[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

Sir, current will not pass through his body, because the hands and the jumping wires are in a parallel configuration and current travels through the path of the least resistance while the human skin is very resistive.

You have probably not understood my concerns, when you are connecting another charged battery of such amperage, heavy current passes. Holding the wires with bare hands, there will always be a loose contact and so the high chances of hands getting burnt from the sparks. Besides starter motor draws high currents, even if everything else is fine, this method may not able to start. There is a reason for having clamps or the bolts on jumper leads.

[AdiSinghV12]

Originally Posted by rishi_kapoor

Congratulations on your e90 Adi. Unfortunately there are tons of cheap e90s with little or no service history in second hand market. It is important to look at lineage when buying a 2nd hand premium car. I hope that your problem gets sorted out soon, so that you can enjoy your e90, a real gem of BMW stable.

Well a very very rare lineage of well maintained examples exist of E90 (yours is one of them, a truly well maintained car and the current owner must be very lucky) and E60 today reason being they are going dirt cheap and I know a lot of people who have bought these cars for as little is 8L and not transferred and used them like nightmare and they still sell as first owner cars. However in my case I know the owner and he has a variety of other cars including 730Ld so it all narrows down to the fact that these European cars can throw tantrum any time considering the madmonkey's case as well.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

I asked the same, here is the reply.

Originally Posted by petroguzzler

This is a critical vulnerability of the Electric Power Steering system vis-à-vis the Hydraulic setup. Not being able to steer could be extremely risky.

Thanks a ton! Will surely discuss this while getting the car checked at BMW service.

[Palaver]

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the E90. I can't offer you any advice on your current situation, but only share my own experience with it (E90). When I first got mine all those years back, I ran into all kinds of trouble as well. The steering rack had developed a leak and would slowly loose its steering oil which resulted in driving the car with compromised steering control. The first time it happened, I was completely unprepared and couldn't believe what was going on. And since no one could figure out what was going on, there was a time when I would carry a can of steering oil in the boot of the car and every time before turning on the ignition I would top it up so it would savely take me to where I was going. And it took a while to figure out the exact cause of the problem and subsequently getting it fixed.

So the point is, don't worry mate... this too shall pass.. and remember there is always a silver lining to every cloud. Hopefully, you shall have this problem fixed soon and would have earned yourself a great dinnertime story among friends.

[R2D2]

My 2p on electricity in cars -

Very high current/amps used by starter motors, can even at a nominal voltage of 12 V and the right conditions, can pass through the human body. We are after all bags of saline solution. But in this case it won't do anything. Let me explain.

If you notice in the picture there are two men - the one in the foreground is using both hands, one to hold the +ve terminals on the battery and the charge point (+ve) in the car while the 2nd gent is holding the negative terminal to the body. In this case a +ve to -ve circuit to the battery is not completed so neither one of these guys will get a zap.

But as another BHPian pointed out electricity always passes through the path of least resistance (in this case the car) so in most cases you won't experience a zap. However, it is always advisable not to touch any terminal when the starter is being cranked.

With electricity it's mainly the amps that kill. As little as 0.1-0.3 A (100-300 mA) is enough to result in a fatality due to the passage of electric current through the body possibly resulting in uncontrolled cardiac fibrillation. A starter motor draws anywhere between 30-200 A depending on the size and type of engine. Diesels are harder to crank than petrol engines (compression ratio and weight of components are key) hence have more powerful starter motors which in turn draw heavy currents.

One needs to have a very healthy respect for electricity whether in a car or at home. It can be destructive either killing directly (electrocution) or indirectly (fire). One normally don't get a second chance at survival.

PS - I think there's a problem with corrosion on the connectors or cables in this Beemer. A voltage drop causes the car's electronics to shut down. Best to get it checked at the dealership and have the affected part replaced.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

Hi Karan, If there is no record of maintenance and the car has been worked on locally, BMW will not support the case.

If it is an official recall- they are legally liable to recall all vehicles sold and attend to it, irrespective of the fact where the car has been serviced or not serviced at all.

Any further updates? @AdiSinghV12

After going through the thread, the defective terminal theory seems most likely and worth pursuing it further.

[AdiSinghV12]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

If it is an official recall- they are legally liable to recall all vehicles sold and attend to it, irrespective of the fact where the car has been serviced or not serviced at all.

Any further updates? @AdiSinghV12

After going through the thread, the defective terminal theory seems most likely and worth pursuing it further.

Scanned it today using the launch scanner and came across these



Also had a check engine light for a few seconds but disappeared and didn't appear again. Just cleared the fault codes and gonna try it for a couple of days... Lets see...

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12

Also had a check engine light for a few seconds but disappeared and didn't appear again. Just cleared the fault codes and gonna try it for a couple of days... Lets see...

