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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > All-Wheel-Drive (Xi / xDrive) Talk > Unplug Transfer case actuator?



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      07-07-2016, 09:13 PM   #1
reaper0995
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Unplug Transfer case actuator?

Would this work to disable awd? I saw it somewhere but can't find it again, thought someone had suggested unplugging it to disable to awd and make rwd.

Second question would be if unplugging it works, can a simple switch or relay setup turn it on and off on the fly?


And yes I did search, but annoyingly all the transfer case posts eventually relinquish back to other posts that link back to the original... So just reading in circles on some of this info, and the threads are really long... Anyways I thought I read that in one of them but can't find it or any additional info.
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      07-08-2016, 02:16 AM   #2
stephen335xi
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I saw a video of someone doing a long burnout and they said they had unplugged the transfer case so I'm assuming it works
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      07-12-2016, 01:16 PM   #3
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If you unplug the transfer case it will make it rwd. However, traction control will be stuck on so no burnouts. You could leave the actuator plugged in and pull the front driveshaft, this will allow burnouts
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      07-12-2016, 02:43 PM   #4
reaper0995
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xthejuicex View Post
If you unplug the transfer case it will make it rwd. However, traction control will be stuck on so no burnouts. You could leave the actuator plugged in and pull the front driveshaft, this will allow burnouts
This is fantastic, thanks for the reply!
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      07-13-2016, 09:22 AM   #5
matteblue3er
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I feel if you unplugged the TC actuator motor it would disable the entire DSC system. Typically if there is an issue with the AWD or DSC system, the entire system is disabled.

You can also pull fuse 20 or 26 and do burnouts. But this will disable ALL safety systems, including ABS.
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      07-13-2016, 10:24 AM   #6
reaper0995
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Quote:
Originally Posted by matteblue3er View Post
I feel if you unplugged the TC actuator motor it would disable the entire DSC system. Typically if there is an issue with the AWD or DSC system, the entire system is disabled.

You can also pull fuse 20 or 26 and do burnouts. But this will disable ALL safety systems, including ABS.
So burnouts, 1/4 mile, and dynos would be possible?
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      07-13-2016, 02:03 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reaper0995 View Post
So burnouts, 1/4 mile, and dynos would be possible?
Yes but there is no EBD/E-diff functions so it will be very easy to spin your tires. You'd probably want to do a 1/4 mile with xDrive active for maximum grip. You will still be carrying the weight of the xDrive system so you won't really improve times in a 1/4 mile with xdrive off

Pulling the fuse also does a lot of funny stuff like no gas gauge or road speed. Tons of shadow faults will store in various modules
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      07-13-2016, 02:15 PM   #8
reaper0995
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Quote:
Originally Posted by matteblue3er View Post
Yes but there is no EBD/E-diff functions so it will be very easy to spin your tires. You'd probably want to do a 1/4 mile with xDrive active for maximum grip. You will still be carrying the weight of the xDrive system so you won't really improve times in a 1/4 mile with xdrive off

Pulling the fuse also does a lot of funny stuff like no gas gauge or road speed. Tons of shadow faults will store in various modules
Until I can build a billet diff, the front diff may not be able to handle the big HP! Anyways, if it can dyno that's pretty simple!


I might try and unplug the actuator, is there a way to test that the AWD is fully disabled? Like a physical test, not a computer test? I want to play around with the controls on the unit, and need a way to validate that I'm getting 0/100, 10/90, 40/60, etc...
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      07-14-2016, 08:32 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by matteblue3er View Post
I feel if you unplugged the TC actuator motor it would disable the entire DSC system. Typically if there is an issue with the AWD or DSC system, the entire system is disabled.

You can also pull fuse 20 or 26 and do burnouts. But this will disable ALL safety systems, including ABS.
You "feel".... I have done it too many times to count.... Unplugging the TC actuator motor will NOT let you do burnouts... You can chirp the tires but traction control steps in and prevents actual burnouts. Also, pressing/holding the DTC button does nothing after the cable has been disconnected.

Last edited by xthejuicex; 07-14-2016 at 09:09 AM..
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      07-14-2016, 09:33 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reaper0995 View Post
Until I can build a billet diff, the front diff may not be able to handle the big HP! Anyways, if it can dyno that's pretty simple!


I might try and unplug the actuator, is there a way to test that the AWD is fully disabled? Like a physical test, not a computer test? I want to play around with the controls on the unit, and need a way to validate that I'm getting 0/100, 10/90, 40/60, etc...
You're better off remove the front driveshaft so you can control DSC/DTC
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      07-14-2016, 10:12 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by matteblue3er View Post
You're better off remove the front driveshaft so you can control DSC/DTC
My thought is not to actually disconnect the actuator, but remove the ecu controls to it and have it be manually controlled by the driver. For example, a switch to turn it from 0/100 to 30/70. But I need to know how the car reacts from being disconnected since the ecu will see it that way.
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      07-14-2016, 10:22 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xthejuicex View Post
If you unplug the transfer case it will make it rwd. However, traction control will be stuck on so no burnouts. You could leave the actuator plugged in and pull the front driveshaft, this will allow burnouts
With the actuator plugged in and transfer case to front diff axle out and dsc completely off, will result in some tire spin but ultimately the dme intervenes and cuts signal to the gas pedal. SO you cannot do a burnout unless you go the fuse route.
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      07-29-2016, 01:59 PM   #13
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So im going to get my car dynoed. I read that rwd cars get more power than awd. Would taking the front drive shaft out help with this? Or will it still send some power to front? Thanks
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      06-18-2017, 08:39 AM   #14
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Would there be any way to get a resistor pluged in instead of the actuator so we can turn off DCT and not cause any error ? having some sort of a solenoid to select between actuator active and bypass would be pretty cool to swich from AWD to RWD at the flick of a switch

School me on electrical black magic
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      10-25-2018, 03:11 PM   #15
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Does a faulty transfer case cause the car to start and not start at times?
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      10-25-2018, 08:32 PM   #16
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no.
it has nothing to do with the starter circuits.

MAYBE if you have the VTG module taking down the can bus, maybe.
but that would be electronics and not a mechanical issue in the case.
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      05-07-2019, 07:36 AM   #17
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If I unplug the actuator, will the triad of lights go off ?
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      05-23-2019, 11:40 PM   #18
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Hate to bring an old post up but i got a similar problem have the front driveshaft off and getting dme kicking in on tire spin is there a fuse or coding to cut power to the front from the tc? I heard if coding but couldn't find info
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      05-31-2019, 09:09 AM   #19
nsjames
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boostin402 View Post
Hate to bring an old post up but i got a similar problem have the front driveshaft off and getting dme kicking in on tire spin is there a fuse or coding to cut power to the front from the tc? I heard if coding but couldn't find info
you want xdrive.

then you can put the driveshaft back in and just turn AWD on/off with your phone.
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      06-11-2019, 06:05 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nsjames View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boostin402 View Post
Hate to bring an old post up but i got a similar problem have the front driveshaft off and getting dme kicking in on tire spin is there a fuse or coding to cut power to the front from the tc? I heard if coding but couldn't find info
you want xdrive.

then you can put the driveshaft back in and just turn AWD on/off with your phone.
The app is called xDelete.
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