DME Main Relay

[uhenry1]

Hello all,
I got 2001 BMW X5 with 235K and the dealership recommend to replace the DME Main Relay. What is the DME Main Relay and where is located? Can I do it myself. Do the DME Main relay need to be replace? Thanks Henry

[Zulu95]

https://blog.bavauto.com/5677/bmw-e4...derhood-e-box/

[oldskewel]

^ that link is close, but I think pretty different for our X5. The light blue cube thing is what our DME relay looks like. So I'd say to look at that page to get an idea of what things look like, etc., but for the details ...

On my 2001 X5 3.0i, the relay is in the engine bay, on the passenger side, way to the rear, by the cowl. It's in a very well sealed black box. May need a few Torx screws to be removed to open it up. Once there, you'll see the light blue cube, which is the relay.

I don't know if I've heard of replacing those just based on age/mileage for these cars, but I know you definitely do it on some other cars (like my old 911). Are you having any problems, or is it just preventive maintenance?

[uhenry1]

Thanks for the info but I had no problem with the car at all just take my car for RECALL: Driver Side front air bag module and they do inspection for the car.



Here is a link from Pelican website for replace DME and TCM:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart..._Replacing.htm

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by uhenry1

Thanks for the info but I had no problem with the car at all just take my car for RECALL: Driver Side front air bag module and they do inspection for the car.



Here is a link from Pelican website for replace DME and TCM:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart..._Replacing.htm

That site correctly shows the box containing the DME relay. But it's talking about the DME controller module itself. The DME relay is just the blue cube thing in front of it. You may be able to access and replace it without many of the steps shown in that Pelican article.

So if you're having no problems, then it's a preventive maintenance issue. I'm running on mine at 188k miles with no problems. I don't hear much talk about replacing those preventively. If you see that e-box they are in, wow that thing is sealed like it's ready to go into space. I bet that cuts down on any corrosion related failures, and things may last a really long time in there.

Just look at those Pelican photos of the wires inside the box vs. the rest of the engine bay. The wires and other components look brand new. Not like the DME relay in my old 911, which is under the driver's seat, basically exposed to everything. Those are known to fail from corrosion, so I replaced mine with a new one when I got the car 20+ years ago.