[UsnRoberts]

I don't have anyone else to tell my stories to except here. Read if you would like! Help if it makes you feel good inside.

I took my 08 328i the dealer yesterday to have the battery replaced under warranty. It was not holding a charge but for a week or so then i would have to rejump. Did this for a month before I decided I needed to fork over the cash for a new one. I went and got a battery and came here for a DIY. The first post I saw was that they were warranty'ed up through 50k ect.
So off to the dealership. I drop and they say no problem!
They call me the next day and say someone has tampered with the battery leads and the "pyrotechnics" have done off so it needs to be replaced. The car cannot go to sleep properly at night and that is what is causing the dead battery. Total "$754 U.S."
Now, I am an depot electronics tech for the military. SO i know a thing or two about electronics in aircraft and in general. (I dont know everything though) But I do know pyrotechnics is not an electronics term. Shit, thats an ordinance term and last i checked they arn't putting fucking fireworks in the trunk either.
SO... I go here. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...46&hg=61&fg=30
Every single part there does not cost $754 (+40% markup) and $1xx per hour labor they charge. Id assume if anything is blown it would be the fuse in the power distribution box. Am I right or are they right?

[Chriztofor]

Call dealer and ask them for a breakdown for parts and labor.

[Chriztofor]

By the way, I believe they are replacing the negative cable which has the ibs on it, but no way does that cost over $700 to replace. Jeesh....,....stealers.

[UsnRoberts]

Im headed up there now. Just wanted to be knowledgeable and prepared for when i get there.

[UsnRoberts]

I got to the dealer and apparently there was a connector that was broken off. In the picture below it is #1. They were wanting to order a slew of unnecessary parts (to rack up the repair price I assume) basically everything in the realoem link below. I told them to bundle me up and send me on my way.
*Only issue now is i cannot find where the black cable (#1 in picture) was originally. I assume it goes into the power distribution box with fuse(04 on real oem list) but i cant find it on the battery top. The way it sits is the way it is now and im throwing an airbag light if this helps at all.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...46&hg=61&fg=30

Im planning on ordering the power distribution box with fuseand maybe the connector 17. I also dont remember seeing #2 in the picture plugged up so if anyone can identify that too... thanks :-)

[jimk]

I don't know where these connectors go but you need to register the new battery to the car if you haven't already done so. Do a search...

[Chriztofor]

Originally Posted by jimk

I don't know where these connectors go but you need to register the new battery to the car if you haven't already done so. Do a search...

Registering is the least of his problems, he has to find out where the connectors go. Op, I think there is one connector that doesn't connect to anything. Try looking for the DIY in the DIY section.

[anerbe]

#1 should connect to the red part that's directly over the positive battery terminal, IIRC.
The red box actually can be split into two. The part can be separated by lifting the (+) cover with an oval around it. Once separated, there is a smaller part that goes over the positive battery terminal (A) and the "box" which clips around the battery housing (B). #1 should plug into part (A)

#2 is a loose wire. It didn't connect to anything when I replaced mine.

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by UsnRoberts

I don't have anyone else to tell my stories to except here. Read if you would like! Help if it makes you feel good inside.

I took my 08 328i the dealer yesterday to have the battery replaced under warranty. It was not holding a charge but for a week or so then i would have to rejump. Did this for a month before I decided I needed to fork over the cash for a new one. I went and got a battery and came here for a DIY. The first post I saw was that they were warranty'ed up through 50k ect.
So off to the dealership. I drop and they say no problem!
They call me the next day and say someone has tampered with the battery leads and the "pyrotechnics" have done off so it needs to be replaced. The car cannot go to sleep properly at night and that is what is causing the dead battery. Total "$754 U.S."
Now, I am an depot electronics tech for the military. SO i know a thing or two about electronics in aircraft and in general. (I dont know everything though) But I do know pyrotechnics is not an electronics term. Shit, thats an ordinance term and last i checked they arn't putting fucking fireworks in the trunk either.
SO... I go here. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...46&hg=61&fg=30
Every single part there does not cost $754 (+40% markup) and $1xx per hour labor they charge. Id assume if anything is blown it would be the fuse in the power distribution box. Am I right or are they right?

Read up on Battery Safety Terminal (BST) that's what they are talking about. There's a small explosive charge on the positive terminal which disconnects power from the engine/chassis in the event of a crash (to prevent the chassis from becoming electrified since the main power cables runs along of side of the vehicle).

There is a youtube video explaining the basics of the BST Here. It's from an E46 but the premise is the same.

It's possible for the BST to become damaged (especially if no care was taken in replacing a battery, etc.) and it requires replacement. There should be a cable which plugs into the side of the BST which runs along the car to the MRS module (the airbag/restraint system).

The part itself is a little over $150 and it comes as a repair kit. With a new BST module and a new connector you can splice into the wire if the connector itself is damaged.

The part numbers in RealOEM for 61129217031 for the BST itself and 61129130178 for the repair cable kit. You'll most likely need both.

Here's a picture of the BST from RealOEM Here

I know this from experience, I had to recently replace the BST on my vehicle because it went screwy and started throwing up MRS errors.

[UsnRoberts]

Originally Posted by Dracon

Read up on Battery Safety Terminal (BST) that's what they are talking about. There's a small explosive charge on the positive terminal which disconnects power from the engine/chassis in the event of a crash (to prevent the chassis from becoming electrified since the main power cables runs along of side of the vehicle).

There is a youtube video explaining the basics of the BST Here. It's from an E46 but the premise is the same.

