[AwkwardFlamingo]

Hi all,

Quick post as i'm out and about and really need some help for when I get back to my car.

Woke up this morning to head out and went to unlock my car using the fob and nothing happened except that the car continually beeped at me, tried using the spare fob just to have the same reaction. I proceeded to open the car using the key and it appears nothing electrical is working, no hazards, no parking lights. I tried to put the key into the ignition but again no response.

Unfortunately I've had to go to some house viewings and won't be back until about half 3 this afternoon, so if anyone has experienced something similar to this could you please suggest a resolution? I did briefly read it might be fuse number 57 which I replaced to no avail and then time ran out.

Any ideas?

Edit: I should mention I use the car daily doing 100 miles a day and have never experienced anything like this. When I parked up last night the car behaved as normal.

[KM79]

Could be the Junction box main feed wire.These can burn out and you lose all electrics.Go to the passenger side footwell and remove the trim under dash.Youll see the junction box,feel up behind it and theyres a thick red cable goes into it.Wiggle it around and see if it makes any difference.If so it will need replaced.

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by KrisM79

Could be the Junction box main feed wire.These can burn out and you lose all electrics.Go to the passenger side footwell and remove the trim under dash.Youll see the junction box,feel up behind it and theyres a thick red cable goes into it.Wiggle it around and see if it makes any difference.If so it will need replaced.

Exactly what I was thinking seen a few with this issue it's totally unexpected when it happens and it would seem a few AA/RAC patrols are aware of the issue as recovery guys who attend cars with power loss are reportedly reaching under the icebox area wiggling a cable and getting life back into the car

[AwkwardFlamingo]

Cheers for the responses guys, I did a bit of reading while being driven around and this seems like it could be the answer. I will go and attempt to wiggle the cable shortly and see if it has an effect, the battery itself is healthy after checking with the multimeter.

Seems like another one of the standard/oem faults for me to experience, love the car but this will be the 3rd issue and I'm not looking forward to potentially replacing the cable and fuse box.

Edit: Forgot to mention with zero power is there anyway to unlock all of the doors as i'm currently having to climb over the console and move around the passenger footwell/seat.

[KM79]

With no power you'll not get the doors unlocked mate.Let us know how you get on.

[AwkwardFlamingo]

Originally Posted by KrisM79

With no power you'll not get the doors unlocked mate.Let us know how you get on.

Unfortunately I thought as much.

I removed the kick panel and tried just wiggling the large guage power cable to no avail and now I have run out of light. Plan for tomorrow is to remove the glove box, loosen the fuse box and try and look behind it.

After much searching I see that in America there was a recall regarding this issue but cannot find one in the UK, although being a second hand owner of the car would this be worth chasing BMW about due to the apparent safety implications of totally losing power?

[KM79]

It's not a very safe scenario I would say.Not aware of any UK recalls on this either but have certainly done a few.Exact symptoms as you describe,go out to the car,access the JBE and usually can get them going.

[AwkwardFlamingo]

Yea if it's common and has been recalled in another country I cannot imagine why not in the UK?

Anyway todays update, the car lives for the moment! Removed trim and glove box, managed to give the cable a good wiggle and power has returned.

Next part of the plan is to loosen the box and look behind it to see the connection which is now easier by simple being able to open the passenger door. Following this a call to BMW UK in the morning to see what they say.

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by AwkwardFlamingo

Yea if it's common and has been recalled in another country I cannot imagine why not in the UK?

Anyway todays update, the car lives for the moment! Removed trim and glove box, managed to give the cable a good wiggle and power has returned.

Next part of the plan is to loosen the box and look behind it to see the connection which is now easier by simple being able to open the passenger door. Following this a call to BMW UK in the morning to see what they say.

Sadly BMW won't say a lot, seems the U.S.A customer gets looked after a lot better than we do(power of US law I guess)but if thry do give you something let us know, but both the customers I had knew the score, I know one went to an auto electrician and he basically knew the reasons and applied a quality fix to this 'design-production' oversight

[AwkwardFlamingo]

I understand that but after a bit of digging around I believe I have found a recall for this problem;

Recall Ref: R/2013/024
Exact Model: 1 series, 3 series, X1 and Z4
Description: ENGINE MAY CUT OUT
VIN: WBADV31010E593919 to WBAWL735X7PX46374
Build Date:
Numbers: 87
Defect: It is possible that the connection between the B+ cable and the Power Distribution Box can become damaged by wear and heat, which is caused by high current flow and high contact resistance. Normally, this will result in a non-start situation after parking
Action: Recall all affected vehicles and replace the cable/connection with a more robust item.
Launch Date: 04 April 2013

However their customer service number is currently unavailable due to only being open during the normal working week.

