SOLVED-Trifecta after drivetrain work???
 

At the beginning of this month (naturally just 4 days before our one large snowstorm of the year), my front driveshaft splines let go. Wife accidentally stabbed the throttle to the floor while holding the brake with it in gear while picking up our mail. I had to tow it the 1/2 mile up our hill from the mailbox, and stuck it in my shop until I had the time to sort it out.

On Friday, I received my new front driveshaft with the 1" longer splines, and installed it. Took the car for a quick test drive friday night after I finished, and it worked great! Problem solved!

Until last night... I took it to the gas station to fill it up so it would be ready for the school run this morning. When I restarted it, the ABS/DSC/brake lights were all illuminated. Driving away from the pump I noticed that the speedo wasn't working. Drove it home 2 miles with no speedo, and hooked up my Peake code reader. No codes, but I cycled it to clear codes anyway. Restarted car and everything was fine again. Tokk it for a 2 mile test drive with no problems.

This morning, its acting up again. Trifecta and no speedo all the way to work (35 miles). Tried spinning the steering lock to lock, and no change.

I had similar problems last fall, and had the ABS computer rebuilt in September to fix it. Could this be related to my driveshaft failure, the repair work I did replacing the driveshaft, or should I be looking for something else?

I really like this car when it's working, but I'm getting tired of working on it.

A failed wheel sensor will give you no ABS and DSC since these system requires pulse from the sensor. Still you should have a code, don't know if the Peake can read codes other then OBD II. I would think that because you have the Trifecta of lights you have code(s), but your code reader can't read the code(s). I would get the X scanned with something a little bit better than a Peake Scanner. I used Carsoft 6.5 and now have BMW Scanner 1.4.

If I had to guess I would say the wheel sensor on the driver side rear (LHD) is bad. Don't bother with those cheap sensors on eBay or Amazon. I replace two wheel sensors so far on the X. Both time, the BMW software was able to identify the correct sensor to replace. Last sensor I brought was from O'Reilley Auto parts. Even though it wasn't an OEM sensor, it fitted the wiring harness perfectly and the sensor worked perfectly.

If your speedo is dead, and the ABS module was already rebuilt, I'd look into one of the rear speed sensors on the hub.
Quoted from BF:
If the speedometer and odometer do not work, the driver's side rear sensor is probably bad. If the speedometer works but the cruise control does not, then the passenger side rear sensor is probably bad.


You can also test the sensors themselves with the diode setting of a multimeter to confirm, but since we ruled out the ABS module (already rebuilt), I'd say one of the rear sensors. Be sure to buy genuine OE sensors from BMW, not aftermarket Chinese ones.


Hope that helps!

Is there anyone near Portland that can scan my car for me? I would gladly pay for the service!!!

Test voltage...

When my alternator was going I would occasionally lose my speedo along with the trifecta lights. You said the car sat for a while, maybe the battery went bad over that time and won't hold a full charge, maybe that caused the alternator to work overtime. It's worth a look as checking the voltage is free and takes just a few minutes with the OBC hack.

Test voltage...

When my alternator was going I would occasionally lose my speedo along with the trifecta lights. You said the car sat for a while, maybe the battery went bad over that time and won't hold a full charge, maybe that caused the alternator to work overtime. It's worth a look as checking the voltage is free and takes just a few minutes with the OBC hack.

The following may help: X5 BMW – ABS & DSC Warning Lights & Inoperative Speedometer & Brake Lights Always On | Bavarian Autosport Blog

The above link indicates that the right rear wheel sensor controls the speedo, but everything else I have read says that if the speedo is out, its the left sensor - which is correct?

Does the cruise control and odometer work?

Cruise was working last night. I didn't check the odometer, but the trip meter is not moving...