It's possible for the BST to become damaged (especially if no care was taken in replacing a battery, etc.) and it requires replacement. There should be a cable which plugs into the side of the BST which runs along the car to the MRS module (the airbag/restraint system).

The part itself is a little over $150 and it comes as a repair kit. With a new BST module and a new connector you can splice into the wire if the connector itself is damaged.

The part numbers in RealOEM for 61129217031 for the BST itself and 61129130178 for the repair cable kit. You'll most likely need both.

Here's a picture of the BST from RealOEM Here

I know this from experience, I had to recently replace the BST on my vehicle because it went screwy and started throwing up MRS errors.

Dracon! Big thanks, My question now is 61146971370 (Power distribution box w fuse) #3 from http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...46&hg=61&fg=30
will not suffice? I believe the connector its self is fine but I am completely missing the "BST". (thanks dealership) And that IS the part that is missing.

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by UsnRoberts

Dracon! Big thanks, My question now is 61146971370 (Power distribution box w fuse) #3 from http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...46&hg=61&fg=30
will not suffice? I believe the connector its self is fine but I am completely missing the "BST". (thanks dealership) And that IS the part that is missing.

If the picture you posted earlier is from your car, you do have a BST. It's red and attached to the distribution block, but different then the distribution block.

I'll take a picture of mine in a few minutes and post it.

[Dracon]

This is the BST module



It's attached to the distribution block via this bolt/nut:



On the side of the BST (you can see the orange and yellow wires on mine) is where the connector goes into. You wire colors might vary slightly (should be brown/blue) because I had to replace my BST and the connector using the repair kit.

Early E90's had a different style BST module which was replaced with this red newer style module in 03/07 and it used a different connector, hence the splice of the new connector on older E90's.

Don't worry about the blue/red wire in your picture, it's unused. It's only used when the vehicle is shipped to bypass the battery for transport from factory to dealership so the battery doesn't discharge.

EDIT:

I didn't realize the link I put up to the picture of the BST on RealOEM got jacked up. Here's a picture of the BST itself. You can clearly see the connector on the side where the cable should go. (#1 on your picture).

[medsc1]

Hi, I am having the same problem because I bought my car damaged with the steering wheel airbag deployed. The car is not starting and all sign point to the BST. I found a new BST positive lead at this link:

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E90-325...ery/ES1876099/

If I buy this part and just replace it, Do you guys think the car will start up??

[nate5ks]

You can jump the bst to test out the car and battery but you shouldn't do this for long. That one you linked to should work fine if that is actually your problem.

[GoRomeo]

Originally Posted by UsnRoberts

I got to the dealer and apparently there was a connector that was broken off. In the picture below it is #1. They were wanting to order a slew of unnecessary parts (to rack up the repair price I assume) basically everything in the realoem link below. I told them to bundle me up and send me on my way.
*Only issue now is i cannot find where the black cable (#1 in picture) was originally. I assume it goes into the power distribution box with fuse(04 on real oem list) but i cant find it on the battery top. The way it sits is the way it is now and im throwing an airbag light if this helps at all.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...46&hg=61&fg=30

Im planning on ordering the power distribution box with fuseand maybe the connector 17. I also dont remember seeing #2 in the picture plugged up so if anyone can identify that too... thanks :-)

I wonder why was this connector broken in the first place unless you or whoever replaced your battery did not do a good job and broke this connector. This connector does not break on its own.

[nate5ks]

I heard mine explode in my trunk after going over a big bump. I jumped it until I was able to get a new one.

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by medsc1

Hi, I am having the same problem because I bought my car damaged with the steering wheel airbag deployed. The car is not starting and all sign point to the BST. I found a new BST positive lead at this link:

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E90-325...ery/ES1876099/

If I buy this part and just replace it, Do you guys think the car will start up??

That's the right part, but if you have a 2006, you won't have the right connector. You'll have to order the repair cable along with the BST to splice the new connector into the car.

You'll need part number 61129130178 as well to splice into the existing cable (just cut the repair cable to the length needed, cut off the old connector and splice).

You'll probably notice that the existing BST doesn't look anything like the one in the picture (unless it's been replaced once already).

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by GoRomeo

I wonder why was this connector broken in the first place unless you or whoever replaced your battery did not do a good job and broke this connector. This connector does not break on its own.

That's been my experience as well and I believe was the cause of my BST failure as well because the battery was replaced by the previous owner.

[Mthis]

Originally Posted by Dracon

Read up on Battery Safety Terminal (BST) that's what they are talking about. There's a small explosive charge on the positive terminal which disconnects power from the engine/chassis in the event of a crash (to prevent the chassis from becoming electrified since the main power cables runs along of side of the vehicle).

There is a youtube video explaining the basics of the BST Here. It's from an E46 but the premise is the same.

It's possible for the BST to become damaged (especially if no care was taken in replacing a battery, etc.) and it requires replacement. There should be a cable which plugs into the side of the BST which runs along the car to the MRS module (the airbag/restraint system).

The part itself is a little over $150 and it comes as a repair kit. With a new BST module and a new connector you can splice into the wire if the connector itself is damaged.

The part numbers in RealOEM for 61129217031 for the BST itself and 61129130178 for the repair cable kit. You'll most likely need both.

Here's a picture of the BST from RealOEM Here

I know this from experience, I had to recently replace the BST on my vehicle because it went screwy and started throwing up MRS errors.

I have the same problem I have replace this part already 61129217031 now i need to replace this one 61129130178 I am on the clouds do not know where the long wire goes.
Wonder since you did it already if you can give me a hint part only cost me 21 dealer wants 500.
will really appreciated.