This is a recall on the AA site and referencing UK vehicles, my vin also starts WBAVC So I would believe falls into this range.

[KM79]

Glad you found the issue easily.Worth a shot with Bmw as this is definately a common issue.Did one the other month on a 2011 M3 so apears on newer vehicles too.If I recall depending on the severity it doesn't require the JBE to be replaced only the cable.If you could get a replacement connector it's definately do-able to that alone to save the cable replacement(which is a fair job)

[AwkwardFlamingo]

Right I called BMW Customer Services today and am less than pleased with their answer, the car does not fall within the VIN range of those apparently affected even though it displays the exact same symptoms and 500,000 have been recalled in the USA.

They had said I can take it to a dealer to have it diagnosed and then if the dealer feels it is a error on their behalf/fault they can contact customer services and ask for a contribution to the costs. I obviously find this rather ridiculous.

So on that note what am I likely to have to do myself to rectify this problem? Does anyone had an idea of the part numbers affected for the US recall so that I can compare them to UK equivalents. I'm obviously rather annoyed and would like to draw some attention to this entire problem.

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by AwkwardFlamingo

Right I called BMW Customer Services today and am less than pleased with their answer, the car does not fall within the VIN range of those apparently affected even though it displays the exact same symptoms and 500,000 have been recalled in the USA.

They had said I can take it to a dealer to have it diagnosed and then if the dealer feels it is a error on their behalf/fault they can contact customer services and ask for a contribution to the costs. I obviously find this rather ridiculous.

So on that note what am I likely to have to do myself to rectify this problem? Does anyone had an idea of the part numbers affected for the US recall so that I can compare them to UK equivalents. I'm obviously rather annoyed and would like to draw some attention to this entire problem.

It's sadly the same answer one of my customers received, they were instructed to take the car to the dealership for diagnosis when they enquires, when they stated the car was an Auto couldn't move or be driven the answer was to get a recovery agent to bring the csr to a main dealer otherwise there was nothing thst customer services could do. But once at the dealership it was up to their diagnostic investigation as to where they'd go to re assisting. Needless to say we got the car and got it sorted as the answer ruffled a few feathers.

Considering over the pond they get attended too and people are knowingly having issues over here re this issue its sad that BMW appear to have an issue which is being 'cast aside' the recovery services are aware of what to do and seem to know where to look, which may tell you something. You're not alone

[AwkwardFlamingo]

Yes that is the common theme for this issue, I'd really like to draw some attention to this via social media or something like but cannot help feeling it'll be a fruitless endeavor.

As I need my car back ASAP I feel the only cost efficient solution is going to be for me to do this myself; I can't really stomach the £1000ish it's likely to cost and I don't intend to spend £50 at dealer level for them to then quote me that much to fit with nothing from BMW UK.

So this brings me to the matter, does anyone have a reference for the parts required and anything resembling a guide? I understand what needs to be done it's just the detail like the routing of the cable etc would be nice.

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by AwkwardFlamingo

Yes that is the common theme for this issue, I'd really like to draw some attention to this via social media or something like but cannot help feeling it'll be a fruitless endeavor.

As I need my car back ASAP I feel the only cost efficient solution is going to be for me to do this myself; I can't really stomach the £1000ish it's likely to cost and I don't intend to spend £50 at dealer level for them to then quote me that much to fit with nothing from BMW UK.

So this brings me to the matter, does anyone have a reference for the parts required and anything resembling a guide? I understand what needs to be done it's just the detail like the routing of the cable etc would be nice.

As I said one of my customers ended up placing his car in the hands of a decent auto electrician who got the issue solved sometimes getting a skilled auto electrician to do something as rudimentary as sorting this sort of thing out can or it would seem to be the best way forward.

[AwkwardFlamingo]

Point taken I am planning on calling a local auto-electrician to get an idea of cost.

I'm not totally unskilled when it comes to cars though, working for a UK automotive brand and having years of repairing cars and motorbikes experience. With a couple of friends responsible for hybrid and electric vehicles, just need the parts and daylight.

Thanks for the help so far.

[AwkwardFlamingo]

Right quick update, I have removed the fusebox and the connection is past repairable, the plastic connector has melted into the fusebox and new parts have been ordered from BMW (a lovely £208).

With regards to going forwards I'm going to be without the car for another week and will be finishing the repair next weekend. Any recommendations on replacing the entire cable or getting the new connector crimped into the current line?