Electrics advice M3 Nightmare in France
Discussion
Have just had possibly one of the worst journeys ever and need some advice !
Took my E46 M3 (SMG) on the ferry to France.
When it came to drive off the car wouldn't turn over/start (The alarm was going off when I retured to the car). I presumed it was a dead battery and was pushed off the ferry onto the side of the dock.
Two lots of people tried to jump start the car but it was completely dead so we had to call out a local recovery truck. I had my wife and 18month old son with me and after the long ferry trip it was looking very grim...and getting dark!
2 hours later a French Recovery truck turned up, they tried to jump the car but no luck, eventually the guy seemed to fiddle with the alarm (lock car, open etc) and lo and behold it finally started.Much releived we waved goodbye to the French breakdown guy and got in the car. As he disappeared I tried to put the car in gear (SMG II) but the car wouldn't move. I tried 1st / reverse etc but nothing.
So we called out the recovery truck again and he didn't know what the problem was so towed us to their garage (it was 11PM by now). Once back at their garage he fiddled with the gear leaver and after 20mins the car started working again, although the mechanic couldn't say why it worked.
There were warning lights on the dash, but out of desperation I drove it to where we were going (3 hour drive) and eventually got to where we werre going at 2AM.
I tried the car today and all seems back to normal. Dash warning lights have gone, but the car sounds a little different.
Any ideas what could have happened? Did the attempted jump starts fry the electronics? Should I be driving the car? Any ideas greatly appreciated.
NB - Managed to get flashed by 3 speed cameras on drive down - it really wsn't my day yesterday
Took my E46 M3 (SMG) on the ferry to France.
When it came to drive off the car wouldn't turn over/start (The alarm was going off when I retured to the car). I presumed it was a dead battery and was pushed off the ferry onto the side of the dock.
Two lots of people tried to jump start the car but it was completely dead so we had to call out a local recovery truck. I had my wife and 18month old son with me and after the long ferry trip it was looking very grim...and getting dark!
2 hours later a French Recovery truck turned up, they tried to jump the car but no luck, eventually the guy seemed to fiddle with the alarm (lock car, open etc) and lo and behold it finally started.Much releived we waved goodbye to the French breakdown guy and got in the car. As he disappeared I tried to put the car in gear (SMG II) but the car wouldn't move. I tried 1st / reverse etc but nothing.
So we called out the recovery truck again and he didn't know what the problem was so towed us to their garage (it was 11PM by now). Once back at their garage he fiddled with the gear leaver and after 20mins the car started working again, although the mechanic couldn't say why it worked.
There were warning lights on the dash, but out of desperation I drove it to where we were going (3 hour drive) and eventually got to where we werre going at 2AM.
I tried the car today and all seems back to normal. Dash warning lights have gone, but the car sounds a little different.
Any ideas what could have happened? Did the attempted jump starts fry the electronics? Should I be driving the car? Any ideas greatly appreciated.
NB - Managed to get flashed by 3 speed cameras on drive down - it really wsn't my day yesterday
When I had my E46 M3 SMG a few years back,I bought it new and I'd only had it a couple of days when I was driving in the middle of the night and for no reason every light on the dash lit up for about 10 seconds and then the whole electrical system of the car shut down and I coasted to the side of the road.I switched the ignition off and removed the key and waited for a minute or so-put the key back in and everything was fine and the car started.This never happened again.
Sometimes the ECU on the car has a problem for no reason and needs to be reset.I think there is a way to do this without hooking the car up to a diagnostic??
Sometimes the ECU on the car has a problem for no reason and needs to be reset.I think there is a way to do this without hooking the car up to a diagnostic??
I used to get some crazy behaviour when I had a flat battery (happened a few times), lights would flash on and off, dashboard lights all light up, SMG does funny things because it's not got power etc. So a lot of the stuff that happened might have been due to low voltage at the time the battery went flat.
