Help! Bizzarre DSC Behavior ?

Hi guys,

I have an E60 2006 525i and I love it. But over the past few weeks the cars electronics play up big time.

Basically what happens is that when I start the car, everything is all fine.

After I have ridden the car a certain distance (very variable, but usually within 15 mins) I suddenly get a whole lot of warning messages:
1. Control systems - brake and driving control systems failure. Drive moderately and avoid hard braking.
2. Active Steering inactive - please stop if possible and restart engine
3. Restrain systems - function of airbags, belt tensioners and belt force limiters faulty. Ensure your seat belt is fastened despite the fault.
4. Cruise control fault - cruise control function faulty.

The washer fluid low message isnt anything new.

Pictures of the above are attached.

All the dashboard lights light up.
My speedometer fails to work.
I lose my power steering - very hard to turn.
I lose cruise control ability.
Braking is less responsive.

This fault remains so until I stop the car and turn off the ignition. After about 5mins I am able to turn the car on with no faults and drive properly, however the fault happens again within 15mins.

I took my car to a private BMW mechanics and they did the diagnostic check on it and they came to the conclusion that there was a fault with the DSC module and that the control unit couldn't communicate with the diagnostic. I have been quoted $1890 AUD for the DSC ECU part alone (ordered from Germany) and $2200 in total (including fitting and a few hours of programming).

Has anyone else come across this problem before? No doubt $2200 is quite a hefty price to shelf-out and I want to make sure that there's nothing simple in the first instance.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like a dying battery...

2200$ for a new DSC?
That's a bit over the top.
We have an E60 and an E39. The E39 DSC fried once in the past but we never experienced this issues. We ended up changing it for 650$ with a second hand DSC

Originally Posted by DRExi22

Sounds like a dying battery...

I agree. Is this the original battery? If so, replace it and start from there...

Originally Posted by MSAMMY

I agree. Is this the original battery? If so, replace it and start from there...

Yes this is the original battery. I have organised for another BMW mechanic shop to independently check it out as well and will get them to try a replacement battery.

or altenator either way could be one or the other

That's a 5 year old battery. With all of the electronics in the E60, that's about the max timeframe before you'll need to change the battery, so it's time. I would try replacing the battery first, it's well-known that many have seen bogus messages on the Idrive display once the battery got weak.

Originally Posted by MSAMMY

That's a 5 year old battery. With all of the electronics in the E60, that's about the max timeframe before you'll need to change the battery, so it's time. I would try replacing the battery first, it's well-known that many have seen bogus messages on the Idrive display once the battery got weak.

Had a battery shop check the voltage and crank today. Was running at 12.6V when car off with good crank. Was aroung 13.something when the car was on with light on and a/c full. Would this rule out a battery cause?

Originally Posted by thefatalrisk

Had a battery shop check the voltage and crank today. Was running at 12.6V when car off with good crank. Was aroung 13.something when the car was on with light on and a/c full. Would this rule out a battery cause?

In short, no.

As others have said, your battery is end of life. Just replace it. It may very well "fix" your DSC / warning light issue. If it doesn't solve that problem, well then you'll feel better about shelling out the $AU to replace the DSC. If it does solve the problem, treat yourself to a weekend vacation as a way of thanking yourself for listening to your Interwebz colleagues.

Originally Posted by SoLucky

In short, no.

As others have said, your battery is end of life. Just replace it. It may very well "fix" your DSC / warning light issue. If it doesn't solve that problem, well then you'll feel better about shelling out the $AU to replace the DSC. If it does solve the problem, treat yourself to a weekend vacation as a way of thanking yourself for listening to your Interwebz colleagues.

Thanks for the advice. I will do this.

Is any car battery shop able to fit a new battery?
I heard that you need to get the car reprogrammed after you install a new battery.

Hi all,

My father's 525i is experiencing this very same issue. Was the Original Poster able to fix this by simply replacing the battery?

Thanks!

Ditto here with having problems with electrical gremlins on my 04 545i. Would love to hear from the original poster? You still there?
Thanks

Originally Posted by jamdownMan

My father's 525i is experiencing this very same issue. Was the Original Poster able to fix this by simply replacing the battery?

Hello,

Unfortunately no, the battery change didn't do a thing. Eventually I changed the DSC module (which cost me a lot!) and that fixed the problem.

The BMW mechanic gave me back the old/damaged DSC module, its the size of a small book (yet it cost so much).