DME needs to be replaced, help!

[kivyee]

Yup, I recently had a similar situation where I disagreed with the diagnosis at a shop and had it towed to another shop. Got a BCAA (insert whatever auto association/club) membership for $110 and one of 4 free tows later it was at another shop. Your hands are not tied - and I think more so when they tell you its an unlikely, very expensive repair. Can they pull trouble codes? Can they not communicate with the DME at all? What diagnostic tools do they have to lead them to the conclusion DME needs to be replaced?

[westcoast1er]

I have sourced a DME, and have another local company (RPM, linked above) working with the indy shop. They apparently have worked with them before.

I will update everyone when the dust settles and see if you guys were right, or if their diagnosis was apt.

Thanks for the concern though.

[bryosb]

Could have been this, seal for valvetronic actuator common issue on N55. This $7 seal/flange leaks and wicks into harness right into the DME, done at least 4 last year and one already this year. Sometimes you get a trifecta, takes out DME, HPFP and CAS




N55 owners, lift up your engine cover and look

PART NUMBER: 11 37 7 502 022

[westcoast1er]

Originally Posted by kivyee

Yup, I recently had a similar situation where I disagreed with the diagnosis at a shop and had it towed to another shop. Got a BCAA (insert whatever auto association/club) membership for $110 and one of 4 free tows later it was at another shop. Your hands are not tied - and I think more so when they tell you its an unlikely, very expensive repair. Can they pull trouble codes? Can they not communicate with the DME at all? What diagnostic tools do they have to lead them to the conclusion DME needs to be replaced?

Hey did you end up replacing the DME? What is labor time typically? My shop is quoting "4.5 hours for remove and install" which seems like an awful lot.

[kivyee]

Originally Posted by westcoast1er

Hey did you end up replacing the DME? What is labor time typically? My shop is quoting "4.5 hours for remove and install" which seems like an awful lot.

Looks like you misunderstood me...Similar situation as in I disagreed with diagnosis, not that I had a DME issue. DME replacement requires the intake manifold to be taken off...So it's surprisingly similar to the starter job, which is about 3hrs labour. If the 4.5hr includes any programming that might be required to install a new DME to a car (I imagine there would likely be some) it's probably not too far off base.

[westcoast1er]

Originally Posted by kivyee

Looks like you misunderstood me...Similar situation as in I disagreed with diagnosis, not that I had a DME issue. DME replacement requires the intake manifold to be taken off...So it's surprisingly similar to the starter job, which is about 3hrs labour. If the 4.5hr includes any programming that might be required to install a new DME to a car (I imagine there would likely be some) it's probably not too far off base.

Ah I see, my bad.
Nope, 4.5 hours is solely to take off the DME, and then install the new one.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by bryosb

Could have been this, seal for valvetronic actuator common issue on N55. This $7 seal/flange leaks and wicks into harness right into the DME, done at least 4 last year and one already this year. Sometimes you get a trifecta, takes out DME, HPFP and CAS




N55 owners, lift up your engine cover and look

Do you have another picture taken further out.... this looks like its next to the coils. Thanks for posting.

Dackel

[Havocsteve]

Well I took my car in this morning. Indy shop took out my old servo motor and put in the new one I bought at the dealer. Total cost was $1030 with tax including a DME reprogram because fault codes kept appearing even after the part was replaced. Now my car purrs. This has put a damper on car ownership though, my seal previously was leaking. Not sure it that ruined the connection to the servo motor original to the car. Last time they couldn't get the DME to talk to the software at all. Now there's 0 issues with new seals and parts. Hopefully this is the last of any issues as it's nearing suspension time.

[bryosb]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Do you have another picture taken further out.... this looks like its next to the coils. Thanks for posting.

Dackel

Hard to get a shot of it further out that shows it. For reference the connector for it is right behind the left engine cover attaching point. You are correct, it is located between coil #2 and #3 but with a flashlight you can see it well as it is under the coil cover. Sorry for delay, been slammed.

[westcoast1er]

Well I got my car back and it is running great.
Had to replace a (the) camshaft actuator and DME. All told, parts and labour as an eye watering amount over $3000.00.

I was also told that a tune can cause the actuator to get too hot and fail, instigating all of the problems. Is this correct? I was going to flash with MHD but am worried to now, because another repair like this would be insane.

[Havocsteve]

Originally Posted by westcoast1er

Well I got my car back and it is running great.
Had to replace a (the) camshaft actuator and DME. All told, parts and labour as an eye watering amount over $3000.00.

I was also told that a tune can cause the actuator to get too hot and fail, instigating all of the problems. Is this correct? I was going to flash with MHD but am worried to now, because another repair like this would be insane.

I got my car back but replaced the VVT motor. It still has a slight cough but not nearly as bad. Wondering if I need to replace the camshaft sensor. My mechanic reprogrammed my DME because a code wasn't leaving no matter what. I'm going to invest in MHD and a cable shortly so I can get to the bottom of what is happening.

Today after leaving work, no cough on start up while cold. Although when the car warmed up and I tried to give it gas, M1 felt like limp mode (no spool of turbo) until I kicked it into M2 and man did the car hate that as it clunked and got boost. Scared me, so now I'll baby it until I get my cable and I can read phantom codes. Nothing is popping up on the dash or iDrive.

