[Thunder Dump]

Originally Posted by C62335i

Sometimes my CA doesn't work unless in really, really close range. More specifically, it won't open and just makes clicking sounds unless I move my hips (the hip side with the key in the pocket) right next to the trunk key hole.

It's definitely not working right. It was for the past year pf ownership so I know where/how to stand with the fob in my pocket to make it work. And here's how I know: Car is asleep and locked. I stand at the back of the car with the fob in my pocket and try to open the trunk. I can see the starter button light up through the rear window, but that's it. Trunk won't open. Reach in the pocket and press the unlock (NOT the trunk) button and now the car wakes up, unlocks the door and activates the welcome lights. I haven't moved an inch and the fob is in the exact same place the whole time, and *now* I reach under to open the trunk and it opens perfectly every time.

After more diagnosis I don't think it's the CA at all because when the car is awake, the CA pretty much works 99.9999% of the time as expected. It's only when it's asleep that it doesn't work right, so that tells me whatever module(s) is responsible for 'seeing' the key and waking the car up is not working correctly.

[blue1]

After more diagnosis I don't think it's the CA at all because when the car is awake, the CA pretty much works 99.9999% of the time as expected. It's only when it's asleep that it doesn't work right, so that tells me whatever module(s) is responsible for 'seeing' the key and waking the car up is not working correctly.

I have the same issue if the car is awake it works all the time, once the car goes to sleep then it will not wake on the CA. If I hit the lock button on the FOB I can then open the doors or trunk with CA. Do you have a Smartop installed?

[DoctorTwinTurbo]

Originally Posted by C62335i

Sometimes my CA doesn't work unless in really, really close range. More specifically, it won't open and just makes clicking sounds unless I move my hips (the hip side with the key in the pocket) right next to the trunk key hole.

My trunk does the same thing...put your hand on the sensor and it clicks but dosent open. If i stop and try again sometimes it'll open on the 3rd or 4th attempt, sometimes it wont. With the doors its hit or miss, sometimes I think if i move really far away from the car...like arms length, it will work. But not at a normal standing distance by the door. Pretty embarrassing to be standing by your BMW and touching the door and can't get in...haha

[blue1]

Has anyone got an update on this? I noticed that when I leave my car in the garage, ulocked the inside lights do not come on when I open the door. I have to hit the start button first and then I will get the inside lights on and the car will give a quick warning light and then the engine will start. Once the car is awake it works fine it just does not want to wake up. Must be tired like the rest of us?

[Thunder Dump]

Problem solved. Thanks to blue1 for the initial find. This can affect *all* E93s with SmartTop installed. There is an issue with the module that, when connected as instructed, will not let the car go to sleep. This causes a significant drain on the battery and affects the CA ability to wake up the car. For those of you with SmartTop (and possibly RemoteKey) installed even if you do not have Comfort Access you should check out the post on Mods4Cars' web site regarding this issue. You can check it out here:

http://www.wit-usa.com/sms/db/smartt...BATTERY/en.php

Here is the text of the post:

Important Information for ALL BMW modules. Especially for cars with Comfort (keyless) access

We recently discovered a problem when any of our modules is installed in a newer model BMW with switched power supply. Especially 6 Series and 3 Series with Comfort Access (keyless entry and keyless engine start/stop) seem to be affected. These cars turn off the power supply to most of the control modules when the car has been idle for more than 15 minutes. This measure is designed to prevent a drained battery when the car is sitting for prolonged periods of time.

Unfortunately this conflicts with the standby power saving mechanism of our modules! Our modules have a sophisticated self-power-down standby mode in which the processor in the module is turned off, but immediately wakes up when any data traffic is detected on the data bus. The module itself consumes only very minimal power in this mode. It is mandatory that the module is permanently powered. Otherwise, on cars with keyless access where the circuit with radio and top control unit is NOT powered up upon touching the door handle or trunk button, the module is left unpowered and unable to receive or transmit any data.

Our module, much like a network router, receives and transmits data packets on the car's data bus. If the power is interrupted, no communication across the module is possible, data is blocked! This leads to other control modules permanently trying to communicate and thereby draining the battery.

If you get any error messages about power drain, a battery warning or a workshop symbol, or if the trunk button does not react after the car has been sitting for a while, this is the reason why.

In car electric terminology a wire with permanent power is called "Terminal 30", a wire with ground is "Terminal 31" and a wire powered by the ignition circuit is "Terminal 15". BMW introduced the standby power-down circuit "Terminal 30G" which is where the radio and top control unit are connected to.

Solution: Disconnect the power wire from the thick red power wire to the top control module (smartTOP) or the radio (smartTV) and connect it to an unswitched (Terminal 30) wire, directly to a fuse powering a Terminal 30 circuit, or run a wire (with inline fuse!) directly to the battery "+" terminal.
We recommend getting a ~6ft long power wire with 1 or 2 Amp. inline fuse, available in car accessory shops for example to hook up radar detectors or CB radios.

If you don't have CA you may not even realize you are getting a significant battery draw when the car is off. The solution is to run a source of constant power to the module directly from the battery. Pretty easy to do and it definitely makes the module work as intended and solves both the battery drain issue and the CA issue. My CA now works correctly all the time.

[cb1111]

What this demonstrates is how important it is to mention any mods when describing a problem. It also shows the interdependencies between seemingly unrelated systems in our cars and even "simple" p-n-p mods can have unexpected adverse impacts - often rearing their ugly heads some time down the road.

[clowntown]

Any pictures or diagrams of this process for owners with ComfortAccess and no SmartTop and no SmartTV? Only the radio/CD/iDrive/SmartKey