Can OBD Readers Cause Problems?
 

Drive my newly acquired E53 4.8is yesterday and noticed the Engine warning light was on. Checked my owner manual and noted that it said "Deterioration of exhaust emission values". I immediately suspected oxygen sensors which was odd as the previous owner had recently replaced them, so I decided to plug in the OBD reader (Tech2) that I had used on my previous car to see if I could get more information on which one/s were causing the problem. I now wished I had not done it because all hell broke loose. The screen on the reader remained blank but immediately the following occurred:
*Alarm (high pitched monotone) went off
*Message "Self leveling suspension inactive appeared on screen"
*A great many warning lights lit up on screen (including engine light)
*Lights went on on the left hand rim of the tacho
*None of the remote buttons on key would operate
*Lights indicating which gear you are in next to gear shifter no longer visible
*Cannot open tail gate either with key, button on remote or buttton on tailgate.
*Interior lights no longer come on when you open the door.
etc, etc
Despite all this car will run and drive and suspension height looks about right.
The introduction of the OBD reader may have been a coincidence but I doubt it. My preliminary research has should that some OBD readers have caused problems in the past but surely not this sort of chaos.
Hope there is someone out there who can make head or tail of all this and at least offer some suggestions.

AussieXer

Check the condition of your battery.

Thanks for that.
Checked the voltage: 12.52
but have put it on the charger anyway. Will see how it goes in the morning.

Charged up to 13.4 volts. Still no good. Today will disconnect the battery and see how that goes.

Well that didn't work either. All I succeeded in doing was setting off the alarm. Back to the drawing board. I might try taking it for a drive. Have heard a number of people succeeded in clearing the SLSI message this way.

Not familiar with the Tech 2 but does it happen to have an internal battery in the scanner? Reason I ask is a customer of mine used a scanner with an internal 9V internal battery and did scramble the ECU and not in a D.O.A manner but did set off a lot more codes/monitors then were initially affected. We cleared everything with our Snapon scanner. INPA coming soon..

Thanks Black-Forest I will check on the battery situation. My short drive did not improve the situation much. The lights around the tacho reduced which I recall is part of the dynamic red line so it is probably working alright. I did discover that the windscreen wipers are not working though and the green light on the level indicator is not showing. For the first ten minutes of the drive the alarm was sounding (30 seconds on, 15 seconds off) but that finally stopped. I suppose that was because I disconnected and then reconnected the battery.
I checked the warning light situation and can confirm the following are showing:
Engine(it was showing before the melt down)
Run flat indicator
DSC
Brake (x2)

Tech 2 is a GM only scanner and won't work on anything but GM vehicles as far as I know, that's probably why it messed up and didn't read anything.

In the infamous words of Scooby Doo..."Ruh-Roh" :yikes:

If Tech 2 is a car manufacturer specific tool...I hope the OP didn't brick or damage some of their modules.

EDIT: just did a quick google search to see what a TECH 2 OBD scanner is...if this is what you have & used...everything points to it being a GM specific tool & NOT a generic OBD II scanner that can be used on any vehicle. :(

Tech 2 gives you unprecedented access to EVERY GM module and controller, provides the best and highest volume of vehicle data, and possesses the most bi-directional functionality of any diagnostic tool for GM family cars.

Tech 2 is not only a diagnostic tool, it is also is capable of programing new and used programmable GM controllers, configuring functionality within modules and updating GM family cars with the most current programing. You can gain access to programing on GM TIS on WEB website. With very little effort, and cables that accommodate your type of PC, you can update or install programing in any GM family OBD II or CAN compatible vehicle. Tech 2 can also be used on SAAB, Holden, Isuzu, even some Toyota vehicles with optional programing available through GM and accessible by anyone for weekly, monthly, or yearly subscription.

http://www.buyobdtoolshop.com/upload...ing-case-2.jpg

Tech2 for GM Software Version:
GM English 32.007
SAAB English 148 (1998-2014)
OPEL English 180 (Support Cars from 1997-2014)
Holden English 149 (Support Cars from 1999-2013)
SUZUKI English 01.210.020
ISUZU-English CAN-BUS 107.021 2010- (CAN-BUS support car models after 2010)
ISUZU-English K-Line 11.62 1996-2013 (K-line support car models from 1996 to 2011)

I have a Tech 2 also, it is actually the dealership diagnostic tool used by all GM dealerships until recent years, nothing better out there though for older GM vehicles ~2013 and older.

Hopefully this can be as simple as a battery disconnect to reset everything.

