Idrive or cable loose?? going nuts!!
 

hello dear friends, im very new to bmw and i just took a chance and bought a bmw 2004 530i, well all good for about 3 days untill suddenly the idrive screen stop going on and off for about 10-15 sec then goes completly off for about 45 seconds.. when the screen goes off i heard a click like small shake on the tranny(im guessing here) well when the screen comeback on 3 different warning pop with it , ABS, transmission and sometime brakes, well all this while i was driving, i drove slow (50mph) for another 20 miles i arrived to my destination and parked, well a few hours later ill turned it on and ALL GOOD, no problems or warning, it did once a day for a week ..all this was on a highway

now i drove locally and when the idrive screen start going on and off i noticed that the car did not responded, at that moment the tran and engine felt like a %60 less power very slow and wipers where also very slow and also the heater fan sound like was hardly blowing,, i got to my friend house and i turned the car off while the screen was blinking on and off, well it didnt start back on, when i turned the key it seems with out battery, i charge the battery and works. but died shortly after,..
i went and i purchased a new battery, workeed flawless for 2 full days untill today did it again in the morning screen when on and off and hardly started it because seems that the battery was running out of jiuce, well i stayed in the car for about 10 minutes and the radio was going on and off for minutes at the time same thing with the heater fan blower on and off, after 10 minutes the screen came back on and everything seems to work ok.. now i check for voltage to the battery and i have 14.5 so do not seems that is the alternator.. and with a new battery keep doing the same.. probably a ground cable loose? really im going crazy the car has 130k miles in mint conditions and i keep reading about all this faulty idrives..
any, any help will be highly appreciated
thanks

Alternator needs to be replaced.

thats what i tought.. but the alternator is shooting 14.2v constantly, its faulty ?

Alternator,mine did exact same thing.I think its a heat related failure.Symptoms flare up ,you pull over and let it sit a min then restart.Upon restart checking voltage at 14v alternator seems ok but it has cooled down.

Alternator and battery need to be replaced

battery is brand new, actually a fully charge battery it lasted for 1 day I installed a fresh battery yesteday and work great all day untill thise morning . i keep and keep on reading and i found the MPM thats located below the spare rims and i went to look for it , well the previous owner did the mod and moved already, so it is either the alternator or the MPM module, ill wait for the car to do the screen on and off again and check for the voltage coming to the battery, where i can buy this MPM module im a mechanic inclined guy, i can take a part an engine and fix anything inside the engine but when it come to electronic im -0.. ill keep posted with the voltage on the alternator, otherwise im going with the MPM, other thing that forgot to put there neither the windows seat or any elctronic works would not work when these is happening,....

and dolfan... i dont actually have to turn off the car in order to the problem go away, if i keep and driving the problem will fix, well sort of. !!

these what i found so far that bmw put a recall on it, sound luke my problem but with out the water in the trunk.!


ENGINE (PWS)
Bulletin No: SIB-12-14-12
Date of Bulletin: 08/27/2012

Summary Description:
BMW: EXPERIENCING LOSS OF ENGINE POWER, SERVICE ENGINE SOON LAMP IS ILLUMINATED, A NOISE, LIKE RATTLING, COMING FROM ENGINE COMPARTMENT. *PE UPDATED 10/31/12. *PE

10000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Bulletin No: SI-B61-13-06
Date of Bulletin: 02/04/2009

Summary Description:
BMW VEHICLE: VARIOUS ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS CAUSED BY WATER INGRESS. WATER INGRESS INTO THE LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT MAY CAUSE VARIOUS ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS OR FAULTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MPM (MICRO POWER MODULE); PDC (PARK DISTANCE CONTROL); M-ASK (

i cant find the price on the MPM, but a ALTERNATOR IS RIGHT AT $100, NOT BAD! IF ANYONE CAN DIRECT ME to a cheap website or the link to these infamous MPM will be great,

i found the MPM on ebay for $130 free shipping and on 2 other web pages
CONTROL UNIT MICRO P

Brand:

ES#:2530782

Mfg#:61359266274


Ships in 1-3 days


$138.61

$138.61
.
.
., hope these will fix the problem, im stopping tomorrow at the dealer to compare prices.!
If someone is looking for a battery, walmart and autozone has excellent quality battery and 3 years no question asked free replacement for $109, you only need a size 13mm and a 10mm socket , will take you 15 minutes to replace your battery thats located inside of the trunk by the passenger side..

Did you check your IBS (intelligent battery sensor)?

nop.where is that ocated?
i went to the dealer and car has a recall if the battery lead cable

Follow this video it helped my issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta0an...e_gdata_player

Very interesting video I'll definitely try that...!!

