I most certainly don't want you to think that I am unnappreciative of your help. It is most gratefully accepted. To be honest, I wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic response. I'm a member of some other forums and typically newbies are not as well received, so the feedback I 've received is with gratitude. I mean no disrespect at all.

I am a licensed mechanic (since 1998) but I am no longer working in the field full-time. I am also a mechanical engineering technologist, and currently working on a shutdown, which eats up about 12 hours of my time, 6 days a week. So, time is not something I have in any abundance until the end of February.
The reason I was targeting the lights on the overhead console was because this was likely the reason for the previous owner's dead battery issues, and I have a battery charger on the system full time at the moment, so alleviating that problem is just merely to eliminate that hindrance, and swapping the consoles is something that will take up very little time. I do not have the luxury of a garage to work on the vehicle, so my time is also constrained by the weather. That said, the temperatures here in southern Ontario this coming weekend look favourable to get digging into the JBE and FRM for some corrosion investigation. The reason I asked if the FRM adn JBE are VIN-locked, is because the vehiclke I am taking the overhead switch console out of, will likely have both a JBE and FRM modules as well. A used module is only $20 where I'm going. Just curious if they are interchangeable.

Update:

First run with ISTA found 70 fault codes.

Cleared fault codes and 7 remained

0053A0 - VTG: No coding or faulty coding
005EBA - DSC steering angle sensor
00A06B - Aerial, bumper
00CD8B - DME: Local CAN communication fault
00E097 - Message (dim, 0x202) faulty, receiver GWS, transmitter FRM
the other 2 codes are for climate control

I pulled out the JBE and there was no sign of any corrossion or water ingress
I have not yet looked at the FRM

On the Control Unit Tree page:

JBE and FRM modules are both shown as green

VTG, DSC, GWS and DME are amber

Both VTC and VTC2 are red

I suppose this could explain why it tries to start but won't idle, if the VVT servos are not responding to commands from the DME. If in fact they are even receiving any commands.

Time to start digging into those circuits to see what I can find.

Does everyone recommend running a test plan for the VTC servos, or is there a common issuue that these fall under?

Or does a red module mean that the VVT module is bad?

Got into the DME VVT box under the hood this afternoon. My mission was to inspect the 40amp fuses in there. Both were good, but one had a sign of the beginings of heat melting. I swapped them for giggles and triedc to start. Same thing.....starts while cranking, then dies.

I decided to inspect the VVT module connectors for corrossion and WOW!!!!

The bigger power connector came off first, and it had a fair amount of green residue on it and the module connector blades.
Then I took the communication cable off and found it much worse in there, including a broken off pin in the connector.

So out came the module, and that's where the bittersweet moment happened.

I took the cover off the module to reveal a massive disaster. The module was full of rusty water!!!

I decided ot remove the connectors from teh DME while I was in there and they too had some corrossion, but not as bad as the VVT module.

Can someone recommend a good, safe way to clean both the pins and the plugs of the DME? For the time being, I have sprayed WD40 on the plugs

I have rescued a number of modules with 91% isopropyl alcohol & toothbrush scrub followed by a toaster oven bake to dry things off.

Thanks for the reply

have you ever heard of DeOxIt D5?

I'm on the hunt for a VVT module now. I stopped at the salvage yard today and cut the 2 VVT module pigtails off the X5 there. There's no corrossion at all on the plugs. I'm not going to take a chance that the heavily corroded connectors on my X5 can be cleaned and trusted to perform flawlessly.

I found a used one on eBay for a very reasonable price. It’s coming next week. I’m polling the knowledge base here. Currently, the VCT modules are showing up red in ISTA. If I connect the used module, am I going to see that change, or will they be yellow, if the module operates/communicates?
If my optimism is kind to me, I’m hoping I can simply teach the VVT servos limits with ISTA and not have to send the module with CAS and DME and keys away for an (unnecessary?) expensive programming session.

Sounds suspect that both are red. Have you confirmed they are getting power? That was the issue with my E70, or at least one of many issues.

Green = no error codes present, yellow = one or more error codes present, red = no communication.

I'm guessing yes. The INPA jobs for Valvetronic (which is variable valve lift, not timing - that is VANOS) don't do anything and say something like "not implemented yet". I'm not even sure if they have the VIN.

You may need to do a DME <-> CAS sync though. If so, there will be a code specific to it. Mine had this issue, I believe it is triggered after 50 crank attempts without a successful start.

My VVT module was full of water. I mean full!! (read the previous posts)
Both 40amp fuses appear to be intact



I'm hoping you are correct in this case

Can you elaborate on how to do this sync? Can it be done with ISTA?

This is what ISTA is currently showing

Attachment 83096


This is the list of fault codes.
notice the CAS is happily green

Attachment 83097

For the DME fault, I sense the tail line going to the VCT modules is the reason for this fault here. One of the VVT module pins broke off in the connector when I unplugged it and there is at least one fried component on the PC board. I'm hoping a new (used) module will clear this up.