Thanks for that. Yes that is a picture of the scanner I used and I had used it on a GM vehicle in the past. Couldn't see a place for a battery but there seems to be a recharging port in the bottom. Well I think you have all answered my first question: yes, some OBD readers can cause problems so before you plug one in make sure it is the right one. Now for the follow up question: what do I do now? Like a lot of the contributors to this forum (and many other forums for different cars) I am keeping a visit to the local dealer as a last resort for reasons that have been well documented in this forum. I also believe that one of the great values of forums such as this is to aid people who want to know more about these wonderful cars and would like to do much of their own maintenance. Neither of these goals are met by the "keepers of the knowledge", the BMW dealer.

We are talking about the battery in your X5, not the Tech 2 scanner. Check that as these vehicles are extremely voltage sensitive. It is possible that disconnecting the battery for a bit will help reset everything.

In this case it basically boils down to the wrong scanner being used. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that it hasn't effected your control units permanently. Oh and put that scanner in the closet ; )

Get a real BMW Scanner or bring it to a Dealer or Indy and let them scan the car for you. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to do it yourself.

:iagree:

Thanks for all the responses so far. I thought I would continue my running commentary for the sake of future X5 owners who may have the same problem. I now realise that I definitely should not have used the OBD scanner that I did. I thought that merely scanning for error codes would not have done any harm.
In anticipation of a worse case scenario I rang my local BMW dealer today to see what they would say. When I described the symptoms they said it was most likely that I had damages the FRM (Footwell Module?) and that I would probably need a new one and that would be about $2,500 AUD and that it would probably take 2 weeks to get one out from Germany. I was interested to hear them say that my windows probably would not work but that is not the case. The windows go up and down fine and the headlights still work but not the interior lights. The things that do not work do not seem entirely consistent with a failed FRM. I would be interested in your opinion.

.

hmmm......FRM module on E53?

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/ha...y-emoticon.gif



http://bimmerboard.com/members/q/ori...Diagnostic.jpg

Recommend......Asked again.......OR.......Find another BMW workshop.

:)

Footwell Module?

AussieXer,

FYI....your X5 do not have this.

You definitely need your X5 scanned with proper BMW Diagnostic software.

See previous replies above....As per recommendation from members here.

It is hard for us here to assist/help you without error codes.

Thanks for that.
I think I may have had a bit of a break through. I found an IBM document (http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/BMW_do...lectronics.pdf) which basically describes the function of the "General Module" and all the faults my car is displaying except one (Self Leveling Suspension) are controlled by this module. Thank you to jopecasa who indicated that I had been given a bum steer by the BMW dealer with regard to FRM/Footwell module.
I will keep my fingers crossed that it may be possible to reset this module. I will let you know how I go pursuing this avenue.

Have you tried simply disconnecting the battery and letting it sit for a half hour or so yet? This would be the first thing I would try, easy to do and free.

I believe he did try that.

Sounds more like the service writer at the BMW stealership was trying to sell you a FMITR over the phone.

Does the e53 X5 even have a FRM (footwell module)? I thought the FRM was an e70 X5 thing...you know...a new generation thing since they have a completely different communication bus (byte flight/LIN/MOST/BSD/etc). :dunno:

Yup, you're right, I just missed the post.

On the topic though, just to make sure, how long was the battery disconnected for? I hate to keep pushing the battery but I just want to make sure all of the simple quick free things are thoroughly looked at before you spend any money.

I know on all the GM cars I've worked on before you disconnect both terminals on the battery and wait a little bit then connect the two posts together and that drains any stored power in any modules, is that something we can do with these BMWs as well? Asking for myself as well as I'm curious.

Yes to the question you asked in your last paragraph above. :)

Gave that a try but only for a couple of minutes. I will try for longer and let you know how I go.

Pardon my ignorance upallnight but what is an FMITR?

Well I think this may be the final post to this thread as the problem has now been solved. Before I describe the solution I also discovered the sunroof did not work either.
As prompted by a number of forum members I finally went looking for an auto electrician (not the dealer who told me it was probably an FRM) to investigate the problem.
Pulled up in the fore court and made the mistake of turning the engine off because every time I turned the ignition on the alarm would start and run for about 5 to 10 minutes. The auto electrician came out with a set of ear plugs on. Plugged the right kind of scanner into the OBD port and then went to the fuse box in the glove box. In about 2 minutes had found a 5 amp fuse that had blown (I will try to find out which one when I go back on Thursday). Then just as suddenly as they appeared all the faults disappeared.
At the risk of having the scorn of forum members heaped upon me I will suggest that this could be described as a design fault when one 5 amp fuse could totally disable so many quite significant functions. If I had thought that this was likely I would have been more diligent in my examination of the fuses (I did check all the fuses in the back).
So my advice for future readers of this thread: check your fuses (all of them).
I would like to thank all of the members for their suggestions many of which contributed to my finding the eventual solution and prevented me pursuing wild geese (eg footwell modules).
PS Happy to receive suggestions as to a good make/model OBD scanner but I notice that other threads have addressed this issue.
Thanks again.

Bent over and let the dealer Fuck Me In The Rear.

:rofl: