qoloR

Hey guys - I have an E60 545i, 2004, build date of October 2003. I have an interesting problem, when I first start the vehicle the instrument cluster is "lazy". It doesn't start moving as soon as the vehicle is started. It takes a minute or so to begin to move. I have attached a youtube link showing exactly what is happening with my vehicle. There was water in my battery box when I changed it a day before the video (it didnt help, the vehicle flashed the low battery light at me, and I know it isn't the alternator.)

Anyone have any ideas? The module under the spare is dry, and does not look like it has ever been under water. I am a Range Rover / Jaguar technician. I am familiar with MOST networks (our vehicles used them... still use them..) and wiring, modules, etc, so feel free to give recommendations.

Thanks guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaTN...ature=youtu.be

I hope people don't mind the quality of video. You can hear my Jaguar XJR running in the back round, that is my daily driver.

qoloR

Just as an update to this - the instrument cluster also keeps asking me to set the date and time. It forgets it. I read about this before - can anyone point me in the right direction? Is it that module in the spare tire well?

Edit

Guess I am going to put another battery in the vehicle and do another battery monitor reset. All is pointing towards a bad battery.. Guess 750CCA (measured with a real battery tester) isnt enough for the E60..

KyleB

That is bizarre, can't say I've ever seen that before. How old is the battery in the car? Do you have access to ISTA or INPA?

cmyachtie

Did it throw any fault codes at all?
A few yrs ago when I got my (same date built as your 545) it came with weird cluster behaviour took me forever to get fixed tried everything including swapping cluster and finally got dealer to reload software, even though my problem differed some it may just be your fix as well. My guess is the CAN bus communication is failing the cluster. Haven’t got time to lookup my old threads right now but if you google possessed cluster E60 etc. should get some hits here and the other forums.

qoloR

Hey guys -

Thanks for the responses. I do not have access to ISTA or INPA, but I can probably get a copy of it along with the proper cable. The battery was one I had laying around the shop, its an AGM, measured at 750cca (not fresh, but not dead by any means..) and it's a year old. I was reading into it and apparently I did not reset the battery monitor correctly, so I will be borrowing a co-workers Snap-on scanner (that can reset battery monitors on Jaguars and Range Rovers, so I figure it would reset our vehicles also.)

As for codes, the vehicle did pop a check engine light on, but it has gone away and it cleared its self from the system since I replaced the battery.. I will be putting a new battery into the vehicle (new new), one of the big, 900+CCA batteries and doing hopefully a real battery monitor reset.

I was attempting to retrofit bluetooth into my vehicle so I can have the dealer program it, and do a battery reset at the same time.. but I pulled a junk yard bluetooth antenna and the wire that is sitting under my center console is a male plug, and the bluetooth antenna also has a male plug (I think they're male.. whatever they are, theyre the same.. curious if I can just swap the end..) Was also planning on picking up an updated Telematics unit from eBay.. If anyone has any good threads for retrofitting OEM bluetooth to the vehicle I would appreciate it.. I don't have a phone clip in the center console but I do have telematics, the microphone and the SOS button, and an empty wire under the center console but as said before it doesn't match up to the end on my bluetooth antenna pulled from a 2006 530i.. I am curious if I have the wrong plug.. probably the one for the phone in the center console and not the one for the bluetooth antenna.. more research is needed.

Thanks for all of the help fellas. The vehicle is getting a clutch put in it soon as I purchased the vehicle with a failed DMFW and slipping clutch.. so I want to sort this all out before I make the vehicle my daily driver.

cmyachtie

Curious why you're doing this in two stages(BT and updating TCU):
“
I was attempting to retrofit bluetooth into my vehicle so I can have the dealer program it, and do a battery reset at the same time.. but I pulled a junk yard bluetooth antenna and the wire that is sitting under my center console is a male plug, and the bluetooth antenna also has a male plug (I think they're male.. whatever they are, theyre the same.. curious if I can just swap the end..) Was also planning on picking up an updated Telematics unit from eBay.. If anyone has any good threads for retrofitting OEM bluetooth to the vehicle I would appreciate it.. I don't have a phone clip in the center console but I do have telematics, the microphone and the SOS button, and an empty wire under the center console but as said before it doesn't match up to the end on my bluetooth antenna pulled from a 2006 530i.. I am curious if I have the wrong plug.. probably the one for the phone in the center console and not the one for the bluetooth antenna.. more research is needed.”

All you need to do is replacing your 2003 built TCU with a newer post 2005 unit from eBay or whatever, check realoem for your replaceable part numbers and have it coded at worst sometimes works even wo Coding, plenty of threads on this subject.

qoloR

I was not aware my vehicle already had a bluetooth antenna under my center console since the build date was so early! This is great news. I did not want to rip apart the center console anyways. I looked with a light and I was looking at the wrong wire anyways, it appears there is a bluetooth antenna in there, or atleast a box. So - all I need is an updated telematics unit and maybe have it programmed... Thank you. I was unable to find a thread with good, not dead photobucket pictures on it.

qoloR

Hey guys just as an update.

Grabbed my co-workers Snapon Scanner. I performed a battery monitor reset (without replacing the battery with a new, larger one, just to see what it does.)

while I was in there I decided to read ECM codes. This was when I first hooked up to the vehicle.




So - most of these codes looked like gibberish to me (Range Rovers do some weird stuff when they are low on battery) so I cleared em, started it back up and let it idle and then re-checked ECM codes. I think I figured out my problem with the wondering idle when cold...




Sorry about the photos being turned every which way. I will update in the morning if reseting the monitor fixed the lazy instrument cluster. Until then I will be researching this code.. something about some kind of flap in the intake..

cmyachtie

Maybe this can help

https://5series.net/forums/bluetooth...ore-bt-146161/

https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...ntrols-133323/

https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...riving-128052/

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-cluster-issue

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-at-cold-temps

qoloR

Even after a battery monitor reset the instrument cluster still does the same thing. I am going to replace the battery with a brand new un-used one and see if anything changes.. again..