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Old 09-22-2014, 07:37 AM
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Leaking sunroof and ABS/EBD/DSC/4x4 failure

Hi all,
I'll apologize right off the bat for the length of this post...also if the majority feel the subject has been flogged to death in other similar posts.

My 2008 E70 (3.0d) first threw the old ABS/EBD/DSC/4x4 error at me in March this year and I went down a long road of hunting through the many posts relating to this error. Long story short I eventually replaced the ATC700 control module (the one that sits up against the body of the vehicle in the boot (trunk for you yanks) next to the battery. Problem solved. Please note, I did first remove and strip the transfer case servo motor just to be sure the gear was fine as it is after all the most common cause of this fault (Even though my diagnostic software explicitly noted "no communication" with the ATC700 module).

Last week the fault reappeared along with a long shopping list of others. I cleared them (I use BMWHAT for Android - a freakin' amazing piece of kit) and went directly home to try and figure out what went wrong. It was at this point I discovered roughly 2 liters of water in the left hand corner of the boot, directly below the HI-FI control module/amp. Also, there was damp in the matting which covers the fuse panel in the right hand side of the boot.
I removed and disassembled the fuse panel and dried it with a hairdrier. I had to clean the fuse contact board with electrical contact cleaner as well as scrape some caked corrosion from a few of the points which would indicated its not the first time this had happened. i also had to strip and clean/dry the HI-FI control module which was unfortunately very wet but somehow escaped damage...thus far. I completely expect some, if not all of the affected electronic hardware to fail down the line as a result of the bath they all took but am hoping my swift action may have bought some time. As for the ATC700 control module; while I know its not a sealed unit and water can very easily gain access through the rather generous seam around the edge, I really don't feel like drilling it open (I did with the last unit but found no visible evidence to suggest water had actually made it in, so have decided to let sleeping dogs lie.

Anyway, this brings me to the "why/how" in the story. Turns out there is a leak - obviously, but every single post I've found points to sunroof leaks...this is incorrect- or at least it was in my case. Pouring water onto the sunroof did replicate the leak, as did pouring water into the seams along either side of the car, however, what I found was that the water from the sunroof drained out of the two glands as it should (open the boot lid and look on the top sill, you'll notice two round black drainage points, one on the left and one on the right). The water from the "gutters" on the left and right hand side of the vehicle's roof also drained out onto the upper sill above the boot lid...and this is where we get to the problem. On either side of the sill there is a rubber boot which houses an electrical harness that passes from the vehicle body into the boot lid, for lighting and boot-lid lock I would assume. Unfortunately the water from both the sunroof and roof gutters flows directly over these rubber boots on both sides and in my case neither of the rubber boots were properly clipped into their sockets...the rubber boot above the fuse panel on my vehicle had been sealed with some type of rubber compound...ineffectually as it turns out but it would indicate someone (BMW dealer perhaps) has in the past attempted to repair this leak. Also of interest to some would be that when the vehicle is parked on an incline, the water accessing these two points flows into the rear light clusters as well.
I took pictures along the way but won't clutter an already cluttered post unless anyone thinks it may be of benefit to them in which case just pm me and I'll send them
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Old 09-27-2014, 05:55 AM
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Good post, informative diagnosis for a potentially expensive fault. Please post pics
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Old 09-27-2014, 08:21 AM
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The first image is of one of the two rearward facing sunroof drains (sorry for posting the image on its side...just tilt your screen on its side
The second image shows one of the two rubber boots which are the point of origin of the water leak.
In the third image, although it may not be possible to see, the wiring harness is saturated. The water travels along the harness and ultimately wets everything in its path.
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Old 09-27-2014, 08:44 AM
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In this sequence of images are the effected electrical/electronic components. The left hand side with the medical bag etc was the worst. The amp was wet inside and out. The first aid kit was soaked as was the seat belt (it's probably going to rust internally if I know my luck).
The mat covering the fuse panel saved my ass for sure since it absorbed most of the water on that side although some did find its way into the fuse panel and the tail light cluster.

What I've taken away from my experience is that in all likely hood a lot of the electronic malady experienced by owners of slightly older models stems from these leaky rubber boots. In the very least it warrants investigating...what have you got to loose? Just pop off the D-post interior covers and carefully pour water over the rubber boots and look for water ingress, have a towel close at hand in case there is a leak.
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Old 07-15-2015, 11:07 AM
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I know this is super old, but I found the source of my trunk leak - it was the rubber stops on the hatch. When I checked it, it was super loose and easy for the water to go in through. There was a puddle at the bottom of where the amps were. Good thing it totally missed the amps...
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Old 07-15-2015, 01:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noelskii View Post
Iit was the rubber stops on the hatch. .
Picture? For future posters to reference....
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Old 07-15-2015, 02:57 PM
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Exclamation

This isn't my picture, but I put an arrow pointing at where my leak was coming from. If you follow where the bolt is on the other side of the rubber, it leads straight to the compartment where the amps are.

These were super loose for some reason, all I did was tighten them using a torx screwdriver.
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Old 07-16-2015, 07:25 AM
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I thought those bolts were height adjusters for the tailgate stops ?
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Old 07-16-2015, 09:44 AM
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That's is some very good feedback! Those are loose on my x5 and likewise I thought to adjust the hatchback closing.


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Old 07-16-2015, 10:03 AM
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I just went out and checked mine, and they're tight.
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