dcan cable to the typically smaller USB Micro(?) slot on your device.

Be careful where you buy your OBD2 cable from, the ones on Amazon seem hit or miss (from personal experience, other people also have posted the same). BimmerGeeks and Bimmer S o f t w a r e .com etc are more expensive, but I think they guarantee that the cable will work.

If you're going to try to dive in and use INPA then your wouldn't need the OTG adapter as the cable will plug right into your laptop.

No clue where the airbag module is, sorry. Search around the forums, might just need a software reset and not a physical reset? idk.

[ShocknAwe]

I'd recommend the bimmergeeks protool and appropriate cable. You'll end up doing a lot more with it than simple battery registration.

I'd buy the battery at a mini dealer, dunno why but it's always cheaper for the same part number there. You could also get the Z4m/mcs battery which is substantially lighter for some weight savings.