I'd recommend starting with the basics i.e the power source to the entire vehicle which in this case mean the battery and alternator and their electrical connectors, cable, fuses and any relays for e.g. that DTE relay. If these check out OK you could proceed to checking other components as shown by the scanner.

Incorrect voltages and/or faulty earthing can cause electrical and electronic components to malfunction which in turn could throw up error codes. If you were to visit the ASC they would obviously blame components and suggest replacements when the fault could really be elsewhere.

[GTO]

1 thing I have realised after owning a modern Mercedes & BMW.

1. If you take your car to an independent workshop, make sure that he is damn good. Like as good as Michael Schumacher was to F1.

2. If he still cannot solve it, go back to the authorised dealer. It'll cost more, but at least you can get a proper diagnosis. After a paid diagnosis, it's up to you where to get it repaired. The fact is, today's luxury cars are so complex that I have even seen renowned independent garages (people who I trust blindly) fumble.

Trust me, taking it to the right person saves time, money & headaches.

[Ravi Parwan]

In one of the pics of the dashboard, I see your speedo stuck at around 60 kmph.
That is serious. AFAIK, the electric speedos should fall to zero in case of loss of power ( mechanical ones will ofcourse fall as soon as car comes to a stop)
What am I missing here? IMHO, the issue is something more complex than a loose connection with the battery.

[octane1002]

The best course of action on this car seems to be repair and sell. Life is precious and something like this happening in the midst of an overtaking maneouvre could spell a fatality.

While the previous owner may have owned a couple of other Germans, that in itself is no proof of it being well used. Independent garages are a hit or miss for Germans, and getting stuff done outside of A.S.S while economical for minor problems, works out more expensive in the long run if it is a botched job.

[rahul_kej]

I strongly feel it is ECU related. After the terminals are removed, it's kind of soft reset for the ECU and everything works fine, but after few kms the ECU stops functioning again. Can be an issue with its circuit. If possible get it thoroughly checked.

[audioholic]

Seeing those many errors makes me feel that either there was a power supply issue(causing a voltage drop across the system and logging the errors) or that the car has some electrical modifications in the aftermarket. Some of the errors are due to the sudden power loss. But there are others like headlights and door switches which do point to some electrical issues. If it is indeed a short circuit as indicated, it would result in some fuses blowing out.

Originally Posted by Ravi Parwan

In one of the pics of the dashboard, I see your speedo stuck at around 60 kmph.
That is serious. AFAIK, the electric speedos should fall to zero in case of loss of power ( mechanical ones will ofcourse fall as soon as car comes to a stop)

Modern Speedometers and other cluster meters are driven by stepper motors in most cases. Stepper motors need power to return to its zero position and cant return to zero if there is a sudden power cut, neither can they be manually rotated back to zero by hand. Hence in many accidents the speedo needle gets stuck once the power from the battery is cut off.

[Anuruddhs]

Originally Posted by rahul_kej

I strongly feel it is ECU related. After the terminals are removed, it's kind of soft reset for the ECU and everything works fine, but after few kms the ECU stops functioning again. Can be an issue with its circuit. If possible get it thoroughly checked.

There were bugs in old ECU where they will get stuck and recover only by removing power supply and connecting again. This problem is supposed to be fixed in new versions. Probability was very less for this also but what is wrong here which does not match with this bug is that problem is appearing multiple times in very small time frame which is very unlikely.

[AdiSinghV12]

Quick update guys, since the authorised service centre is like 200 kms away and the fact that the nearest service centre that is 'Titanium Autos' - one of the worst BMW dealer in India by far (as per my experience) I for the time being just cleared the fault codes and replaced the battery. In the last 48 hours of city driving and few spirited runs just to check if the problem reoccurs and I have been lucky enough not to face the same issue again and have scanned the car after every run and now every time just one error message comes up ie fault with the AUC sensor. No check-engine light as well after clearing it but it'd be premature to conclude and close the issue as of now as its been just 48 hours and the max I have driven at a stretch is 40-50 kms and the issues I faced earlier left me in really embarrassing and dangerous conditions. Planning a Kolkata trip which is about 540 odd kms from where the car is with a backup X1 (service due as well and just in-case )

[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12

In the last 48 hours of city driving and few spirited runs just to check if the problem reoccurs and I have been lucky enough not to face the same issue again and have scanned the car after every run and now every time just one error message comes up ie fault with the AUC sensor.

I would request you to take the car in flatbet to Kolkata. With all due respect, If the issue reoccurs you would put your life as well as other persons life in danger. I shudder to think what will happen in case if my steering got lock at 100 kmph speed in a highway. I will still accept if the issue happened only for the first time. But it happened thrice in the span of 48 hours. Please do the complete diagnosis and then think about taking the car out of the city on open highways.

Please keep this thread posted and drive safe. Also kindly avoid spirited driving in this car until BMW gives a clean chit.