If it drove for 3 hrs and the SMG was working fine, and now it starts with no warnings, then you are probably OK. If you're worried, pop it into a French BMW dealer and ask them to take a look. Was the warning the "check engine" light?
Tap the lock button twice on the ferry to turn off the tilt sensor (I think) check in the manual.
If it drove for 3 hrs and the SMG was working fine, and now it starts with no warnings, then you are probably OK. If you're worried, pop it into a French BMW dealer and ask them to take a look. Was the warning the "check engine" light?
Tap the lock button twice on the ferry to turn off the tilt sensor (I think) check in the manual.
Edited by john_p on Monday 1st September 08:39
[quote=< FORZA WEST]Had several different issues with this type of issue...what warning lights were on? and was there any lights when you tried to start it?
Most common tend to be the battery or the General module failing.
[/quote]
Haven't got the drivers manual so not sure what the light means. Its the Yellow one with a circle and the ! sign n the middle. It hasn't come back on since.
Driving back tomorrow so fingers crossed.
Most common tend to be the battery or the General module failing.
Edited by < FORZA WEST on Monday 1st September 08:31
[/quote]
Haven't got the drivers manual so not sure what the light means. Its the Yellow one with a circle and the ! sign n the middle. It hasn't come back on since.
Driving back tomorrow so fingers crossed.
john_p said:
Tap the lock button twice on the ferry to turn off the tilt sensor (I think) check in the manual.
Is anyone able to check this for me (No manual in France)...would be much appreciated.Edited by john_p on Monday 1st September 08:39
Was considering leaving the car unlocked, but if the tilt sensor can be turned off that would be a better option.
Bandit said:
Is anyone able to check this for me (No manual in France)...would be much appreciated.
Was considering leaving the car unlocked, but if the tilt sensor can be turned off that would be a better option.
Just checked, yes tap the lock button twice and the red light in the rear view mirror will stay on briefly then flash continuously. This disables the tilt sensor and the interior sensors.Was considering leaving the car unlocked, but if the tilt sensor can be turned off that would be a better option.
http://www.linquist.net/motorsports/bmw/3manuals
If the yellow light was a ! inside a cog then that is the SMG warning light - I suspect you will need to take it to a dealer to check what the fault was, but if it drives OK and doesn't come back on then fingers crossed it was just a fault related to the flat battery.
Edited by john_p on Tuesday 2nd September 14:54
Schermerhorn said:
I heard on mtorque that if you are driving along and press both SMG paddles at the same time the SMG system resets. It cures electrical gremlins apparantly?
I thought this only reset the learning mode of SMG i.e. if you drive slowly everywhere the SMG becomes accustomed to it and produces lazy gear changes. Pulling both paddles reset it to default.I think you have to be travelling less the 20 or 30 mph though when carried out.
I would make sure the bonnet is slammed shut.
Thanks for everyones help, we got home safely with no more issues.
Looking back now I'm sure it was the immobilisor which caused the intital problem.
Trying to jump start the car must have caused the electrical problems with the SMG.
BTW , it could well be that flicking both SMG paddles was what resolved the problem eventually.
Again in hindsight, (after the post about the SMG paddles), the mechanic in France was playing around for 5-10mins with the gearbox and paddles (just rapidly changing ears etc). Maybe he did hit both paddles at the same time which is why the car started working again?
He certainly didn't know what he'd done!
Anyway, thanks again.
Looking back now I'm sure it was the immobilisor which caused the intital problem.
Trying to jump start the car must have caused the electrical problems with the SMG.
BTW , it could well be that flicking both SMG paddles was what resolved the problem eventually.
Again in hindsight, (after the post about the SMG paddles), the mechanic in France was playing around for 5-10mins with the gearbox and paddles (just rapidly changing ears etc). Maybe he did hit both paddles at the same time which is why the car started working again?
He certainly didn't know what he'd done!
Anyway, thanks again.
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff