That's certainly true...but it takes two to argue...

If this forum was full of arguments, it wouldn't be any good.

Slight clarification here -

OP has not yet revealed whether he has a V8 or a 3.0i. Andrew's comment there is exactly right for a 3.0i (which I have), and it's a good, easy troubleshooting step in that case. But I don't think it's true for the V8s (or the diesels), since they're wired differently.

Also, that B+ terminal is the jump port in the engine bay, on the firewall, directly in front of the driver. It's also the best spot for hooking up the charger that I suggested in my previous post.

Huge battery draw!
 

I didn't say in this case. I'm saying that your anti BMW attitude is very clear in the common phrase "bm trouble u" and that you regularly tell people they should have a different brand of car instead of offering helpful advice.

I'm not saying that you aren't capable of offering good advice, but the ratio has taken a district turn downwards.

The "best advice was a tow" example is horrible advice.

You do not need to tow an e53 due to a fuel pump failure.

How do I know? Because mine failed a month ago and my friend brought me my spare and I installed it on the street 75 miles from home using one tool.

I give every newbie the same opportunity and wait to see what they are capable of. They can "start from zero".

Regarding your assessment of me, you clearly know nothing about me.

Not a "fanboy" of anything.

I personally have a favorite car the X5. It is a lot of work to maintain and you have to want it but it's not difficult to do anybody that has decent mechanical skills and can do troubleshooting can with help from others figure it out and fix it.

I happen to enjoy fixing things, so BMW may be perfect for me plenty of things to fix.

I find them easier to work on than many cars including my dad's Toyota van which you basically have to remove the engine to change the rear plugs/coils or the Buick enclave where to change the cam sensors you have to remove the engine mount.

Maybe fixing BMW was too much for you to take so you sold yours and you are trying to help people from getting over their head to follow you out of the BMW pit of dispair? (There could be valid points to be made).

I just spent about $400-500 on parts for a complete suspension refresh and adding that in I'm still below $30/mo. average for parts which is crazy low in my opinion to maintain a 20 yr old car of any brand much less BMW.

You have to want to work on a car like this they are not a Toyota Camry.

I can't stand Toyota Camry: talk about boring.

Plenty of people who don't mind getting their hands dirty will like me prefer X5 over any other car and determine it's absolutely with the effort to maintain.

There is a classic saying though the eons that still applies; if you have nothing good to say, say nothing. It very much applies and you are definitely guilty of interjecting "unhelpful". Trying to "win the debate" instead of trying to be helpful. If that's your personality so be it I'm not going to change you. I'm just pointing out it's not helpful.

You can not "win" this argument. I will always be kind and helpful and you are not always kind add not always helpful. You are getting more and more unkind and more and more unhelpful the more you try to prove "you were right".

The E53 is a fantastic car. They are all quite old and need regular care at this point and there will be newbies with no idea what they are getting into and of course some will get in over their heads. That assessment is for them to make and I will give them help along the way until they figure out if it's too much for them not tell them it's too much for them because they had bad day and didn't use perfect words to express themselves.

Rocketyman is right. Getting INPA to run is easy, even for most Boomers :D I'd be happy to help anyone get it going. You need a cable and any laptop from 1994 or newer and the rest is downloading some software and maybe a minor config change.

ISTA is a lot more challenging but can also be done if you're a little bit more familiar with Windows or have someone do the config remotely. Not a big deal.

I'm guessing that ftf19 came to the forum like most of us because they're interested in fixing the problem themselves (and already made some progress) or maybe would like a better understanding of what the issue could be before taking it to a pro.

Why would anyone go to Home Depot when you can just hire a painter right?

Aaaaaaanyway.....

P0741 is a transmission code. I have that on my e46. The torque converter isn't locking into overdrive. Could be low fluid, a solenoid issue or most likely the torque converter seal has gone bad and doesn't hold pressure. From my reading the bad seal is usually the case and requires a torque converter replacement. Aside from reduced MPG on the highway there doesn't seem to be any negative effects driving it with the code. I've been doing it for 30,000km and counting.

I had a car that had a bad overdrive solenoid. I would get a ses any time I drove more than an hour or so on a highway

The part was $30. You had to drop the transmission to access the top to replace the part. I was going to drill a hole though the transmission hump instead but we got rid of the car.

You can tell if the XM is going into lockup from the tach. Small throttle inputs will not move the tach when the TC is locked up and that will definitely give you lower mpg.

BM Trouble was a phrase I borrowed from a Youtube poster that posted videos on repairing BMW. His name on Youtube was BM Trouble U. Look him up if you don't believe me. FYI he was a BMW mechanic working at a BMW shop.

You say I don't know anything about you, but you can say that I gave up and sold my BMW because I couldn't fix it. So who making thing up, like telling the original poster that he should have bought a Honda, never said that or anytime.
If I was to advise them on a car I will tell them to buy a car with a warranty.

Seeing that the original poster posted that he had no idea as to what is wrong with his car, I thought my advice to him is correct. You may not agree but I didn't disagree with your opinion.

But in the end Mizzroxy 69 did have to have her BMW towed to a shop to get it repair. If she had done that in the first place she could have saved days and days of trying to fix the car, and living inside the car.

I would rather have a Dr. tell me upfront what is the problem rather than have it sugar-coated with we can try this or this or this.

No one is trying to win the "Debate" only you think it is a competition.

I'm saying you keep going off track vs. trying to be helpful. (Fact)

The fact that previous example was in fact towed doesn't mean that was the best solution. They did nothing at the shop they could not have done anywhere. They tried to replace fuel relay and then replaced fuel pump. That was very close to resolution wherever the location of the car.

Having that car towed was bad advice. Spend a months worth of gas so you don't have to work outside?

I will have a car towed right away when it makes sense (breakdown on a freeway good example).

I tease you about getting rid of your x5 because you complain about BMW regularly and said you used to drive the minivan instead. You suggest early on and often that somebody is not capable of repair just nexuses they are new to it or don't use the right word etc.

I don't know you and didn't really make any derogatory comments against you as you have toward me but from the facts of what is out there I felt a good tease was in order. You may have had plenty of good reasons to rid yourself of the platform you objectively show hatred of but actually really like. I don't know.

You on a regular basis hint that people should be driving a different car rather than try to fix BMW with the help of others.

Everybody starts at zero, telling somebody from their first post they are helpless and need to hire a pro is just mean spirited in my opinion.

If after 4-5 rounds of feedback they are still clueless than sure, it might come to that. I will wait to see if they can figure it out with the help from xo before I tell them they are going to need a pro.

The (not) cliffs have spoken you promised your words of wisdom let's hear them.

Since he replaces the FSU per your recommendation and nothing changed and he pulled all the fuses and nothing changed, the logical choice will be to look at circuits that are not on a fuse. Can you tell him which circuit or system that qre not on a fused circuit? That's all the help I'm giving on this.

I did in fact tell him how to disconnect the alternator and starter if it works like mine.

I can only wait to see follow up.

You're right...and @andrewwynn too, in regards to contributing positively to this post, as there are some in fact NOT giving good advice. With that note, I can help assist getting INPA and ISTA D working on windows 10 laptop. PM me, and we can go from there.


OP, if you are interested, there are a couple of avenues in terms of getting a nice laptop scan tool working for relatively cheap. You can either purchase:

BMW Scanner v1.4.0 (I would suggest this one first since it is least expensive and easiest to use)
or
K+D CAN BMW dongle for INPA

Both of these I paid for well under $20. If you are willing to wait, you can get them from AliExpress, otherwise EBAY is a good option--but just costs a lil more sometimes.