Intense Smoke through the vents, total electronic failure

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May 22, 2013 | 09:16 AM

andymax

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From: Cranberry Twp

My Ride: 08 535xi Prem, Sport, Cold, Monaco blue/Natural Brown

Intense Smoke through the vents, total electronic failure

So this happened last night...drove 3.5 hours, shut off for 10 mins, restarted and driving away, INTENSE electrical fire smoke from the vents, followed immediately by all dash, Nav and interior lights going out, wipers turned on and wouldnt shut off even after key out, Front windows worked, rears dont. Car ran just fine throughout the ordeal. It even restarted a couple times, but I had to disconnect the battery due to fear of fire, or at the very least run down cuz wipers kept going.

Anyone know anything about such an event? I've had a few electrical issues leading up to this...PDC sensor repaired a couple weeks ago, then two days later Adaptive Headlight error, then DTC error yesterday afternoon, which a shutoff/restart seemed to fix.

CPO roadside assistance towed car...they had to store overnight because windows wouldnt go up, and then tow to dealership this AM.

any info would be helpful...

May 22, 2013 | 01:37 PM

Merciless

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From: Houston

thats awfull. Keep us posted. GL

May 22, 2013 | 02:00 PM

Giowizzy

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From: Queens, NY

Sorry to hear that. Happy that it didnt npt caught fire while you were driving. Please let us know what the dealer said. Happy you made it safe.

May 22, 2013 | 03:07 PM

advancedlogic

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From: Encino, CA

My Ride: 04 545i - Titanium Silver/Black, Sport pkg, Comfort Seats w/ Lumbar, Premium Sound, power rear sunshade, Adaptive Xenon Headlights, Steptronic, Park Distance Control, Fold down rear seats w/ski bag, Aux jack, 6-disk changer, puddle lamps... Engine: Custom Remus cat-back exhaust w/chrome square tips, K&N Air Filter, Charcoal Filter Removed, Sprint Booster :-), 50/50 mix of 91+100 Octane, EuroRev ECU Remap (coming soon lol), Dinan High-Flow Throttle Body (coming soon...maybe lol) Interior: Portable Sirius Stilletto 100 w/car kit, Garmin Nuvi 680 mounted below rear-view mirror, LCI-style I-drive knob, Dark Poplar Center Dashboard Trim. Exterior: E60 forum clings, 5% rear tint, ACS roof spoiler (painted black for distinct look against limo tint), ACS trunk spoiler, ACS add-on front spoiler and rear apron (awaiting installation), "18 Black Staggered BeBeS Style OER (emergency replacement for cracked sport 124 rims), black kidney grill, white accessory lighting (including license and trunk lamps), Angel-eye upgrade, AIB xenon-matched fog lamps, AIB V3's on order, red rear reflectors

Wow smoke in the vents? Total electronics failure? There is a fuse panel accessable in the glove box. A short or fault there could cause heavy smoke if wires got hot enough, though the fuses should have tripped. Outside chance, conserding the car still ran, but be sure to check the ebox, accessable under the left side cabin air filter. The ebox has a fan - I dont know if it is connected to the main ventalation system, but if it is, smoke there would have no place to go but through the vents. There are some high powered modules in there - dme, vvt controller, and a black box called the integrated voltage module (IVM). It has relays and fuses that control the DME and other systems. Outside of that, you may have to pull the MASK or CCC, screen, instrument guages, glove box, etc to see if the source is identifyable there. good luck

May 27, 2013 | 06:35 AM

andymax

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From: Cranberry Twp

My Ride: 08 535xi Prem, Sport, Cold, Monaco blue/Natural Brown

Update - Turns out the smoke was caused by a completely burnt out Lighting Control Module. They think that may have been caused by a faulty Right side Adaptive Headlight module. They are replacing all three modules, as they believe the left side module may have been compromised in the deal. Should know more by Wednesday.

Thanks for the help and ideas.

May 27, 2013 | 07:21 AM

luigi524td

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Quote:

Originally Posted by andymax

Update - Turns out the smoke was caused by a completely burnt out Lighting Control Module. They think that may have been caused by a faulty Right side Adaptive Headlight module. They are replacing all three modules, as they believe the left side module may have been compromised in the deal. Should know more by Wednesday.
Thanks for the help and ideas.

Wow - that sounds pretty horrible and must have been scary! Seems odd that some safeguard (fuse/relay/fuseable link, etc) didn't trip before getting to the level where smoke enters the passenger compartment.

Electrical issues (especially in our cars) can be very very difficult to find and repair. I like it when a mechanic/service writer tells you "I think .... !". My follow-up question (always) is , I'm interested in what you think - BUT I REALLY WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU KNOW!"

That said, I strongly recommend a front-to-back / top-to-bottom electrical system evaluation. For example, was a voltage spike the triggering event that killed the LCM?? Is there something else waiting to fry next week - next month?? It's also possible that other systems were compromised - but maybe not to the point of failure at the moment but later on ... like after your CPO expires.

Last edited by luigi524td; May 27, 2013 at 07:25 AM.

May 27, 2013 | 07:27 AM

advancedlogic

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From: Encino, CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by luigi524td

Wow - that sounds pretty horrible and must have been scary! Seems odd that some safeguard (fuse/relay/fuseable link, etc) didn't trip before getting to the level where smoke enters the passenger compartment.

Electrical issues (especially in our cars) can be very very difficult to find and repair. I strongly recommend a front-to-back / top-to-bottom electrical system evaluation. For example, was a voltage spike the triggering event that killed the LCM?? Is there something else waiting to fry next week - next month?? It's also possible that other systems were compromised - but maybe not to the point of failure at the moment but later on ... like after your CPO expires.

+1 - one thing on these cars that really sux is the delicate nature of the headlight wiring. There have been a few instances of members reporting deteriorated/brittle wiring insulation in the headlights. I'd hope that fuses would trip before it reaches hot enough temps to cause smoke (and fire). I wonder if such a problem happened in the headlights and shorted out the LM. Wow.

May 28, 2013 | 05:56 AM

andymax

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From: Cranberry Twp

My Ride: 08 535xi Prem, Sport, Cold, Monaco blue/Natural Brown

I had an adaptive headlight warning for about 8 days prior to this event. The only symptom was that the headlights wouldn't do the sweeping motion during startup and driving. Otherwise normal.

I am absolutely concerned about long term side effects here. I have til Dec on cpo so will be quite vigilant. If I lose confidence I will not hesitate to dump this car...