Little updated: I stop by at the dealer and the recall was a little plastic cover that goes somewhere on the battery lead and sometimes heated up and cought on fire. So that definitely had nothing to do with my problem....
Well this morning the problem showed up again... and lucky enough I was home so I took my electric tester and I checked for voltage first I checked the cigarrete port an I read 7.5volts.. strange then I open the trunk and I check directly to the battery and it was 7.9.. so like I said these problem only last for 10-15 minutes tops... well I left the car running for about that time while the I-drive was off and all these faulty codes on the dashboard.. when the power came back and everything was working again I retested the voltage and I got 14.2 volts.. so its a faulty alternator .micro power module. Or the damn i-drive? I'll keep update hopefully with the solution and the problem fix

As I said earlier I had exact same thing your going through.Changed the alternator 5 or 6 weeks ago and has not returned.

+++++1

I had battery problems on my 545i and purchased the unit below. A very good investment for any BMW owner. What is nice is you can monitor voltage while driving.
http://www.amazon.com/Prime-Products...ette+voltmeter

After battery was replaced things were fine for about 7 months. Then one morning I started the car and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree, with transmission, iDrive, active steering and ARS errors. After two blocks I pulled over, turned it off then started it again and it seemed fine.

The next day the dash lit up again, so I plugged the voltmeter in and watched it while starting. The voltage read 17V when it was first started! Plenty of extra voltage to burn up every computer in the car. As I drove it would sag to about 11V, then eventually stabilize at 14.2V. The voltage regulator was bad. I could have replaced only the VR, but since it was the original alternator I decided to go with a new OE unit.

Changed out the alternator with a brand new Valero for about $285 delivered, and did my water pump, thermostat, vent tube and both belts as long as I had it all apart.

The BMWs are so dependent upon a strong electrical supply that many things can go wrong, one at a time or all at once if the system sees any significant variation in voltage.

Interesting. The good news that I took the risk and I took off on a road trip with my BMW. I started this morning about 8 am and drove foe 1200 miles.. the problem only occurred once at 8:05 lasted for about 10 minutes and that was all.! I'll try the little guismo that bimmerfan52 was mentioned.. before ordering the new alternator.. I already order the mpm(micro power module) while I wait for that device I'll try to check the voltage and see what happen.. but like in said did only once in 1200 miles.. when these problem appeared i can definitely see and feel the difference.. the tranny if I'm on highway will stay in higher gear but if I'm in the city and these event happen .. won't pass the 1 st gear and won't shift. No power to then windows .electric seat won't work mirrors heat or a/c etc but I
The high beam turn signal and sometimes the radio with work.???? I know weird.....! Like I explained before only last for 5-10 minutes BUT if I turn the car off between that time frame it wont start back on.. I'll need a jump start.. on the other hand when I got the power back meaning. When the I-drive and blower fan and all the electrical seem that is back except for the tranny. The tranny won't shift normally after I stop the car and turn it completly off then immediately I can start the car ...ALL the check engine lights and errors will go away and the car WILL run like a champ after those 10 minutes of breakdown.. its freaking crazy that's why I'm sceptical about alternator...and more inclined thorst the mpm ( micro power module)

I suppose there is a chance that your MPM is malfunctioning but I doubt it. Instead I believe your MPM is working perfectly and doing its job in protecting your cars electrical system due to undervoltage (remember, in an electrical circuit, when voltage drops and the load remains the same more current is supplied as demanded by the load. Excessive current can destroy electrical components).

In the BMW electrical system part of the MPM's function is to control relays which selectively shutdown load, normally during starting to make the battery work less hard, but also in response to undervoltage or overcurrent in the electrical system.

The attached PDFs are two of my favorite resources for understanding and trouble shooting BMW electrical systems. You will want to read through the entire Energy Management PDF, but first go to pages 29 and 30, which discusses the MPM function and its control of the relays (specifically 30g to shed system load), and pages 27 and 28, which outline the load/consumers controlled by the 30g relay.

The other PDF outlines the distribution of power to the car.

Good luck with troubleshooting your system. The plug-in voltmeter is a great tool for any vehicle as you can easily view voltage during startup and while driving.

As dolfan were sayin it was the freaking alternator. i bought the voltage meter that goes into the cigarrete lighter. and the reading where crazy. first day went from 16volts to 8 volts.. so i finally pin poibt a starting point. alternator cost me $100 and took me 20 minutes no programming or.nothong .work right at the first time. the voktage reading are now between 13.9-14.2.. Problem solved..thank you gellas