[westcoast1er]

Went for a drive the other evening. First time remotely pushing the car since I got it back... and the first time it hit 6000rpm it started misfiring and I got every code under the sun. BDC failure, engine malfunction, etc. etc.

So back it goes.

[bryosb]

Originally Posted by westcoast1er

Went for a drive the other evening. First time remotely pushing the car since I got it back... and the first time it hit 6000rpm it started misfiring and I got every code under the sun. BDC failure, engine malfunction, etc. etc.

So back it goes.

If it wicked check your invoice to make sure they replaced the harness going from the actuator to DME, it's about $100 if it wicked and that harness wasn't replaced it can take out DME again.

[westcoast1er]

Originally Posted by bryosb

If it wicked check your invoice to make sure they replaced the harness going from the actuator to DME, it's about $100 if it wicked and that harness wasn't replaced it can take out DME again.

They did not, and I have been told it was probably the wiring harness.
Just curious what you mean by "wicked" in this instance?

Thanks for the tip though, I will definitely pursue this line. The thing is the car started fine the next morning, although it seemed to be misfiring when I drove it a block to the shop.

[bryosb]

If the original issue was caused from flange/seal leaking and the seal was replaced and not the harness that could be the issue. Oil will wick up the harness wires from a bad seal, causing impedance problems at best and all the way to the motherland (DME) worst case. Unfortunately some shops are unfamiliar with this issue and therefore could overlook it. I’ve edited the original pic to included part number of seal. Harness best to look up on realoem via vin.

[Havocsteve]

BMW charges just under $200 for a new wiring harness. I'm thinking of buying one and swapping it just for insurance purposes. When you replace the harness, what's the best way to do so? Don't want to take it in for a simple wire change.

[bryosb]

It's easy, remove air box, engine cover, routes under coil cover and down to DME, 15mins, hardest part is those friggin connectors, lol

[Havocsteve]

Originally Posted by bryosb

It's easy, remove air box, engine cover, routes under coil cover and down to DME, 15mins, hardest part is those friggin connectors, lol

I'm thinking about biting the bullet and changing it regardless. Currently, the car starts and run great like it used to. After making a phone call and stopping at the Indy shop and actually going into the shop and reviewing everything with the owner, he reset the adaptations and also did another VVT re-calibration. Not sure if that helped but it seems to have done something. I did however watch over the airflow of the cylinders, it looks like my intake might need a cleaning and its leaving to a slight rpm bump every second or so (the rough idle I keep eluding to).

[Happy Jose]

Originally Posted by westcoast1er

Well I got my car back and it is running great.
Had to replace a (the) camshaft actuator and DME. All told, parts and labour as an eye watering amount over $3000.00.

I was also told that a tune can cause the actuator to get too hot and fail, instigating all of the problems. Is this correct? I was going to flash with MHD but am worried to now, because another repair like this would be insane.

If I were you, I'd buy a quality scanner:

Icarsoft Multi-system Car Diagnostic Tool BMM V2.0

Next I'd spend the $100 to reprogram your original DME. I'd also replace any electronic harnesses that connects the DME to the engine sensors, camshaft and crankshaft position sensors or at least examine them for trouble.

If you had run a scanner when you first had the problem, you might have saved yourself money. Even a non functioning DME will have stored codes available for the scanner to read.

BTW, what is MHD? Also I'd forget about any tuning.

Most shops aren't too swift when it comes to engine electronics including BMW. Their repair is the time unhonored system of replacing parts until something works.

[Happy Jose]

For the heck of it, I did some research on the DME. You can't put a used one in because the DME is coded to the car's VIN. However, there are shops that can solve this problem by doing some reprogramming.

Also, the best bet is to remove it, fair amount of work, and send it out to a shop for repair. There aren't too many that do it from what I could find out. The cost would probably be less than $500, I made a mistake about the $100 fee.

The DME is located under the intake manifold, so don't wash the engine. Also be damn careful about replacing the battery or jump starting. In fact, stay out of the car's electrical system like these silly tunes or JB4 stuff. Sophisticated electronics are sensitive and fragile to any sort of electrical disruptions.

[westcoast1er]

Originally Posted by Happy Jose

For the heck of it, I did some research on the DME. You can't put a used one in because the DME is coded to the car's VIN. However, there are shops that can solve this problem by doing some reprogramming.

Also, the best bet is to remove it, fair amount of work, and send it out to a shop for repair. There aren't too many that do it from what I could find out. The cost would probably be less than $500, I made a mistake about the $100 fee.

The DME is located under the intake manifold, so don't wash the engine. Also be damn careful about replacing the battery or jump starting. In fact, stay out of the car's electrical system like these silly tunes or JB4 stuff. Sophisticated electronics are sensitive and fragile to any sort of electrical disruptions.

The old DME was pulled, and a new one was flashed to work by RPM. They're great guys and do good work.

My shop installed that, perhaps without replacing other parts like the wiring harness.

I am avoiding any kind of piggy back tunes that interfere with the electronics. MHD is merely an OBDII android based flash tuner.

[Happy Jose]

Originally Posted by westcoast1er

The old DME was pulled, and a new one was flashed to work by RPM. They're great guys and do good work.

My shop installed that, perhaps without replacing other parts like the wiring harness.

I am avoiding any kind of piggy back tunes that interfere with the electronics. MHD is merely an OBDII android based flash tuner.

Out of curiosity, did you consider reflashing the old unit?