subterFUSE

Hi everyone,

After nearly 5 years with my 545i SMG, I decided to finally go ahead and do something about the stereo system.
Many of the longtime board members may remember some of my posts on the topic of car audio.

I had researched the topic extensively when I purchased this car, and come to the decision that I would stick with the Logic 7 system.

But after many years I decided to revisit the idea of upgrading to a high-end system.


And so two weeks ago I picked up my car from the stereo shop with the following:


Audison Bit One (this is a DSP unit which helps integrate factory sources into aftermarket systems)
Hertz Mille MLK2 2-way component speakers in front
Hertz Hi-Energy 165 components in rear deck
Audison LRx 4.1 4-channel amplifier (140W x 2 & 130W x 2)
JL Audio HD750.1 mono-block amplifier
JL Audio 12W6v2 subwoofer


The system itself runs great, however when I picked up the car it was giving me numerous indicator messages:

Passenger Side Restraint System or Airbag failure
Driver side airbag failure
Active Steering Malfunction


I took the car to my preferred mechanic (not the dealer) and he was able to resolve the airbag and restraint warnings. Unfortunately, the Active Steering fault remains still. So I was forced to try with the BMW dealership to see if they could help with the Active Steering fault.

The dealership called me up after hooking the car up to their computer and said there were a lot of fault codes. They blamed the new stereo system and asked what I wanted to do. I told them to please print out the fault codes and I would take some time and figure out the next step.

After getting my printouts from the dealer, I noticed that nearly all of the fault messages said "Fault No Longer Present". There were several messages about the battery being drained, but my assumption is that these faults were the result of disconnecting the vehicle's battery to work on the stereo. So I'm not surprised by these. However, are a couple of fault codes showings as still present:

TCU-A391 TCU: Main telephone antenna, fault - - - - Fault Currently Present Fault memory B8400_00303

SINE - 9D12 SINE: Internal Battery - Short circuit to battery voltage - DWA siren with tilt sensor B6575_60002

AFS - 612C AL: Control module: hardware fault ----- fault currently present - control module B3241_STEU0



My question to the board is.... have any of you who have installed aftermarket stereo systems encountered problems like these? My hope is that these fault codes are just the result of the car being disconnected from battery for a while, and not something more serious like fried computer components.

bruce_miranda

My view that the faults have occured due to the LACK of disconnecting the battery while the work was being performed.

pjinca

+1 Either they didn't disconnect the battery or they didn't really know what they were doing when wiring the new stereo components. These cars have TONS of wiring in them, if anyone is going to mess with my stereo (and they did, my sig has the details) they better know what they are doing and offer a LIFETIME guarantee on ALL work performed. I got that and have had zero problems. Good luck

monsterj34

looks like not enough voltage on the car to keep the voltage to stay with constant level.... .

i see you have two new amps... did you get a capacitor??/ if not i highly recommand it or get a second battery.

my two 12" sub was drawing alot of power from the battery, i had to get a second battery to have constant voltage level...

thats what i would recommand to do...

beolight

stupid question i know but let me explain

father in law went plane spotting last week and had radio on with engine off rang me in panic to say battery flat could i come and give him jump start

headed and opened up bonnet but for life of me couldnt see the battery luckily another plane spotter recognised problem and in his best german irish accent showed me the special place for jumpstarting scenario

was too embarrased to ask him where was the battery

anyways here goes where is the battery?

subterFUSE

This is not likely the case, as the audio shop where I had the work done is EXCELLENT and does Many Many high end cars and systems.

Voltage fluctuations may more more likely, and I did receive some errors mentioning voltage.... but most of these said fault not currently present and have since been cleared out.

Masterspy

My experience with my bimmers is if the battery is weak it messes up the computer and makes it throw in a lot of faults. Maybe your new sound system is sucking up the power on the battery and the alternator can't replenish the power back. You need to put in a capacitor.

subterFUSE

If this were the case, then wouldn't the battery test weak?
BMW tested my battery and said it was fine.

Wouldn't the headlights also dim with the music? I'm not getting any of these symptoms.

Like I said, most of the voltage faults have been cleared out. The hardware fault is in the active steering control module, and I have noticed that my active steering is not functioning anymore. (Must turn wheel more than when Active is working) So I believe there is a hardware problem.

subterFUSE

Taking the car to BMW this week to see if they can fix the Active Steering.
Will let you guys know what happens.

The most unfortunate aspect of this is my warranty is expired.

subterFUSE

Dealer cleared the fault codes out and test drove the car. Only the Active Steering Control module fault and the TCU fault returned, as expected.
They say they must replace the active steering module due to the hardware fault. The Active steering module costs $1700. They must then reprogram the car. But I also have a phone antenna fault in the TCU, so there is a chance that if they try to reprogram the car the phone antenna fault will prevent the reprogramming. That would mean a possible TCU replacement. Probably another $1700.

Not sure what to do.